If we were rating on vibes alone, this book would get five stars, easily. The writing was so cozy and charming. Howl and Sophie, and really all the characters are so well-written and lovable, even for all their flaws. 

I truly do not understand why I had so much trouble following the plot! I mean, this book is literally for children; it’s considered a middle grade fantasy. 13 year-olds are grasping this story and apparently I couldn’t! 

There’s just SO much going on. The missing prince/wizard plus the Witch of the Waste and her curse on Howl (the parameters of which, I still don’t really get—it was taken from lines of a poem? Or something? But like when and how did she place it on him and how does it actually give her power over him?) plus Sophie’s curse plus Howl and Calcifer’s contract plus… Wales? 

There’s so many curses and characters under curses that I had trouble keeping straight. I just felt like I needed to have a whiteboard handy so that I could map out all the characters, their curses, and their connections to one another, etc.

I’m still fuzzy on Lettie’s association with the dog-man? And I know both he and the scarecrow are like, patchwork pieces of both Suliman and Prince Justin but I’m still a bit lost about that. Suliman’s skull was the one in Howl’s castle? How did it end up there?

And why was Miss Angorian (who is apparently the Witch’s fire demon? Huh?) working as a school teacher to Howl’s nephew in Wales? Like I’m SO LOST!!!