Chum's Moving Review

      I shall say it now. I have never seen the movie of the same name. Although I do wish to see the film more than ever now, I am afraid I won’t like it simply because it was different from the book. 

      The plot of this book is amazing and it is best experienced blind. I don’t want to spoil it at all. However, pay attention to everything as this is a great book to revisit and realize, “Why didn’t I notice this the first time?” It follows a girl named Sophie Hatter who was cursed by a witch to take the form of a very old woman. This drastically reduces her life expectancy so Sophie sees a wizard, Howl, as a way to free herself. 

      Sophie and Howl are great. Sophie is a very strong character and is very much the protagonist of the book. I personally like how she is a very old woman for most of it as I find this perspective lacking in literature. We get to see the effects the curse has on Sophie both mentally and physically. However, Sophie thinking of her situation and trying to find her way out of it doesn’t exactly take up the bulk of the novel. She finds out how to break the curse, but she doesn’t exactly know how to do the task required to break the spell. 

      Howl, the great slitherer-outer, was actually the most relatable character in the book. He is a very talented wizard and has many people wanting his help. However, this stresses Howl out and he is afraid certain people will ask too big of a task of him. What does he do? Howl has his friends blacken his name so people are too afraid to approach him. He doesn’t get along with Sophie who continues to snoop around his castle as she’s looking for a way to free herself from a curse. 

    The humor of the story is spot on. Not only from the wit of many of the characters (particularly Calcifer) and the shenanigans the protagonist get themselves into because of magic (Seven league boots just aren’t very practical), but the chapter titles really add to the story. Rick Riordan’s chapter titles pale in comparison to gems like “In Which Howl Expresses his Feelings with Green Slime” and others.  

     For a book I read recently, Howl’s Moving Castle gave me nostalgia for when I was younger and most of the stories I read were fairytale related. This book is a must-read for fairytale/ fantasy fans or anyone in a need of a good laugh.