What do you get when you take traditional fairy-tale tropes, give them a new spin, and put them together in a novel? This book.
Howl's Moving Castle was written by Diana Wynne Jones and published in 1986. It has two sequels, and was loosely adapted into a 2004 Studio Ghibli film.
The story revolves around Sophie, a hatter who's cursed by a witch, and how she comes to live with Howl, a wizard, Michael, his apprentice, and Calcifer, Howl's fire demon.
Sophie accidentally insults the Witch of the Waste, and becomes the victim of a curse that ages her about sixty years. Then she has a frightening encounter with a hopping scarecrow (it makes sense in context) and ends up in a moving castle. Howl, who owns the castle, reluctantly agrees to let Sophie stay. Hilarity ensues.
From the first few lines I fell in love with this story. It only became better as I read on. Sophie and Howl's bickering is hilarious. The battle with the Witch of the Waste is awesome. And the ending is both adorable and perfectly in-character.
My favourite scene is undoubtedly the incident with the mile-long suit. People who've read the book will understand what that is. But special mention must also go to drunk!Howl stumbling around and complaining his bed is dodging him.
Is it available online?: Not as far as I know. But it's in many libraries and bookstores!
Rating: 10/10. (Have you noticed that I tend to be much more generous in the ratings I give books compared to the ratings of films/series? I've no idea why that is, but it just happens. *shrugs*)
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