A review by justjonsbooks
House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones

4.0

Not sure why it has taken me so long to make a review for this and it’s a shame because I’m sure there was plenty to write about had I made notes at the time. Nonetheless I can say that it was a really pleasant read full of fun and interesting moments. 

 

I definitely preferred this to Castle in the Air as it had more of a Howls Moving Castle vibe to it with the mysterious and magical house, all the spells, plus getting so see the original gang themselves helps of course. But the new characters were likeable too and I thought Charmain had some nice development. I also liked her relationship with Peter from their arguments at the beginning to how they end up working things out and getting along. 

 

Overall this has always been a really nice world to immerse myself in ever since I first saw the Howls Moving Castle movie and then read the book. Could the writing or stories be better? Sure maybe, but considering these are probably predominately aimed at kids and young adults I don’t think it’s really required. Plus there’s a charm to the randomness of the adventures and situations we end up in and that’s precisely why I chose to read these when I wanted something light and fun, in that regard they are perfect.