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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
Abdullah is a carpet vendor harried by relatives to get married, but he thrives on make-believe stories he’s been telling himself since childhood, imagining that he’s a lost prince taken in by his father. When he buys a magic carpet from a dubious seller, he finds himself faced with the princess of his dreams–until she’s kidnapped by a mad Djinn. Now Abdullah needs to set out on a quest to find her, to rescue her, and to figure out what to do with this genie, this cat, this soldier, and all the others who seem to keep tagging along.
You might not realize it from the above description, but this novel is a sequel to Howl’s Moving Castle (the novel of which was adapted to the famous Ghibli film). You might also not realize that this novel bears no relation to Castle in the Sky, which is another, unrelated Ghibli Film.
This is a fun adventure meant for younger readers, probably in the early teens or pre-teen ages, and it excels in being simple effective fun. The back-to-back-to-back-to-back reveals of the last few chapters are a little tiresome, and I think it gets a little lost and loses steam in the middle, but there’s a lot of simple–if forgettable–fun here.
Overall Grade: B
lighthearted
medium-paced
I have a hard time giving anything by DWJ less than four stars because the woman was a genius; Castle in the Sky is a 3.5, but I rounded up. After all, I've read it three times.
This book is actually quite well constructed and imaginative, but suffers from being in the Howl universe. Every time I read it, I spend the entire first half of the book wishing for Sophie and Howl and Calcifer instead of focusing on the actual protagonists. Then, when they do appear (in bits and pieces), it's unsatisfactory until the last 15 pages or so.
On its face though, the book flows nicely. Compared to the Grimm style fairy tales that formed the premise for the first book, I am less interested in the Arabian Nights Entertainment stories from which the mythology of this book is loosely cribbed, but Abdullah is a silly and likable protagonist with a lot of heart and he gets even better once the Strangian soldier shows up, providing a foil for his eccentricities.
Overall, I see this book as more of an afterthought to the Howl universe (especially compared with The House of Many Ways, which feels like a direct sequel), sort of like Witch Week was to the Chrestomanci series. Love the idea of a different kind of romp through this world, but in execution I think she did all her new characters a disservice by making us wait so long for what we knew was coming.
This book is actually quite well constructed and imaginative, but suffers from being in the Howl universe. Every time I read it, I spend the entire first half of the book wishing for Sophie and Howl and Calcifer instead of focusing on the actual protagonists. Then, when they do appear (in bits and pieces), it's unsatisfactory until the last 15 pages or so.
On its face though, the book flows nicely. Compared to the Grimm style fairy tales that formed the premise for the first book, I am less interested in the Arabian Nights Entertainment stories from which the mythology of this book is loosely cribbed, but Abdullah is a silly and likable protagonist with a lot of heart and he gets even better once the Strangian soldier shows up, providing a foil for his eccentricities.
Overall, I see this book as more of an afterthought to the Howl universe (especially compared with The House of Many Ways, which feels like a direct sequel), sort of like Witch Week was to the Chrestomanci series. Love the idea of a different kind of romp through this world, but in execution I think she did all her new characters a disservice by making us wait so long for what we knew was coming.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
El libro fue mucho más interesante que su antecesor y creo que si no hubiera tenido expectativas del anterior por la película ambos hubieran alcanzado 4 estrellas. Ahora, la historia que nos cuenta la segunda entrega de la trilogía es por mucho más divertida y fácil de llevar que la anterior, además el romance no me pareció tan escaso como en el anterior libro e incluso tuvo mejores plotwist y el final me dejo totalmente satisfecha. No comprendo porque tarde tanto en leerla
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Personajes nuevos a los vistos y conocidos en el primer libro, está vez se nota la influencia de historias como Aladin y Las mil y una noches, los personajes principales no me agradaron tanto como Calcifer, Howl o Sophie, creo que se adaptan bien a la historia, lo mejor fue la racha final donde llegan al adorado Reino de Ingary, para el desenlace y que nuestros personajes del primer libro salgan. Sin duda lo mejor el final.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A