Despite this being something of a modern children’s classic, I’d never before read Howl’s Moving Castle or seen the movie. It was very different than I expected. I found it to be a fun read but somewhat difficult to follow along with.
Sophie is the eldest sister of three girls. So she knows she isn’t going to have any successful adventures. She lives with her step-mother (possibly wicked) and her two younger sisters, running a hat shop after their father dies. They are struggling to make ends meet when Sophie unexpectedly runs afoul of a witch and is turned into an old woman.
Somewhat against her will, Sophie sets out on an adventure. She meets the wizard Howl, who dwells in a castle that moves about the kingdom, his apprentice Michael, and his fire demon Calcifer. Howl is said to steal the souls of young girls but of course Sophie in her old woman form is safe from that.
Sophie is a lovely character. She is smart and charming but also just oblivious enough to keep the plot going when she doesn’t quite put all the pieces together. She lives in a world where fairytale rules hold true but of course this is a story that tosses many of those tropes on their head.
There’s a lot of world building done here by Wynne Jones and for the reader who enjoys Sophie and Howl and their kingdom, there are other books to go on and read. As someone who doesn’t read a lot of fantasy, I found it all a little confusing. Howl has a decently complex history that Sophie begins to piece together and there are several background characters that I kept mixing up. There’s also a lot of physical action, especially at the end, that I simply had trouble visualizing. I’m interested to see if the movie illuminates some of these scenes for me.
While I personally wasn’t completely engaged in this novel, it was still a fun read and I can see why it’s become a modern young reader classic. For middle grade readers who love fantasy and fairy tales, Diana Wynne Jones is definitely an author to check out.
Karissa Reads Books 
I have been thinking about reading this, because I want to watch the Miyazaki adaptation, but I’m now tempted to skip the book and just watch the film. I also struggle to visualise action scenes if they aren’t well-described!
You may have better luck with it than I did. I read it as an ebook and, for whatever reason, I find I don’t seem to absorb information as well from a screen as I do from a page. I’m curious about the movie too because the book seems so English to me!
Howl is less of a soul stealer when it comes to girls and is more of a womanizer, which is why there are so many background characters that can get confusing. Typically, he’s broken someone’s heart.
That sounds similar to the book. The people think he’s stealing the souls of young girls but he actually just falls in love with everyone until they reciprocate and then he moves on to the next girl.
Yep, that’s him! And the movie captures what a drama baby he is so well, despite him also being a warlock doing good.
I’m going to look up this movie now! I’ve never hears of this book either. Do you think she’s related to Tim Wynne-Jones?
She’s not! I looked it up because I had the same thought!
Don’t expect the movie to explain the book. Miyazaki made huge changes!
Ok, that’s good to know!