BookBrowse Reviews Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

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In this classic young adult fantasy novel, a cursed young woman ventures to the castle of the terrifying wizard Howl, where she finds adventure, friendship, and a chance at breaking her curse.

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Sophie Hatter is cursed. After the death of her father, her stepmother settles Sophie into a life at the family hat shop, but an encounter with the evil Witch of the Waste leaves Sophie magically transformed into an old woman. Sophie ventures to the castle of the wizard Howl, who is said to steal the hearts of young women, where she makes a deal with the castle's resident magical fire demon, Calcifer: he will break Sophie's curse if she helps him break his mysterious contract with Howl. Caught up in Howl's ensuing misadventures, Sophie must decide what kind of person she wants to be and help prevent the Witch of the Waste from hurting the people she loves.

The opening lines of Diana Wynne Jones' Howl's Moving Castle firmly establish the novel as a whimsical, tropey fantasy: "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." Sophie Hatter is the oldest of three sisters, and so, according to the fairy tale-like rules of Ingary, she's set up for failure. She hides herself away in her family's hat shop, too anxious to go outside, where she will fail at anything she tries and may encounter the terrible, heart-eating wizard Howl, who is stumping around town along with his magical moving castle. But Sophie's curse forces her out into the world, where she realizes that everything is not as it seems as she meets a cast of quirky magical characters: Howl, who, although powerful, is more worried about the threat of his own curses than about attacking young women; Calcifer the fire demon, who is responsible for keeping the castle moving and running; and Michael, Howl's young apprentice who becomes Sophie's friend and helper, when he isn't running into town to woo the girl he loves.

As Sophie and her friends experience the novel's catastrophes and adventures, they realize that in spite of Ingary's supposedly rigid fairy tale rules, their fates are not set in stone. Sophie's sisters, too, have their expected destinies—but unlike Sophie, neither of them resigns themselves to the life that is chosen for them, and instead they use magic to change their fates and achieve their own dreams. By having the characters successfully fight against their destinies, Jones introduces clever and often humorous twists that keep the story feeling fresh amidst a familiar fairy tale backdrop.

Another interesting and unique aspect of Howl's Moving Castle is how the specifics of the magic system are never explained. Howl is a wizard, but how his power works and where it comes from remain a mystery. Magic can be taught, as evidenced by Howl's apprentice, which implies that it isn't an innate ability, but another character exhibits their own type of magic that isn't replicable by anyone else. Even more intriguing is the revelation that Ingary is a parallel world to our own and that several characters have crossed between the worlds using magic. The presence of the real world alongside a fictional one breaks the fourth wall of a fantasy story—and fits in perfectly with the whimsical chaos of the novel.

Over the course of the novel, the characters in Howl's Moving Castle learn both to love themselves and to love others for who they are on the inside. Sophie's transformation from a timid young girl to an old woman makes her less afraid of what other people, including a powerful wizard like Howl, think of her. "As a girl, Sophie would have shriveled with embarrassment at the way she was behaving. As an old woman, she did not mind what she did or said," Jones writes. "She found that a great relief." Howl's journey is to overcome his vanity and learn that one's outward appearance is not the most important part of romantic love. Early in the novel, it's said of Howl that he won't truly be in love until he forgets to "spend at least an hour in the bathroom" getting ready; later, when Howl comes to rescue Sophie, she realizes that he has "not bothered to shave or tidy his hair… his eyes were still red-rimmed and his black sleeves were torn in several places." Sophie and Howl's character transformations are slow but realistic, resulting in a splendid finale that highlights the unmistakable and heartwarming reward of love.

Since its publication in 1986, Howl's Moving Castle has amassed many fans, won numerous literary awards, and been adapted into an Academy Award-nominated film (see Beyond the Book). Filled with flawed but entertaining characters, unique magic, and plenty of humor, Howl's Moving Castle will win over readers of all ages with its whimsy and heart.

This review first ran in the July 16, 2025 issue of BookBrowse Recommends.