Howl's Moving Castle Book

This book is completely magical and this is how I know:

On the fourth of July, we crammed ourselves into our car (my husband, mother in law, two girls, and I) and drove for over an hour to go see some fireworks. There was traffic almost the entire way, and I was jammed in the back in between two booster seats, which let me tell you - was not comfortable. I am a tall person and my knees basically alternated between being squished in between the two front seats, or slanted crazily off to one side. I was good and addicted to this book at that point, and I smuggled it into my tote bag in the tiny hope that might be able to read some along the way. However, what happened was that as soon as I pulled it out, my daughter recognized the title and became very interested. I knew it was a mistake to teach her how to read!

(Kidding, kidding.) I casually offered to read some of it aloud in the car. At first it was just the girls and me as I read about Sophie toiling away day and night in her hat shop, losing her father and cursed to a bad fortune. Then the conversation between my mother in law and my husband slowly died down as we got to the magical switcheroo that Sophie's sisters had pulled behind everyone's backs. The radio went off right about when The Witch of The Waste made her grand entrance, and by the time we got to our destination (much more quickly than the clock would suggest) my husband was chuckling as Sophie told a solicitous stranger, "I'm not your mother, young man" like a badass. As soon as we got into the car and promptly got stuck in the mad rush to head home, my narration services were again requested. We all know the basic plot, thanks to watching the Studio Ghibli film approximately 134 times last fall, and my oldest daughter was giddy with anticipation for Howl's tantrum. (Truly, one of the best scenes in both the book and the movie.)

This book is magical, because it managed to distract a four year old, a six year old, two adults in their thirties, a sixty five year old, not to mention my knees, for several hours in a tiny car on one of the hottest days of the year. I love almost everything about this book. I love that Diana Wynne Jones thought that a romance between a spoiled, shallow drama-queen pretty boy and a feisty ninety year old woman was a great idea and that she completely made it work. I loved seeing a nineteen year old Sophie, frightened and secluded, throw off all of her fears and embrace being a ninety year old woman, ready to take on anything that got in her way. The writing is simplistic, but the dialogue and mystery are downright elegant. Maybe this book isn't perfect - some of the later conflicts seemed a bit manufactured - but I don't really care. This book is going on my favorites shelf forever and ever. Dare I say this? I liked it more than the movie.

Stop by The Readventurer today, where I compare this book to the Studio Ghibli adaptation!