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4.23 AVERAGE
4.23 AVERAGE
FIRST REVIEW / OCT 21, 2021
Before he had a chance to do more than look around, a man with a little pointed gray beard stepped up to him and took the striped scarf away. “He won’t be needing this,” he said, rather shocked about it.
Christopher thought the man was Gabriel de Witt and was all prepared to hate him, until Flavian said, “No, of course, Dr. Simonson,” apologizing for Christopher. “The old lady gave it to him, you know. Shall I—?”
Christopher decided to hate the bearded man anyway.
In this book, we meet the Chrestomanci from Charmed Life once again, except now we’re seeing his origin story as a child: a precocious boy who keeps accidentally wandering into other universes during his dreams. He’s a combination of endearingly, hopelessly naive due to his distracted personality, and being homeschooled & barely socialised in the outside world, and so he often doesn’t even realise how he’s being used by the adults around him— but he’s also a somewhat entitled only child who was both neglected and doted upon, which makes for an interesting personality, his independent streak but also his spoiled streak, the way he focuses so much on himself and misses things about his treatment of the others around him. Following his bildungsroman is great, his trials and tribulations plus stumbling his way towards understanding that he actually does have magical abilities. We also get to meet the previous Chrestomanci, Gabriel de Witt, and his household.
The twists here are actually more predictable than Charmed Life, imo, but now that Diana Wynne Jones is a more experienced writer, the world feels richer and more well-developed (we learn even more about the alternate universes and how they work), the character work more detailed, and the end result is ridiculously compelling. Every chapter left me desperate to keep going (“just one more chapter… just one more chapter!”), so I basically inhaled this book in a day and a half.
It’s warm and witty — the sequences with Christopher’s parents and their cold war is so hilarious that I wound up in gigglefits so often while reading. Christopher’s character development is nice to follow, as well as Millie! The origin story for Christopher and Millie’s first meeting, and how they eventually become friends, is a+ (and I’m hoping we see more of her in subsequent books because I want to see how it becomes a romance, okay).
Learning more about Christopher’s deaths and how he burned through his lives so quickly (hinted at in Charmed Life), and his blasé attitude towards it is just so funny:
The dragon’s eyes met Christopher’s, almost soulfully. Among the ruins and rafters of the farm roof, it opened its huge mouth. It was rather as if a door had opened into the heart of a sun. A white-orange prominence spouted from the sun, one strong accurate shaft of it, straight at Christopher. WHOOF. He was in a furnace. He heard his skin fry. During an instant of utter agony, he had time to think, Oh bother! Another hundred lines!
The whole novel is so much fun, and even better than the previous one. The Chrestomanci books remain fabulous stuff as ever — just lovely middle-grade fantasy — and I remain so excited to read/reread the rest of them.
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SECOND REVIEW / AUG 29, 2025
Utter comfort. As soon as I finished the Chrestomanci series with The Pinhoe Egg, I immediately circled back to reread this one, and I'll be back onto Charmed Life next; these first two books are just perfect, and a balm to turn to when I hadn't been enjoying my reading lately.
I really enjoyed this prequel to Charmed Life. It was fun getting to know more about both Christopher and Millie (her back story surprised me a lot!). Reading this has definitely made me excited to read more Chrestomanci books.
i love diana wynne jones SO much because she recognizes that children are sassy and cringe and does so much with it.
also MILLIE AND CHRISTOPHER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i love the Related Worlds so much
Tacroy and Miss Rosalie :)
also MILLIE AND CHRISTOPHER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i love the Related Worlds so much
Tacroy and Miss Rosalie :)
I listened to the audiobook version of this, and only let myself listen on the way to and from work, which is the only reason it took so long to read. I had to practice a lot of self-discipline to not 'just listen to a little' at home!
Gerard Doyle is simply marvelous as the narrator--nay, performer--of this audiobook. I'm very excited to hear him perform Charmed Life next! (I couldn't remember which was (arbitrarily) listed as book #1 of the Chrestomanci series and picked this one at random.)
One of the best books I've read, I do a perennial or bi-annual re-read of a bunch of Diana Wynne Jones' books. She's the best author of 'middle-class fantasy'--which is to say, fantasy that doesn't involve royalty or gods, or 'raised from the dirt' peasants. They're just regular middle-class people who also happen to have magic.
The slightly Victorian setting of her stories is also extremely appealing, giving the books an old-fashioned (in a good way) feeling.
Although DWJ clearly had a marvelous sense of humor, I think it's important to note that some of her earlier books were not only derivative but also depressing. Dogsbody is the one that most comes to mind, but A Tale of Time City also left me feeling unfulfilled. Safe to say that not all of her books are as (relatively) light as this one, and I advise you to tread carefully, especially if the book is out of print. However, the Chrestomanci books are very safe, as are the Howl books. They're also satisfying fantasy stories that are excellent for middle-grade students who've read HP and need something else to read.
Gerard Doyle is simply marvelous as the narrator--nay, performer--of this audiobook. I'm very excited to hear him perform Charmed Life next! (I couldn't remember which was (arbitrarily) listed as book #1 of the Chrestomanci series and picked this one at random.)
One of the best books I've read, I do a perennial or bi-annual re-read of a bunch of Diana Wynne Jones' books. She's the best author of 'middle-class fantasy'--which is to say, fantasy that doesn't involve royalty or gods, or 'raised from the dirt' peasants. They're just regular middle-class people who also happen to have magic.
The slightly Victorian setting of her stories is also extremely appealing, giving the books an old-fashioned (in a good way) feeling.
Although DWJ clearly had a marvelous sense of humor, I think it's important to note that some of her earlier books were not only derivative but also depressing. Dogsbody is the one that most comes to mind, but A Tale of Time City also left me feeling unfulfilled. Safe to say that not all of her books are as (relatively) light as this one, and I advise you to tread carefully, especially if the book is out of print. However, the Chrestomanci books are very safe, as are the Howl books. They're also satisfying fantasy stories that are excellent for middle-grade students who've read HP and need something else to read.
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
funny
lighthearted
I can't get over it. These are just so good. As good as "Charmed Life," and better in some respects.
There are weaknesses in characterization and etc., magic is far too easy, etc., but I wish I had half of DWJ's talents!
There are weaknesses in characterization and etc., magic is far too easy, etc., but I wish I had half of DWJ's talents!
I wouldn't let children read this, despite the story structure itself being well-built. The bigotry is just so thickly interwoven in the plot that it couldn't be removed even in editing - Millie's plotline itself, and the alienism assigned to Tacroy are inherently racist and orientalist.
Sexism is present in this story, but it's assigned to the main antagonist and it's supposed to be one of his evil traits, but it's quite subtle in the end when Christopher overcomes his learned sexism when he accepts Millie as his equal... It could've been more integrated how Ralph's sexism is (or could've been) one of the reasons for his demise.
Sexism is present in this story, but it's assigned to the main antagonist and it's supposed to be one of his evil traits, but it's quite subtle in the end when Christopher overcomes his learned sexism when he accepts Millie as his equal... It could've been more integrated how Ralph's sexism is (or could've been) one of the reasons for his demise.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Thoroughly enjoyable - one of my favourite Diana Wynne Jones books so far. Great fun, entertaining, compelling and just a lovely read.