NOTE: Am uploading this late due to some health problems last night, also uploading this from a tablet so apologies for the formatting. I’ll correct it when I get back on my laptop.

I’ve been a fan of Diana Wynne Jones’ (DWJ) Howl Series since I first read Howl’s Moving Castle back in high school.

Only recently did I come across the other two books. I read Castle In The Air, the second book, during my summer internship in college. The third book, House of Many Ways, I found in a bookshop in Seoul (please see the old blog entry about it), right after I began working.

The series is beloved to me because each book came at times I needed a measure of comfort. The way DWJ crafts her worlds and her words made a mark on my heart, and the timing of when these books came into my life is more than a little magical to me.

The three books can largely be categorized as children’s books – warm, vivid, and fantastic – but they have fairly mature themes amidst a colorful cast of characters. The three books, I think, are for people who crave to inject adventure and chaos into their humdrum lives.

I say the last bit because the main characters of each book lead such respectable and responsible lives, that it’s so fun to read about them getting tossed into wild situations. It’s a little Bilbo Baggins that way.

Sophie Hatter of Howl’s Moving Castle is famous for being an old woman in an 18-year old’s body – and for getting cursed to reflect all that. But while most people would freak out if that happens to them, Sophie just accepts it in stride, which I respect. Previously, Sophie had already accepted that as the eldest of three daughters, she would lead the most boring life. But she does quite the opposite and I love her for it.

Abdullah of Zanzib of Castle In The Air is a bit different as a lead character from the others, in that he is male and he openly longs for a more exciting life. Abdullah is this great daydreamer who has a silvery tongue, and his rebellion against the plans other people have for him win him a happy ending, eventually.

Charmain Baker from House of Many Ways is the most relatable character in literature for me, and I don’t love her as much as I love Sophie because she hits a little too close to home. Charmain wants to be left alone to read, loves to eat and never gets full, dreams of working in a library, and has a mother who never lets her do anything improper. She more or less describes me to a tee.

For the books themselves, Howl’s Moving Castle is the most complex book, probably because it has the task of explaining the mysterious Howl himself – his origins, his eccentricities, and his general dumbassery. The book is also distinct from the other two because it features an entitled female villain, rather than an entitled male one. Sophie as an old lady has to put up with Howl the “heart-eating” wizard, his antics, and his fire demon, on top of solving the riddle that would set them all free. Of course it’s a romance, but Sophie doesn’t exactly take it easy when she realizes she actually likes the flamboyant moron.

Castle In The Air is called “a companion to Howl’s Moving Castle” because the original characters are mostly transformed and only revealed towards the end. Chronologically, I would recommend to read this as Book 2, because it fills in some of the gaps that get skated over in Book 3. Abdullah meets Princess Flower-In-The-Night, who promptly gets kidnapped, so Abdullah has to find her. I can’t say much about it because I don’t remember it as well as the other two, and for that reason it’s my least favorite of the three. However, props to DWJ for filling the “castle full of princesses” with princess of different ages, shapes, sizes, and ethnicities – a closer reflection of real life monarchies rather than an imitation of the Disney Princess franchise.

House of Many Ways is called “a sequel to Howl’s Moving Castle” because it’s more directly connected to Howl and Sophie. Charmain has to house-sit for her wizard great-uncle but she applies to work in the palace library. (She’s 11-years old.) She also has to put up with Peter, an apprentice wizard her great-uncle didn’t get to warn her about. I think it hints at a bit more darkness because two preteens have to live together, there’s some discussion of a succession line plagued with bad *ahem* eggs, and the supposed heir to the throne is the son of a monster that likes to turn people into human carriers of its progeny. Again, props to DWJ for writing plot details that would make an adult like me say “big yikes”.

Maybe someday I’ll write a proper love letter to the series, but for now I just wanted to get some of my thoughts about it in order.