Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
★★★★☆
This was my first Diana Wynne Jones book and I doubt it will be my last. Howl's Moving Castle is filled with magic and charm. It's about Sophie, a young hatmaker who is cursed by the evil Witch of the Waste and transformed into an old woman. To break the curse, she travels to the moving castle, where is said to live a cruel wizard who eats the hearts of young girls. But soon she begins to suspect that Wizard Howl is living with a curse of his own. The book reads like a fairytale in that it has a timelessness that is difficult to place, but the protagonists are more stubborn and witty and jump off the page. The writing was delightful and I loved the whimsical nature of the story. I only wish I could escape to Ingary myself.
Tunnel of Bones by Victoria Schwab
★★★★☆
The second book in the Cassidy Blake series was even spookier than it's predecessor. Tunnel of Bones finds Cassidy in Paris, where she encounters a ghost more powerful than any she has dealt with before. But Cassidy is becoming stronger too, as is her ghostly friend Jacob. Together they must face the being haunting Paris before it causes utter mayhem. This book is another fun story about adventure and friendship, and this series never fails to make me feel nostalgic for the childhood adventures I always longed for. We begin to learn more about the characters, particularly Jacob, and the story itself begins to get much darker. There were a good few times when I got chills just reading about the Catacombs and how their new spectral enemy came to be. I am curious to see the characters develop as they tackle new threats, and see how Jacob and Cassidy's unconventional friendship faces more challenges as the series continues.
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
★★★★★
The Girl Who Drank the Moon is the most phenomenal Children's book I've ever read. It is about many things, but mostly, it is about people. It is about:• the people of the Protectorate, who sacrifice their children to a witch
• a witch, who takes care of the babies and brings them to loving families
• a girl, whom the witch mistakenly enmagicks by feeding her moonlight
• a mother and a madwoman, who is certain that her daughter is alive
• and a boy, who is determined to change the fates of the Protectorate's children
This book is sweet and witty and clever in a way that doesn't belittle its target audience. It addresses ideas of power and oppression in a way that speaks true to life, as well as sorrow, and how important it is to acknowledge one's own memories and feelings. And above all this, it teaches us that love, although sometimes painful, is an infinite resource.
The Girl Who Drank the Moon is a book that serves it's audience exceptionally well. It is a novel with lyrical prose and a story filled with adventure, but it also has an emotional core that brings the story to life. Every word Barnhill has crafted in this book is pure magic, and I cannot recommend it enough.
What were your favourite children's books growing up? Are there any Middle-Grade books you fell in love with as an adult? If you could run away to any magical world, what would it be?
No comments:
Post a Comment