A kid's fantasy novel about a young woman who's been suddenly aged 70 years by an evil witch. A quick and fun read, but I was struck by the overwhelming passivity of Sophie, the hero. This is the most passive, do-nothing protagonist since Clay in Less Than Zero. You keep wanting to yell at her to get up and act against all of the indignities that are heaped onto her. Outside of that, the settings in the book (including the Moving Castle itself) and the supporting characters of Howl the Sorceror and the hearth-dwelling fire demon draw you through the story. I'm not sure I'm recommending this book as a book, but I'll definitely be in line next year when Hayao Miyazaki's animated feature film is released.