Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Sophie, the eldest of three girls, believes herself destined to fail in the fairy tale world she lives in, for isn’t that always the way in fairy tale stories. When Sophie insults the Witch of the Waste, she is turned into an old woman and cursed. So she sets out from home (a Hat Shop) to make her fortune and lands in Howl’s moving castle. The Wizard Howl has the reputation as the eater of young woman’s souls, thanks to Howl’s apprentice Michael. Sophie is soon at home with Michael, Calcifer the fire demon whom powers the magical castle, and Howl whom has created many different names and reputations in order to avoid the Witch of the Waste.
So goes this intricate, humorous and puzzling tale of fantasy and adventure which should both challenge and involve readers. Jones has created an engaging set of characters and found a new use for many of the appurtenances of fairy tales: seven league boots and invisible cloaks, among others. Sara Miller, “School Library Journal”
I was afraid I wouldn’t enjoy Diana Wynne Jones but I was wrong. I adore this book. It poked fun, had an intricate plot line with a most satisfying ending, and great writing. I fell in love with Howl right along with Sophie.
I am going to pop Miyazaki’s anime adaptation into my DVD player and make sense of the film! This is a great fantasy read for 7th graders and up.
The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare
The Mortal Instruments series is comprised of City of Bones (Book One), City of Ashes (Book Two), and City of Glass (Book Three). It follows fifteen-year-old Clary Fray as she is introduced to the demon-slaying world of the Shadowhunters and glamour-hidden world of Downworlders comprised of warlocks, werewolves, vampires and fey. Along for the ride is her best friend Simon.
When Clary witnesses three Shadowhunters murder a human-looking demon while at a club, the Shadowhunters take an interest in her. She shouldn’t have been able to see them: Isabelle, beautiful, graceful and wielding a wipe more effectively then Indiana Jones, Alec, overprotective and thoughtful , and lion-like Jace, aggressive and confident.
It is soon discovered that Clary has Shadowhunter blood but that her memories have been forcefully repressed. What follows is enough drama, plot twists, and scandals to rival a soap opera. And yet, it was riveting. When Clare takes her time in laying out the scene, allowing the characters to develop and respond to situations, the story is gripping, with shots wit and humor.
The exposition (mostly delivered though dialog with Jace) was often overly wordy (p 44) and alternately a little confusing and too explanatory (p 132). I would have preferred a less abrupt introduction to this fascinating world. But I caught up. There is a nice explanation at The Mortal Instruments.
There are some good metaphors (among many overused ones): As Clary works to pierce the magical glamour hiding objects and people, “[the glyphs] tantalized her sight the way half-heard words in a foreign language sometimes tantalized her hearing, as if just by concentrating harder, she could force some meaning out of them” (p 134).
And some humorous passages, like when Clary asks Simon about the ‘hey’ thing (p 340).
“The ‘hey’ thing that you guys always do. Like when you saw Jace and Alec, you said ‘hey,’ and they said ‘hey’ back. What’s wrong with ‘hello’?”
She thought she saw a muscle twitch in his cheek. “‘Hello’ is girly,” he informed her. “Real men are terse. Laconic.”
“So the more manly you are, the less you say?”
“Right.” Simon nodded. … “That’s why when major badassesgreet each other in movies, they don’t say anything, they just nod. The nod means, ‘I am a badass, and I recognize that you, too, are badass,’ but they don’t say anything because they’re Wolverine and Magneto and it would mess up their vibe to explain.”
What I enjoyed most, was learning that Cassandra Clare was responsible for the hilarous The Very Secret Diaries (Still not King) of the Lord of the Rings. Any fan of Tolkien’s world should read these! Clare dropped a reference in Book One to the Diaries as well as references to anime (so near and dear to my heart). It’s clear Cassandra is familiar with animeseries like Angel Sanctuary, which features avenging angels and an incestuous relationship between the two main characters. I’d love to see this series animated in Japanese style.
I highly recommend this to fantasy and anime fanatics alike, ages 14 and up.
Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
I picked this up on a recommendation from Rick Riordan at Myth and Mystery. It’s also a best selling YA fantasy that completely escaped my notice – a rare thing, indeed!
Fablehaven is a refuge for mystical and magical creatures, both ‘good’ and ‘evil.’ I use those terms lightly as a Brownie may mistakenly be considered good when it repairs a broken vase. But it did not repair it out of the kindness of its heart, rather its nature is to repair. It does so without reward. Fablehaven is inhabited by creatures from disparate lore: fairies, naiads, golems, demons, and a giant cow. The story is engaging and evenly paced. The interactions between the siblings (Seth, the young risk-taker, and Kendra, the sagacious elder) are often humorous and always believable.
“Seth had never scared easily. This was the kid who had jumped off the roof under the misguided assumption that a garbage bag would work like a parachute” (p 46).
One of my favorite passages occurs early on (p 38), when Seth happens across a mangy witch tied up with a knotted rope and she invites him inside her shack.
“I better not,” he said again. “I don’t see how you could live out here like this and not be crazy.”
“Sometimes good people grow weary of society.” She sounded a little annoyed. “You happened upon me by accident? Out exploring?”
“Actually, I’m selling candy bars for my soccer team. It’s a good cause.”
She stared at him.
“I have my best luck in rich neighborhoods.”
She kept staring.
Seth’s adventurous spirit sets much of the plot in motion, but he also makes an excellent guinea pig for his older, more cautious sister. Passages like this were gold and so I finished this rather quickly. It didn’t have the excellent structure, buildup and bang ending like the Bartimeaus Trilogy but volume one has left enough breadcrumbs to keep me interested. And it had excellent illustrations (something I normally see in juvenile books). So I will be picking up the sequels… but not with same eagerness I grabbed Fire by Cashore.
Repossessed by A.M. Jenkins
I picked up Repossessed with a bunch of other books but read it first because I liked the cover. Hey, it looks naughty and I wasn’t disappointed. When a demon tires of torturing souls, he decides to take a vacation. He hops into the body of American teenager, Shaun, a few seconds before the boy is supposed to die. Instead, the demon alters his future and takes over. Kiriel, the demon, proceeds to drink up his human experiences. Having monitored Shaun from Hell, Kiriel fits pretty seamlessly into the stride of Shaun’s everyday. As the story progresses, we learn how Kiriel fell from Grace and his true goal; attract the attention of the Creator.
Raised a Catholic, I was lead to believe the worst part about hell was not the torment, fire and general misery but instead, the nothingness of the absence of God, that to be apart from God was the harshest punishment. It certainly is for Kiriel.
I love the concept. I even grow attached to Kiriel. He certainly makes improvements in Shaun’s life. But the story is not properly fleshed out. It feels more like a fifth draft. I believe there is more to explore. And while there are some great moments (“I’m going to plunge myself into the expanses of her many charms. The line’s moving, Bailey; scoot up.” 65) I really wanted more.
A 2008 Printz Honor book.
