Howl’s Moving Castle
Diana Wynne Jones (Young Adult Fantasy)
In the land of Ingary, where such things as seven-league boots and cloaks of invisibility really exist, it is quite a misfortune to be born the eldest of three. Everyone knows you are the one who will fail first, and worst, if the three of you set out to seek your fortunes.
Sophie Hatter was a born blunderer. Being the eldest of three daughters, it was simply inevitable and Sophie accepted her fate with as much dignity and resignation that she could muster. She was well read, a talented seamstress, and abundantly aware that life—at least for her—held no interesting or exciting prospects. But things certainly took an unexpected turn when Sophie found herself on the wrong end of a curse from the Witch of the Waste. Suddenly, Sophie is now an old lady whose life is brimming with a stalking scarecrow, an enchanted fire, an arrogant wizard, and a magical, moving castle. And here Sophie thought that her life would never hold any interesting or exciting prospects!
Howl’s Moving Castle is the first of three books by Diana Wynne Jones in the Howl’s Series. In this novel, Jones takes readers on a thrilling and magical adventure full of charms and curses, mystery and mistaken identity, and frights and delights while our heroine goes on her own adventure of self-discovery and acceptance. Eleven years before J. K. Rowling enchanted the world with a boy wizard, Jones gave readers another character who felt exploited and unhappy with their place in the world. A person who longed for adventure and always knew that there was a world far beyond their little nook. An unassuming hero defined and confined by societal views, but capable of so much more than meets the eye. Characters like Harry Potter and Sophie Hatter are the very reason why we cheer for the underdog, mourn their failures, and celebrate their successes as if they were our own. They reaffirm our hope that nice guys don’t finish last and our faith that love does conquer all.
Author C. S. Lewis once wrote, “We are who we believe we are.” For a long time, Sophie believed herself to be unattractive, undeserving, and unimportant. Like so many beloved characters in literature, it took a twist a fate to show Sophie that the beauty, strength, and courage she thought she lacked was inside her all along and proved once again that a curse can sometimes be a true blessing in disguise.
Rating: 5/5
*Book cover image attributed to www.amazon.com
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