"Howl's Moving Castle"

"Howl's Moving Castle" was authored by an Englishwoman, Diana Wynne Jones, who was born in 1934 and died in 2011.  This book has been made into a motion picture and it is this movie that I saw first before deciding I'd like to read the book.

I loved her dedication:  "The idea for this book was suggested by a boy in a school I was visiting, who asked me to write a book called "The Moving Castle."

I wrote down his name, and put it in such a safe place, that I have been unable to find it ever since.  I would like to thank him very much."

This book is about three sisters but mainly it is about the eldest sister, Sophie.  When their father dies, their mother is unable to keep the sisters in their private schools and must send them out as apprentices -- all but Sophie who she apprentices in the family hat business because this is the store that Sophie will inherit.  While Sophie toils in the store, her stepmother is out and about "drumming up business."

When the Wicked Witch of the Waste shows up in the shop one day and casts a spell on Sophie turning her into an old woman, she decides to go out into the world.  She can't tell anyone that a spell has been cast on her and she won't be recognized as Sophie.

She finally ends up the Wizard Howl's moving castle worming her way in and getting him to allow her to stay.  That is when Sophie and Howl's adventures begin.

Although I enjoyed the movie, the book is really quite different and the depth of the story unfolded the more I read.  There were plenty of surprises along the way, too!  It is science fiction/fantasy and may not appeal to everyone but I enjoyed it enough to look for the second book in this series.  pazt