Sophie and her sisters and ready to be sent out into the world on their own after their father dies and leaves their family hat shop to their stepmother. As the eldest, Sophie is set to continue making hats of the highest reputation, even if it doesn’t interest her too much. One evening a strange client puts a curse on her and she wakes up as an elderly woman. Leaving home before he condition is discovered, Sophie seeks a new life high in the hills on the mysterious moving castle of notorious wizard Howl, he who is known throughout the land to steal young girls’ hearts and leave devastation in his wake.
In this British-ish world of wizards and witches, curses and love spells, Sophie is on a mission to break her curse and help those around her in the new life she finds herself in.
As a big fan of the Studio Ghibli adaptation, it was a joy to read the quite different source material by children’s fantasy powerhouse Wynne Jones.
Ages 11+
- Erin
