Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Rating: 5 out of 5.

So who else besides me read the book after the movie? Howl’s Moving Castle (the Studio Ghibli movie) is a glorious fever-dream delight.

And if you enjoyed that, you must read the YA novel that inspired (at least the first 15 minutes of) the movie.

Hand holding a Kindle with the book cover of Howl's Moving Castle on the screen

In the book, Sophie shines as an even stronger heroine than she was depicted in the movie. Howl himself is less dashing but far more human and no less entertaining. Diana Wynne Jones weaves a delightful yarn of personal strength, hope, and discovery, and fans of whimsy will not be disappointed.

As the first in Jones’ Castle series, readers will have a couple more opportunities to meet Sophie and Howl in their world. Based on the reviews I’ve read, they feature as supplementary characters rather than the leads in books 2 and 3 of the series. For the reader, the context of book 1 may be necessary to fully appreciate the sequels.

I also published a version of this post to my bookstagram here.

Where to find Howl’s Moving Castle

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