Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Howl's Moving Castle Review
Title: Howl's Moving Castle
Author: Diana Wynne Jones
Pages: 340
Version: Kindle E-Book
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Howl's Moving Castle. What can I say about Howl's Moving Castle? Being a huge Studio Ghibli fan, I saw the movie for this one first and it remains one of my absolute favorites. If you have not seen it, I highly recommend it. However, the book is pretty different. Both tell the story of Sophie Hatter and her encounters with the infamous wizard, Howl in his moving castle that wanders through the Waste. Through her journey, Sophie encounters fire demons, shooting stars, a Witch of the Waste, turnip heads, and much more. The book and the movie are both fantastic in my opinion, but they are almost different stories. At the core, the stories are the same with many different elements. I think one of the strongest parts of this book for me are the characters. As each character builds up and changes over time throughout the book, the story becomes more engaging and interesting. I found it interesting that Howl would probably be an unlikable person in the real world because of how self-centered he is, but how much he adds to the story and how lovable he becomes. In addition, the fact that Sophie is so relatable adds to the reader's interest in the story. She doesn't really think too well of herself because of the stereotype that had been placed on her for being the first born daughter. Following her journey of discovering her value within herself is really interesting to see. She gains strength from an overwhelmingly terrible situation of being transformed into an old lady. Another of my favorite characters would definitely be Calcifer, he is really a very important comic relief in the story. In addition, the character/setting of the moving castle is also one of the most interesting parts of the story to me. The way Studio Ghibli handled the castle is absolutely beautiful and works incredibly well with the story. I don't want to say too much besides that other than definitely give either the book or the movie a go (both even) if you can.
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