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Summary: Just Another Great Novel She Has Written
Review: Just as she has done in many of her novels, Jones cleverly animates the life of the young hero in Charmed Life. In all her stories, she demonstates the ability to take the reader around many obvious turns before they know the real truth. She does this in the life of young Cat, a unsuspecting magician in the making. She paints the average life of an unaverage boy. And she kept me going throughout the book, oblivious to the dark aspects of several of the other characters, and what the eventual outcome of the story would be. The presence of the patriarcal hero Crestomanci should indicate to anyone familiar with Jones' work that this one is another great read. I began reading Jones in junior high school, and continue to do so now that I am past college. Charmed Life is another of her books that I pick up and reread when I am between books. I have read all the Harry Potter books and loved each one. But in the back of my mind, I know that it was Diana Wynne Jones that originally inspired within me all the reasons that I all love Harry. Anyone will agree with me if they give Jones a chance. I also highly reccomend Howl's moving Castle, The Lives of Christopher Chant(especially for Harry Potter fans), Dogsbody, and Eight days of Luke (my personal favorite).
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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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Summary: Charmed Life
Review: Charmed Life, by: Diana Wynne Jones is about two siblings, Gwendolen and Eric(nicknamed Cat)Chant. When these two children were quite young, their parents died while cruising on a boat. Gwendolen cannot drown because she's a witch. With Cat knowing this, he grabbed on to her. They were one of the few people who survived the disaster. Funds were started for the people who survived. The other people that survived took the money in their funds and went to go live somewhere else. Only Gwendolen and Cat stayed. They both decided to live with Mrs. Sharp, an old witch that lived nearby. Before they moved in with her, they went back home to collect their belongings. At Mrs. Sharp's, they all started looking for any belongings that were valuable to trade in for witch lessons for Gwendolen from Mr. Nostrum, a necromancer. They found Gwendolen and Cat's mother's diamond earrings, but Gwendolen snatched them out of Mrs. Sharp's hands. Besides that, they found three letters all with the same signature. The letters were all signed by Chrestomanci. Not knowing who this person was, they traded in the three letters for witch lessons from Mr. Nostrum. As Gwendolen became a proud student by Mr. Nostrum, Cat didn't. Cat was not a witch nor a warlock or any sort of magic-doer of any sort, at least that's what everyone thought. Mrs. Sharp decided to have him take violin lessons. One day while Cat was practicing, Gwendolen came storming in from next door and turned Cat's violin into a cat. The cat yowled and hissed just like a bad-playing violin would sound. They named the cat Fiddle. A couple days later, Gwendolen came in very happy. She said they were going to live with Chrestomanci. When they got to Chrestomanci Castle, they unpacked and got their rooms assigned to them. The next day, Gwendolen and Cat started their first lessons from Mr. Saunders, their magic teacher. Gwendolen soon found that not only was witchcraft about magic, it was also about the history of it. Since she was not allowed to do magic without an adult's supervision, she thought she would try and show Chrestomanci how great her magical abilities were. After having gone too far, Gwendolen got her witchcraft taken away by Mr. Saunders. The next day, they found that she was gone and instead another girl was in her place. Her name was Janet. She looked extremely similar to Gwendolen. Cat soon also found that he was an enchanter, just like Chrestomanci. He also had 9 lives to spare like Chrestomanci as well. These kinds of people were extremely rare. Janet decided to stay at Chrestomanci Castle, while Gwendolen was off being queen in another world.
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Summary: An emtertaining story
Review: Cat looks up to his sister Gwendolyn more than anyone else. It's prefectly obvious why, she's a very powerful witch. And ever since the two sibling's parents died Cat has clung to her every day. And when he's sent to llive with Mrs. Sharp, all she wants to do is nourish Gwendolyn's gift. But when there sent to live with the fabled Chrestomanci Gwendolyn is more or less put in her place. SHe is not allowed to pratice witchcraft. SO she sets up into proving the Chrestomanci wrong and porving that she is the most powerful one of them all. But Cat know's what his sister is capable of and when she dose something so powerful, he's the one who has to fix it.Like many people I found the title of this book on a online list called "what to read after Harry Potter." When I read this I was very entertained. Cat's story is thrilling and suspenceful. I reccomend this book to fans of fantasy books such as Harry Potter and/or Tamora Pierce. Though it's not as good as JK Rowling's creations it's definatly a novel any fantasy lover should put in their collection. I'm planning on reading the other four novels in the series too. Read it you won't be dissapointed.
