Here's my review of Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. This is part of Agent-Elrond's "Reading Jones" project.

Howl's Moving Castle was the first Diana Wynne Jones book I ever read. If you've never read any of her books, it's a great place to start. The story is fun, a million different things happen, there are lots of interesting characters and it has a happy ending.

I think I read it first about 10 years ago, and I just read it again for the second time. In that time, I've become a better reader and a fan of Diana Wynne Jones. Because of that, I paid much closer attention to every sentence. It's the kind of book where you don't want to skip any sentences because each one has a purpose and moves the story along and helps you know the characters better. It is like you are on a bicycle and each sentence is a pedal stroke moving you along the road or trail, taking you to new views and experiences.

Diana Wynne Jones has so many different books with a lot of variety, but I have found two things common to most of her books: usually there is at least one character who has been taken advantage of or steamrolled and by the end of the book that character has learned to stand up for herself or himself, and the other common trait in her stories is that they often have many many plot threads that come crashing together at the end in an entertaining, energetic way.

I would recommend Howl's Moving Castle to anyone who enjoys fun, happy stories with lots of action and magic. It's a great book to take you away from daily life and give you a new perspective on the world.