Howl’s Moving Castle. Diana Wynne Jones. 1986.
Middle grade. Children’s fantasy. Fairytale parody.
A cursed young lady is transformed into an old woman and must move into a vain wizard’s magical, walking castle, only to become entangled in his bargain with a fire demon and his battle with a witch.
The story is told (in third person close) from the perspective of the sharply observant and unfailingly funny Sophie Hatter who is aware she is aware of her place in this fairytale and is resigned to the fate of her assigned trope.
It is a shift in this voice—when the young girl becomes a cranky old lady—that gives this story its highly irreverent vibe, making it funny on one level for its middle grade audience and on another level for the adults who may be enjoying the story beside them.
Howl’s Moving Castle was made into a film directed by Hayao Miyazaki in 2004. It is one of the most commercially successful Japanese films of all time.
AUTHORS – I write short book reviews that focus on voice and vibe. They are useful to querying authors searching for comp titles. There are more like this on my website.