A whimsical story with sorcerers and witches, and a girl who rewrites her destiny. Sophie believes she is to be a hatter, and inherit her family’s hat shop. But she is unexpectedly cursed by the rather nasty Witch of the Waste to be an old lady. Determined to undo her fate, she seeks out the enigmatic wizard Howl, and his moving castle. Inside, she encounters the sarcastic fire-demon Calcifer, and Howl’s apprentice Michael.
She settles down to life within the moving castle, working as a cleaning lady, and discovers that Howl is not the heartless monster rumours portray. While he is vain and sidesteps responsibility, he possesses hidden depths. Sophie’s presence brings order and warmth to the castle, and she uncovers her own inner strength and the true meaning of home and love in the process.
On the surface, the book is a straight-forward coming of afe story, but there are hidden depths to every character in the book. There are some characters who are introduced late and end up being key to the plot, and the ending seems a bit rushed, but on the whole, the book was very enjoyable.