If I had to describe "Howl's Moving Castle" in one word, it would be this: heartwarming. If you've seen the anime movie adaption, you're familiar with the story: Sophie is turned into an old women by the Witch of the Waste, and sets out, finding herself in the Wizard Howl's Castle. She ends up staying out of sheer will and stubbornness, and eventually is accepted as a part of the household by Howl, the wizard-in-training Michael, and Calicifer, the fire-demon who lives in the fireplace. The story book itself holds more characters and details, and reads like a fairy-tale. This is probably the reason why it took longer than usual for me to finish it, but I enjoyed it nonetheless, especially the ending. I think my favorite thing about this book would be (slight spolier-ish thing ahead) that Sophie is also magic; it's not about a poor regular girl with Wizard Howl (although no doubt Sophie could have held her own without magic) and as the story goes on she deals with the implications of Sophie's power. The whole story is definitely worth a read, and I recommend it wholeheartedly. I can't wait to read the other books that follow this one.