A book written by Diana
Wynne Jones, published in 1986. It's an
amazing fantasy story, taking place in a country called Ingary. The main character is Sophie
Hatter, who is turned into an old woman by the Witch of the Waste. Sophie sets out to seek her fortune, which leads her to getting involved with the terrible Wizard Howl. This book has an amazing way of grabbing you and making you forget about the plot, until you get to the ending and everything ties together. It seems a little simple, but you'll soon realize that after every
reread you pick up extra bits of information.
Howl's Moving Castle was made into an animated film by
Hayao Miyazaki in 2004. Real fans of the book will tell you that the movie was good by itself, but strayed to far from the book, and the book was infinitely better. The only things the same between the book and the movie is the basic premise and four out of seven of the main characters' names. The last two-thirds of the movie were completely different from the book. Still, don't bash the movie, because Diana Wynne Jones said herself that it was good that the movie was very different from the book.