Howl's Moving Castle
Author: Diana Wynne Jones

Review by [pegasus1000]



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This is a re-read

When I first read the book it was after I saw the movie and I remember thinking how much better the book was.

I decided to re-read this book for a few reasons
1) It has been a long time sense I read the book.
2) I have been wanting to buy the movie (witch is a fun movie). I might get it for Christmas if it goes on sale.
3) I remember how much I loved the book and wanted to own the book. So I bought the book and had to read it.

I flew through it in two days and enjoyed the book even more then the first time I read it. The plot is fun and entertaining.

Normally I would do a comparison of the movie vs. book but sense the plot is so different in the end I will have to treat them as two different stories; and well the book just makes for a better story.

SPOILERS

Sophie is the eldest of three daughters who thinks she is doomed to fail. She is discontent with life but feels trapped to being a Hatter after her father dies and her sisters are sent out to do apprenticeships. Unknowingly she starts setting spells on her hats by talking to them. A hat she tells "will have to marry into money" would cause the buyer to merry into money and so on.

The Witch of the Waste comes to town and puts a curse on Sophie making her into an old woman and causing her to run off. Seeing Howl's Castle she decides that she is much to old for Howl to eat her heart and decides it would be a nice place to spend the night. (Howl is known to eat young girls hearts). Upon entering the castle she meets Howl's apprentice Michael as well as his fire demon Calcifer. Making a deal with Calcifer to break his contract with Howl and in return have her curse broken. To make a reason to stay in the castle Sophie says she is the new cleaning lady.

As Sophie finds out Howl does not eat girls hearts but falls in love and once the girl falls in love as well Howl moves on breaking the girls heart. (Very heartless) Howl is also "on the run" from the witch of the waste and trying to dodge the king who is trying to get Howl to find his brother who went missing as well as the court wizard. Both Presumed dead or captured by the witch.

REAL SPOILERS

In the end it turns out the Witch is trying to build her "perfect man" with pieces of The Princes brother, the court wizard and Howl. The witch is very old and had expanded her life through a demon of her own. She (the demon) wants Howls heart to expand her life... Her master plan is to become queen once she marries her perfect man and kills the king.

Howl kills the Witches body but her demon still lives. Sophie speaks 1000 more years of life into Calcifer so he can give Howl his heart back and he is able to be properly in love... with Sophie who has broken her own curse by no longer accepting that old lady as who she is. It is a sweet story and like a said a much better story line then the movie.



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