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Summary: More magical delights from Diana Wynne Jones
Review: Diana Wynne Jones has been turning out first rate children's fantasy for years, and this is one of her best. I'm still amazed that more Harry Potter starved fans aren't demanding instant reprints of her works. Here too a boy discovers that he appears to have more talent than he thought. He also discovers that his sister's talents are quite what they seem either, as both of them are taken to live with Chrestomanci (a top public official) to learn more about the world of high magic. This is a quirky, well-written, very entertaining book with more than one surprise before the end. Now that adult readers are discovering how much fun children's books can be, they should be beating a path to Diana Wynne Jones' door, begging for more.
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Summary: An absolutely brilliant book!
Review: Diana Wynne Jones has totally surpassed herself in this book. I couldn't put it down, as the tension built up towards the end as Cat began to find out about Gwendolen. I consider it a classic, and one which everyone should read. I tried to read all the rest of her "Chrestomanci" series - and I have! I love this book!!!!
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Summary: A Skewed View
Review: Diana Wynne Jones is one of my favorite writers, and I think I've read her entire ouevre. I really admire and enjoy the skewed way she mixes references to contemporary British society with whacked-out fantasy, bad puns and truly numinous mythic resonances...I've found her novels to be caught in the netherworld between Intermediate Fiction and YA Fiction, but I consider that a good place to be---it's like she writes the book that needs writing instead of worrying about its ultimate age-appropriate audience, and this may be why she's not more widely-known in the US... Too many folks insist on easy-to-categorize books for younger readers, and hers are anything but easily categorized. Charmed Life was one of the first Jones novels I read, and it remains one of my favorites. In a Britain very close to our world's Britain, but with the rather important difference of magic-users being commonplace rather than legendary, a mild-mannered young boy named Cat is coping with his aggressively-talented sister, his orphan state, his left-handedness...and his process of self-discovery is a wild ride and a wonderful read. Highly-recommended.
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Summary: Very Good
Review: Eric Chant and his sister Gwendolen go to live with Chrestomanci after their parents death. But Gwendolen is planing to take over the world! What happens is exciting and magical. I loved it!
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Summary: A Charming Book!
Review: Eric Chant, better known as Cat, is an orphan. He and his sister Gwendolen, who is a powerful witch, live with Mrs. Sharp until Chrestomanci comes to take them away. Cat and Gwendolen have a hard time settling into the Chrestomanci Castle, but soon, Cat finds that Julia and Roger, Chrestomanci's children, are rather quite fun to play with. He also discovers that Millie, their mother, is a splendidly nice person. However, Gwendolen feels miffed that no one in Chrestomanci Castle bends to her every whim or praises her as the most powerful person alive. So she sets out to prove that she is a witch to be reckoned with. Playing a number of tricks on Chrestomanci Castle, including turning the stained glass windows of the church to life, Gwendolen finally goes too far and gets her magic taken away. Imagine Cat's surprise, when, the next morning, he finds a Gwendolen look-a-like in Gwendolen's room who knows as little about the switch as Cat does himself. Cat, trying to avoid the trouble that he knows would be caused if Chrestomanci found that Gwendolen had bewitched herself to another world (which is what she had done), is in for a bumpy ride trying to handle the multitude of messes that Gwendolen has left him to deal with. I suggest you jump on in and join him! This book is well-written, and interesting. I have read it several times, and enjoy it more with each read.
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Summary: An absolute treasure for kids...or just about anyone.
Review: First read this book maybe 15 years ago and never forgot it. It sticks out in my mind as one of the best children's books ever, but it's got amazing ideas and details and sub-plots that you think about again, even when you're older -- I still enjoy reading this book every so often. It's got everything - magic, adventure, philosophy, sibling rivalry, and just all around excellent story-telling. There are other books now that play on the theme of magic and have become v. popular but I haven't yet read one to equal this. Also liked the prequel a lot.
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Summary: BETTER than Harry Potter
Review: First things first. I love fantasy. I read everything fantasy that I can get my hands on. I search libraries high and low for good fantasy novels. I discovered Diana Wynne Jones long before Harry Potter came out and was entranced by the world of Chrestomanci. Then the Harry Potter books came out and I read them. I enjoyed them very much, but they are not in any way comparable to the Chrestomanci or Dalemark quartets by Diana Wynne Jones. I have read articles in newspapers saying that Diana's books are good to read while waiting for thhe next Harry Potter book to come out or that her books are ALMOST as good as Harry Potter. Diana is not getting the credit she deserves. Maybe I am biased because I am annoyed with Harry Potter Mania, but I have read Diana's books over and over, enjoying them every time, and that is more than I can say about Harry Potter. No offense to J.K. Rowlings. Anyway, Charmed Life is a spectacular book. It is not my favorite in the series(I'm not sure what the best book in the series is),but it is a wonderful example of Diana's spectacular writing skills. Cat's parent's died in a tragic boating accident when he was very young and his older sister Gwendolen and he are given into the care of a witch named Mrs. Sharp. Then a mysterious and elegant man called Chrestomanci who may or may not be an enchanter takes them to live with him and his children, Julia and Roger. Cat looks up enormously Gwendolen and is extremely loyal to her, so when she takes dislike to Chrestomanci after he forbids her to do witchcraft and begins plotting nasty things to do to him, Cat just watches. Cat feels betrayed and is devastated when Gwendolen leaves his world in a fit of rage and drags a girl from another world to replace her. What happens then is for you to find out when you read the book.
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Summary: "Charmed Life" is excellent reading.
Review: I absolutly loved this book. It is my favorite book ever, and no matter how many times I read it I always read it for the first time, excited about whether Cat will save the world again. If you haven't read this book, you should. I am a big fan of Diana Wynne Jones, and read every one her books in the library. She takes you into her world and makes you belive that all is real. I couldn't put it down. The prequel, "The Lives of Christopher Chant" is also a favorite of mine. I highly reccomend Diana Wynne Jones.
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Summary: Fabulous book blending magic with mundanity
Review: I am now 26 and read this book for the first time when I was 11 or 12--and then kept rereading it. I have always remembered it as one of my favorite books. Wynne Jones (who has never, to my knowledge, written a bad book) expertly blends magic into the more everyday concerns of losing parents, sibling rivalry, and apparent talentlessness. Her "message" comes through with a light touch and her deadpan treatment of the domestic use of magic (like objects that shout for help when they're stolen) is terrific. I just wish Wynne Jones would get the kind of attention accorded to the Harry Potter series, because children are losing out. I am looking forward to rereading this with my future children someday.
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Summary: There's only one word to describe this book-incredible
Review: I bought this book some ten years or so ago. It was my favourite book for about five years until I leant it to a "friend" who liked it so much that she never gave it back. I'm so happy that this book is back in print because I still yearn to read it. Which goes to show just what an absolutely amazing book this is and this isn't even my favourite DWJ book. That, incidentally is Dogsbody which was also stolen. Anyway back to the review, this book has everthing for lovers of fantasy and magic alike:- parallel worlds, extra lives, spoilt megalomaniac children and of course lots and lots of magic. It is one of the Chrestomanci books and I recommend that anybody who reads and loves this book, should also try reading The Lives of Christopher Chant, Witch Week and The Magicians of Caprona by the same author. I have read the other reviews and what has struck me is that every reviewer seems to have read all of her other books, as have I. Diana Wynne-Jones has a knack of creating such warm, real characters and writes with a lot of humour. She is the kind of author who inspires such loyalty from her readers. Go on-read this book. We can't all be wrong!
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