Howl's Moving Castle follows Sophie, who works in her stepmother's hat shop. She is the oldest sister, which means that she is destined never to find fortune and live a dull life. One day, her stepmother decides to send her sisters off to apprenticeships to get them better lives. Lettie is sent to work in a local bakery, Martha is sent to learn witchcraft under Annabel Fairfax, and Sophie is kept at the hat shop to apprentice under her stepmother. One day, the Witch of the Waste wanders in, mistaking Sophie for her sister Lettie. Thinking that she's withholding information from her about the wizard Howl, she curses Sophie, making her look old. Wanting to break the curse, Sophie treks out of her town and to the hills, hoping to get Howl's help breaking the curse.
Each of the characters had a distinct personality. They all had reasons for nearly every choice that made complete sense for their character. They were all endearing, though in different ways, and you can't hate any of them.
I really like this book. The narration was engaging, and the writing was good, too. The descriptions were easy to follow while still painting a beautiful, intricate picture. The characters' dialogue was funny, whether intentional or not. The magic system was easy to follow, though the intricacies of exactly how it worked needed to be explained. Overall, I liked it a lot.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes books mainly focused on character development, enjoys non-complicated magic systems, and may want a more toned-down enemies-to-lovers relationship.