House of Many Ways

 Originally posted December 9, 2009.

Author: Diana Wynne Jones
Publisher: Harper Collins Children’s Books
Published: 2008
Series: Castle series #3
328 pages (paperback)
 
Summary: Charmaine Baker is a young girl raised to be a prim and proper, “perfectly respectable” kind of lady. Unfortunately, this has made Charmaine rather spoiled, as she does not know how to do anything on her own (boiling water, cleaning laundry, etc.). The only thing she does is read books all day. So you can imagine what a shock it was it was when she was handed the responsibility of watching over her Great Uncle William’s house (who is a wizard) while he went with the elves to seek treatment for his illness. Charmaine doesn’t really want to watch over the house though, and since William’s “apprentice” Peter shows up to help her with her job, she applies for a job at the Royal Palace, and is accepted. She meets “Twinkle”, Sophie, Morgan and Calcifer at the palace, who get Charmaine to assist them in trying to figure out why the kingdom was losing money and searching for a mysterious thing called the “Elfgift”.

My Thoughts: I desperately wanted to be reunited with Howl, Sophie and Calcifer in some way and picked up this sequel. While I’ll always think Howl’s Moving Castle is better, House of Many Ways does not disappoint in the least. It is a fun, magical story that even adults can appreciate ;). I liked the main character, Charmaine very much (even though for half of the novel, I misread her name and was wondering why on earth Jones named her ‘Chairman’). Even though I couldn’t help but shake my head at her spoiled-ness, she’s got a spunky personality and she loves books! She, along with Waif and Peter, make an adorable trio of characters. I think the bickering Charmaine and Peter have is too cute, like real children.

I must admit, I found the first bit of novel where Charmaine is alone in the house and Peter has not arrived yet was a bit dull, but it picks up quickly. I was just as curious as Charmaine, I wanted to know the secrets to Great Uncle William’s house too and that’s what kept me going, there are so many lovely magical things in and around the house. When Sophie, “Twinkle” and Morgan were introduced (or rather, re-introduced?), that’s when the book got a firmer hold on me and I blazed through the rest of the story. I just love how the book manages to be funny without going over the top, and really, it truly is a magical story.

I do not think of this as a real “sequel” to Howl’s Moving Castle, however. You can read this book without having to read the first, given that Sophie and Howl’s role in the story is so much smaller, and it is set in a slightly different place, with many new characters. I admit, it was a bit disappointing for a sequel since hardly anything from the first book was mentioned, but as a stand-alone novel, it’s a very nice read.

My Rating: 4/5