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Summary: Perfectly charming
Review: In my opinion, Diana Wynne Jones is simply one of the best YA fantasy writers out there. She ranks right up there with Lloyd Alexander and Philip Pullman. The intelligence and creativity of her work is consistently remarkable, and Charmed Life is a wonderful example of the scope of her imagination and plots. Charmed Life, an entry in the Chrestomanci series (which can be read in any order without any knowledge of the others--others include Witch Week, The Lives of Christopher Chant, The Magicians of Caprona), is a charming British YA fantasy that far predates the Harry Potter mania. Fans of Harry Potter might like this; it has a similar enough plot--young orphaned boy with awful relatives is taken to a place where his talents can begin to expand. Young Eric, familiarly known as Cat, even slides around on magic mirrors (as opposed to magic broomsticks). However, Charmed Life is in every way superior to the Harry Potter books. For instance, the world's concept is much more profound and interesting. The world Cat inhabits is one in which magic abounds and technology is a bit backward-- not this world as we have known it at any point in time. Rather, it's a version of our world had key events been changed. (For example, a possible alternate world would be if Napoleon had succeeded in his campaigns. We would probably live in a world with a primary language of French.) Secondly, again unlike the HP books, there are no completely evil characters. Diana Wynne Jones has a talent for creating idiosyncratic, realistic people, and even those who are...less than wonderful, have their moments of niceness. And even the 'nice' people have their faults. Good doesn't always automatically win, and Cat is hardly a faultless protagonist. Diana Wynne Jones takes common themes and imbues them with so much life and color and humor that the result-- Charmed Life (among many others) is compulsively likable. Who else could successfully mix enchanters, shrieking furniture, violin-turned-cats, maid-turned-frogs, silverware, family mysteries, alternate worlds, adventure and wit save a master magician such as Diana Wynne Jones? If you haven't read anything by her but like your fantasies good and British with dizzyingly intricate plots, do try her work. I particularly recommend Howl's Moving Castle, Hexwood, and, of course, Charmed Life. These are books that deserve to be read...and reread...and reread... Ailanna
Rating: 
Summary: Charmed Life
Review: In Charmed Life Eric -nicknamed Cat- is always being pushed aside by his much more magically able sister Gwendolen who is the only remaining member of his family. After their parents died Gwendolen and Cat go to live with a witch named Mrs. Sharp who takes a keen interest in Gwendolen's magical abilities. Since Cat can't do magic to save his life she is far less interested in him. After a few years of Gwendolen taking magic lessons Chrestomanci, who is the most powerful enchanter in the world, takes an interest in the siblings and sends for them to come and live with him at his castle. But there is something strange about this castle and it inhabitants. Gwendolen claims that this castle is ruining her witchcraft abilities. Is it smart to take revenge on the most powerful enchanter in the world? I thought this was a wonderful book and it was almost impossible to know what was going to happen next.
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Summary: Engaging
Review: Children's fantasy has enjoyed a renaissance with the rise of Harry Potter, and it was through that renaissance that I discovered the books of Diana Wynne Jones. While J.K. Rowling is still the far superior plotter, and the Harry Potter books are more interesting and more skillfully paced, the work of Diana Wynne Jones is engaging enough. Charmed Life is the story of Cat Chant, a sweet boy who lives in the shadow of his strong-willed sister Gwendolen. When their parents die in a boat accident, Gwendolen comes into her own, and as her personality and magic powers expand, Cat seems to contract to make room for her. For a time, the orphaned siblings live with a witch who arranges for Gwendolen to receive magic lessons from a necromancer, but they are later sent off to live with the great enchanter Chrestomanci, who seeks to curb Gwendolen's megalomanic tendencies. Naturally, Gwendolen does not take kindly to this, and drags the blindly loyal Cat with her through no end of trouble, leading to a showdown with Chrestomanci himself. For some reason, I never got into the books of Diana Wynne Jones as deeply as I did into J.K. Rowling's. Even after reading three of the four Chrestomanci novels, I developed none of the sense of familiarity and identification I have with the world of Harry Potter. Moreover, to borrow from Roger Ebert, the Chrestomanci novels lack "the confident forward sweep of a [book] that knows where it's going." When I try to describe the plot, the word that comes most readily to mind is "clunky." But the characters, especially Chrestomanci, are interesting and attractive--for all that I remain strangely detached from their feelings and fates, they make me want to read on and find out what happens next.
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Summary: Diana Wynne Jones is the best!
Review: Charmed Life is the greatest book by the greatest of all children's fantasy authors. Head and shoulders above Harry Potter. Eric (also known as "Cat") is someone with whom you sympathize from the very first page. His sister Gwendolyn is also sympathetic, but.... well, you'll find out. There's a standard rule of drama that a new major character can't be introduced past the midpoint of a book. Whenever I hear that rule, I think of this book.... I don't think the author of that rule had this in mind! One word of warning: This book is marketed as "the first book of the Chrestomanci series." But this isn't really a "series" at all -- these books really are independent of each other.
Rating:
Summary: Luv it!
Review: This is a great book! When my friend requested the Year of the Griffin, I loved it and saw in the library there was millions of books by the same author. It's about shy Cat Chant and his sister. Their parents die and they first get sent to this old lady. Cat's sister, Gwendolen, takes magic lessons.And to pay for the lessons they found letters with the signiture Chretomanci. Later he adopts them, but they don't know why. Oh yes, and Gwendolen hates Chrestomanci and does these bad things to him. Find out more if you read it! Great read!
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Summary: A Classic for all ages
Review: Long before Harry Potter there was Cat Chant. This book is enormously appealing and well written for people of all ages, though it is aimed towards children. I first read it when I was around 13, and I've continued to enjoy it since. It's the the story of a pair of young orphans Cat and Gwen Chant who are sent to live with an old friend of their fathers after their parents death. They discover much about magic and themselves (at least Cat does) in this lively and well written book. This is not the only book by this author set in this magical universe, but in some ways it's still my favourite after all these years. One more short story featuring Cat can be found in the author's book "mixed magics".
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