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boba_n_books's review
5.0
As the eldest daughter, Sophie knows her life won't turn out to be anything spectacular. But, as her two younger sisters set off to fulfill their own destinies, Sophie wonder if there isn't more to life than working as a hatter. Her world is turned completely upside down when the Witch of the Waste visits the hat shop and turns Sophie into a 90-year-old woman. Sophie's only hope of breaking the spell is Wizard Howl--the man who lives in a moving castle and who is rumored to eat young women. Sophie bravely ventures off to find Howl's moving castle, and when she does, she encounters a fire demon and a young apprentice who also live in the castle. Sophie quickly adapts to her new environment since Howl, thankfully, doesn't throw her out; and through their many adventures, she discovers that there is more to the wizard, his companions, and his residence than meets the eye.
The story fully enchanted me, and I wish I would have read it sooner. Since I've never seen the movie, I found myself turning the pages at a breakneck speed to see what was going to happen to Sophie, Howl, and their companions. At first, the plot seems simple, but when you look a little closer, you find a journey of self-discovery hidden within the whimsical pages. We as humans are often put into boxes from the moment we're born, and if we so choose, we can confine ourselves to those boxes. However, if we are as brave as Sophie was to set out and forge a different path, we too can break free.
Graphic: Body horror and Confinement
Moderate: Death and Murder
Minor: Alcohol, Death of parent, and Violence
natashaleighton_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror and Confinement
Moderate: Death and Murder
Minor: Violence, Death of parent, and Alcohol
tays_books's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Death and Murder
Minor: Ableism, Death of parent, and Alcohol
novella42's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I think my favorite part was getting a clearer glimpse at the interiority of the characters (mostly Sophie) and what made them tick. It's very clear to me now that Howl is neurodivergent and likely coded for autism, though it's unclear how aware the author was of that when she wrote it in 1986. Mild spoiler:
Howl, the resident Manic Pixie Dreamboy, is still a frustrating character with a lot of elements of misogyny to unpack, concerning infidelity and relationships with minors. For example, Sophie is 17 and he is in his early/mid 20s. (There's no Storygraph tag for ageism, but this book definitely has a lot of ageism, with many characters valuing youth above all else in small and large ways.) Howl is kind to her in different ways, and they seem to (kind of?) work well together, but it's not clear to me exactly why she falls for him after being frustrated with him for most of the book. It felt like a lot of stuff I've read/seen from the 80s where a lot of stuff gets excused because love enters the equation.
Howl's Moving Castle has a very "oral history fairytale told around the fire" kind of voice to me. A lot happens in exposition. Also, I don't typically enjoy mysteries because I can rarely solve the puzzles before the end and don't get the dopamine hit from that which some friends enjoy. But I suspect if you enjoy solving mysteries, this one might feel a little, um. Oddball.
I hesitated to read this book because body horror is usually a hard no for me due to trauma, but a friend said it wasn't graphic in the way I usually find hard, so I gave it a try with the reading equivalent of tiptoeing cautiously into the book. It ended up being fine for me. If anyone else is concerned about that, here's a clear detailed spoiler of what that means:
Graphic: Gaslighting, Body horror, Confinement, Infidelity, and Stalking
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Fatphobia, Ableism, Mental illness, Sexism, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Torture, War, Cursing, Death of parent, Vomit, Alcohol, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexism, and Slavery
emilywemily6's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Minor: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, and Bullying
grizzlysnack's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The writing is wonderfully done and executed (especially for the foreshadowing and clues scattered throughout the book!), and the characters are full of spunk and personality. Just don't expect it to be exactly like the Ghibli movie! :)
Graphic: Confinement and Body horror
Moderate: Murder and Death
ghostnaps's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Minor: Murder, Body horror, and War
daisiesandbees's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75
Minor: Violence, Death of parent, and Murder
merle_bookdragon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Who me? I assure you, my friends, I am cone sold stober. ... What a lie that was! ... My shining dishonesty will be the salvation of me.
Oh my goodness, what an absolute joy of a book. I've seen the movie approximately 50 times and I was so happy when I got gifted the beautiful Folio Society edition and then it stood in my shelf for a year. But I finally got to read it as part of my university bookclub and I absolutely loved it (as was to be expected.)
I am usually not the biggest reader of introductions but in this case I was very happy I did because it was informative and funny and taught me things that made the story even more special. For example that Diana Wynne Jones came from Wales, that she had juvenile rheumatism and that she attended lectures by both J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. I really enjoyed her storytelling and her creation of this world which is such a delightful mix of fairy tales, myth, and folklore and went on to inspire many more.
The story itself surprised me in the places in which it differed from the movie, which kept me on my toes to anticipate any changes that were made. Both Howl and Sophie are much more ... assertive and rude? :D And I don't mean that in an entirely negative way it just surprised me a little. I read a couple days ago that the book is the story told from Sophie's perspective and the movie is the story as Howl likes to tell it. And I think that is very accurate because Howl sure is more annoying that he is made out to be in the movie.
I enjoyed having to rethink some relationships and names that might've appeared in the movie but were connected differently in the book like Mrs Pentstemmon, the Witch of the Waste, the king, Michael, Sophie's sisters... basically most of them. But since the Ghibli movie was made to convey a very specific message and chose a specific route for that, I can totally see why changes were made and some things were left out. Still I would've loved to see animated Howl in rugby uniform.
I will most definitely reread this many times and extend my tabs and notes. I shall recommend this to everyone and I've also added the artbook for the movie to my wishlist :D
Megan's full of envy because she's respectable and I'm not.
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Animal death, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
julesadventurezone's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, and Body horror
Minor: Alcohol, War, Sexism, Murder, Death, Death of parent, and Animal death