While there, she meets a cast of colorful characters including Howl’s apprentice Michael, Calcifer, a fire demon who agrees to break Sophie’s curse if she breaks his contract with Howl, and the people who come to Howl for magical assistance through the castle’s door, that allows Howl and his friends to go to different locations in the various worlds. Sophie finds Howl and moves into the castle as the cleaning lady, hoping to break the curse. Through a case of mistaken identity, Sophie is cursed by the Witch of the Waste, a powerful witch who had been jilted by Howl and is intent on revenge. Once they fall for him, he loses interest and the girls are left heartbroken.

As the story unfolds, however, readers learn that while Howl is dangerous to young women, it’s because he tries to figuratively steal their hearts. At first, it is believed that his is literally stealing hearts, and as a result, the entire town is in fear of him. Howl has a reputation for kidnapping young girls and stealing their hearts. While Sophie is working in the hat shop in Market Chipping, a mysterious castle that moves on its own appears in the surrounding county the castle of the dreadful Wizard Howl. Of course, as in any good fantasy, there is more to Sophie than meets the eye. Sophie, of course, happens to be the eldest of three children, and as a result, she is willing to quietly fade into the background to allow her more talented sisters to shine. This book also includes one of the best opening lines that I have ever encountered in a book, “In the land of Ingary, where such things as seven-league boots and cloaks of invisibility really exist, it is quite a misfortune to be born the eldest of three.” This line both sets up the land as a place of magic and provides an introduction, of sorts, to our heroine.

Howl’s Moving Castle is set in the land of Ingary, and follows Sophie Hatter, a young woman who lives in the town of Market Chipping. I was not disappointed, and felt that Jones took me on an adventure that was both a typical fantasy and a very atypical adventure story, peppered with a sense of humor. Finally, I decided that I needed to read the book itself to form a balanced opinion. “ Howl’s Moving Castle” is a book that has gotten a lot of buzz, both because it’s a widely loved fantasy and because it’s the basis for a Ghibli film. I had also previously read the sequel, “ Castle in the Air,” not realizing it was a sequel. “Howl’s Moving Castle” was one of the first Studio Ghibli films that I saw and when I learned that it was based on a book by Diana Wynne Jones, I got excited. I have to be honest, this is one of the few times that I have ever picked up a book because I loved the film.

Sophie howls moving castle