Howl's Moving Castle, Chapters 16-21

[Prof. Sky Alton]

Typical, I break my neck to get here and I find you peacefully tidying up

Here we’ll be discussing the remaining chapters of Howl’s Moving Castle (16 through 21) as well as the book as a whole.

The end of the book is certainly a wild ride of resolutions, explanations and possibilities. Do you like when all the loose ends get tied up so neatly? As for our colourful cast of characters: Sophie claims that Howl has barely changed at all. Would you agree? How about Sophie herself, is she free of being ‘the eldest of three’? Finally, what did you think of the book as a whole?

Even here, don’t forget to use spoiler tags to avoid ruining any of those resolutions for anyone else.

[Prof. Tarma Amelia Black]

What a satisfying conclusion to the story.Some of the story events encountered in these last chapters were a surprise, some were (so I thought) sort of pointed at during earlier parts of the book (I thought this even in the first reading of the book) and some were just a sheer joy to read.

How strange that scarecrow person turned out to be! I would NEVER have guessed it at all. Nope.

I think that Sophie probably profited greatly by this experience, if only to get rid of the shreds and chains of how she was programmed to 'be' while a child growing up. She had an unusual opportunity to find out who she is, inside, and act it out. Become it. What fun! Now to retain that when returned to her proper age.

Howl? ... Howl isn't my favorite person and yet, I can see that he had his reasons for doing as he did. Sort of ...

I just liked it! A good story, imaginative, and with all the "loose ends" very neatly tied up!

[Shiloh Adlar]

I don't know about certain parts of this book. It was strange adding the modern world in and then not really exploring it as one of the ends to the story... unless I missed something.

Howl does seem like his usual self though I think part of his true self was hidden to protect the others.

As far as Sophie, she learned a lot about herself and her use of magic and about thinking things through more before acting on an emotional whim.

I like how the end boiled down to a person's heart. I'm also glad that Calcifer came back. I love Calcifer. And everything is mostly tied up neatly
I suppose but Miss Angorrian was a shock. I knew there was a twist with the scarecrow from the movie but I guess I forgot about the other fire demon?

Anyway, I liked it but I didn't get to enjoy it as much as I would have liked given my schedule right now. Perhaps I'll read it again later on.

[Silas Hipolito Crist]

The final battle... never expected that the horse was going to comment the battle and help Howl with advice. But it happens.
The way that wizard and witch are fighting in the story is also very interesting; they are trying to fool each other by illusions.
It was so intense when moving the Calcifer and when both Howl and fire demon were so weakened. The surprise shook me when Calcifer told Sophie that he was once fallen star. Imagine that she and Michael would have caught that poor falling star. So sad to watch Sophie when she is back in her old house and with mixed feelings; the differences are only age and that she is now selling flowers. I never thought that Miss Angorian would be such a trouble, luckily Sophie was smart enough to send her away quickly. Never thought that Howl knew Sophie was under the curse and always acted to her like she was really old.This is a little mean from him but is also good that he was keeping care for her by making her pain much smaller and so on. It was so emotional meeting and I was so happy that Fanny was something else that it was expected. Really surprised that Fanny recognized Sophie even when she was like ninety years old.
And then it was the Sullivan and Prince both parted; amazing idea and I really respect Witch of Waste for getting such a great inspiration.

[Prof. Kendra Givens]

I found myself audibly going "ooh" "what?" "OH!" through the entire last few chapters of the book. Granted, this stretch of the book was probably the longest stretch of continuous reading of the story that I had. I agree with Shiloh here, I'd love to read it over again and read it in larger chunks. That being said, I always thought there was something more to Mrs. Angorian, but I never expected her to be the witch's demon. I think Sophie was able to reflect a lot more at the end, with the amount of "ugh I didn't think it through again" she went through, or realizing that Howl had never really been bad to her, in spite of his peculiar, quirky personality.

All that being said, the best part was that Calcifer came back. Perfect ending.