House of Many Ways

Of the two sequels to "Howl's Moving Castle", I much prefer this one. It was a delightful read, very entertaining and at times outright hilarious. Howl and Sophie are back at their shenanigans (but especially Howl), and while Charmain as the protagonist wasn't my favorite character at first, she grew a lot on me through her character arc. I'm very fond of the way Diana Wynne Jones writes magic and her worlds in the Moving Castle Universe, and it's fun to see which seemingly random tangent becomes ultimately relevant to the solution to the plot. After finishing, I immediately started rereading. If you enjoyed Howl's Moving Castle, I think you should give this book a try! (Even if you didn't like Castle in the Air as much, because I'm not sure I need to reread that one)

Even though Diana Wynne Jones' "House of Many Ways" is quite different to "Howl's Moving Castle", it was still a nice read. The style of writing was pleasant and easy to understand, which makes "House of Many Ways" perfect for those who are trying to improve their English skills or children. As a matter of fact, it is a children's book tho. So the plot isn't too complicated or delicatey spun, but rather simplistic. It doesn't focus on tough topics in any way. I do find the topics rather fitting for children and young teenagers tho. Let me elaborate a bit here. In the story, we get to know Charmain, a young girl who is being born into a wealthy, middle class family. Never in her life did she have to do household shores, help her mother, cook, take responsibility, etc. etc.. She was well forstered, until the day Great uncle William got horribly sick and had to be taken away by the elves. With no one to take care of his magical house, Charmain has to move in and keep everything neat and tidy. Because of this, Charmain learns how to take responsibility, be kind to others and helpful, and - of course - how to take care of a magical house. Her character growth is just amazing. Does she get to keep some flaws? Obviously. But that just makes her more realistic and relatable. Btw., you don't necessarily have to have read "Howl's Moving Castle" to understand the plot and characters. But it just makes it sweeter if you know them, because you will eventually meet Howl, Calcifer and Sophie again. Even though "House of Many Ways" wasn't an all-nighter for me, I still enjoyed reading it very much.