Sophie is a young girl with an old soul, and when her father dies she starts helping her stepmother with their hat shop. One day the Witch of the Waste drops by the hat shop and casts a spell on Sophie that turns her into an old woman. Tired of wasting her life, and since she hasn't much left to live anyway, Sophie decides to seek her fortune and that's when she meets the moving castle of wizard Howl. It is said that Howl eats the hearts of young girls, but the castle looks cosy and Sophie is now old, so she decides she has nothing left to lose and enters the castle.

I love Miyazaki's movie, and even though it was based on this book, in my heart they are two different stories. I love this book so much, it just gets better every time I read it. Every child should know about this trilogy and have it read aloud by their parents. It's beautiful to read the way the characters evolve and their witty interactions. The plot is intricate, and the fact that Howl and Sophie are living the same story but would tell it completely different in their heads is amazing. This book is a must read to anyone who believes in magic, adults included.