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Howl's Moving Castle cover art

Howl's Moving Castle

Written by: Diana Wynne Jones
Narrated by: Jenny Sterlin
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Publisher's Summary

A Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book and ALA Notable and Best of the Year in Young Adult Fiction, Howl's Moving Castle is by acclaimed fantasy writer Diane Wynne Jones and was transformed into an Academy Award nominated animated motion picture by Hayao Miyazaki. On a rare venture out from her step-mother's hat shop, Sophie attracts the attention of a witch, who casts a terrible spell transforming the young girl into an old crone.

©1986 Diana Wynne Jones (P)2008 Recorded Books, LLC

What the critics say

"A wonderful blend of humor, magic, and romance." ( Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about Howl's Moving Castle

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Enchanted Brew of Humor Filled Magic

My husband and I are both seniors tired of the violence they call entertainment. I have just started getting back to books and was lucky enough to fine this delightful series and once we started listening to the beautifully read books we found it hard to stop till the end. Can't wait till my great grandson's are old enough to be introduced to this enchanted brew of humor filled magic... I only wish Diana Wynne Jones had had a chance to write many more.

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Thoroughly delightful

I was taken by surprise with this enchanting story and amazing narration. Diana Wynne Jones nails it with her voices and characterisation. I think I listened to this book twice in a row, and a third time a month later. It is a charming and imaginative story and I can't recommend it enough! #Audible1

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enjoyable

Love The narrator's voice and how she makes the characters come alive. listen to this whole book just because I want to watch the movie afterwards to compare and enjoy. 😊

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Beyond excellent

I wish I could give more stars. This was incredible, both story and narration. The story itself is lovely! A mosaic of whimsical times and charming characters, as a children’s tale; but we are also drawn to the deeper, simplest truths about our interconnected lives. As the old adage goes, I laughed and I cried; and I feel that listening to this has made me a better person, much as that seems improbable.

Thank you so much to author Diana Wynne Jones and narrator Jenny Sterlin; this is a beautiful gift you have given. I will be listening to this regularly.

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My favourite book

I forgot how much I loved this book as a child, I’m so happy that I found it here.

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Well Written and Well Read

I really enjoy the story, world building, and character building in all 3 of the books in this series. It is different from the Ghibli Movie based on it. Neither is better in my opinion, they both excel in different ways. Well worth the read for children and adults. Jenny Sterlin is an excellent reader.

#Audible1

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Super good book #Audible1

Very good book I definitely give it a read it’s funny and I read it like five times and plan to continue to read it again and again and again that’s how good it #Audible1

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Loved it!

This book was great, the author has an amazing imagination. Only complaint is that the ending seemed to quick, considering how slowly the rest of the story line was.
#Audible1

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Loved it

Such a cute story, and it's wonderful to see where the inspiration for the animated film came from. Likewise, it's nice to have a more flushed out version. The book explains many details that were glossed over in the film.
You definitely get the feeling of a classic fairytale, but also the twist of more modern literature as well as little quirks of humor sprinkled in in such a way that you don't see it coming.
Between the writing style and the story it's self, it's quite unlike anything I've ever read before. Which is saying something, I'm a huge book worm. It's a very unexpected and refreshingly off kilter kind of book. I would very much recommend it.
I am absolutely in love with the narrator. This was my first audio book, and I was really struggling to find a narrator that I liked. Even with books that were favourites of mine that I have read personally, most narrators just didn't do it for me. The narrator sounds much like the woman who voiced Sophie in the films. She's perfect. Her voices for the different characters are different enough to bring them all to life, but not so over the top to make them tedious or distracting from what's being said. Very easy to listen to. I absolutely plan on looking at the other titles she voices for as future audio book choices.

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An enjoyable fantasy listen

I had heard of the movie adaptation, but was pleasantly surprised to discover Howl’s Moving Castle was actually first a book! A sweet young-adult fantasy that’s fun and original. The welsh accents were maybe a bit wonky (I thought they were in India?!) but that’s just a short scene and the rest of the narration is great.

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