is a story about many things, but mainly follows Sophie, who finds the courage to leave her dull and confining life behind and seek her fortune, despite her oldest daughter status. When she becomes entangled in the mysterious fortunes of the Wizard Howl and his apprentice Michael, not to mention the demon Calcifer, things become decidedly more exciting.
Things I Liked:
I love the rambling nature of the story. It doesn't appear to be going anywhere, but it is so much fun along the way. The end manages to wrap things up neatly and satisfyingly. I really like Sophie and Howl - they are interesting and complete characters. Calcifer is also a lot of fun. The characters and the magic in this book were just plain entertaining. The interactions between characters and some of the adventures are quite humorous.
Things I Didn't Like:
I also didn't like the rambling nature of the story (call me conflicted). I had a hard time feeling connected with anything, despite my feelings for the characters. I wondered throughout my reading what exactly was the purpose, or is there one? There just seemed to be so many random things that happened, I couldn't connect them, until right near the end. The cover shown here is slightly better than the one I read - it was dreadful!
Read-alikes:
Reminded me of Terry Pratchett's books like The Wee Free Men
and The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents
BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: none
mrg-factor: none
v-factor: none
Overall rating: *** (between 3 and 4)
