Gaijinmama read and liked Sisimka's review of Howl's Moving Castle:

"This was a thoroughly entertaining book. The story of Sophie, who as the eldest of three daughters believes her future is predestined to be uneventful. She feels she is neither the smartest or most beautiful of her sisters and accepts her lot in li...more This was a thoroughly entertaining book. The story of Sophie, who as the eldest of three daughters believes her future is predestined to be uneventful. She feels she is neither the smartest or most beautiful of her sisters and accepts her lot in life with humor and grace. Fortunately for Sophie and the reader, life has a lot more in store than endless (if somewhat gentle) drudgery at the hands of her stepmother. What is truly wonderful about this story is the way the author takes stereotypical fairy tale characters and ideas and either exploits them or reverses them to create a unique tale that somehow ends up happily ever after. Howl is a rogue, and a lovable one, that I secretly hoped would come out on top in the end. I never worried about Sophie, she's the sort you just know will pull through.

I had seen the Miyazaki film before I read this book and the visual interpretations I had in my head while reading were pitch perfect. It was easy to see why he was attracted to this story and why he has filmed more than one Diana Wynne Jones novel.(less) "