Rating: 
Summary: A GREAT BOOK!
Review: I don't think there's a children's author living today that has as great a grasp on twist endings as Ms. Diana Wynne Jones. Jones has the dubious honor of being my current favorite fantasy writer for children and teens (aside from J.K. Rowling, I suppose). Her collected stories contain more whimsy and wit in a single paragraph than 98% of the adult books on the market today, let alone those for the kiddies. "Charmed Life" is the first in the collected Chrestomanci novel series. A witty tale of a brother and is magical sister, the book is pure Jones and as fresh as if it was written yesterday.
Cat and his sister Gwendolen were the only survivors of the fatal boat crash that drowned both their parents and a host of innocent civilians. Now on their own, Gwendolen is turning out to be an incredibly competent young witch. Cat, for his part, isn't magical in the least and is perfectly content to stick by Gwendolen at all times. When a mysterious relative by the name of Chrestomanci comes to take the two to his home, Gwendolen (spoiled with a nasty sense of entitlement) thinks she's about to be realized as the genius sorceress she truly is. She's in for a nasty surprise as Chrestomanci and his large extended family treat her as normally as possible. When Gwendolen's pranks for attention go too far, Cat finds that her schemes might well upset the balance of magic in the world. Worse, she may not be the beloved sister he really needs.
This story has all sorts of tiny magical details and sly spots throughout it. In many ways it's a book more similar to Harry Potter than most. Of course, "Charmed Life" originally was published in 1977 so there's little question of who may have influenced whom. The characters are, of course, great. Jones has always excelled at writing truly awful children. Real remarkably spoiled brats. Gwendolen is a perfect example of this. She's stuck-up, cruel, and not a very good sister. Cat, for his part, is completely passive. He lets Gwendolen do whatever she wants whenever she wants it, and even goes so far as to miss her when she unexpectedly disappears halfway through the book. Chrestomanci himself is a huge departure from the stereotypical wise wizard. He has a very nice wife and two slightly overweight (but likable once you get to know them) children. He's a spiffy dresser and not particularly old. I doubt that there are many like him in the fantasy wizard world.
If there's a flaw with the book, it's that the reader has a hard time suspending disbelief at times. Once Cat finds himself in terrible trouble, he refuses to consult with Chrestomanci. The reasons for this are weak and somewhat confusing. Also, Chrestomanci himself is also prone to not explaining himself. He has a particularly weak reason for this as he explains at the end of the novel, making many of the plot points somewhat hard to believe at times.
Otherwise, the book's a pip. If you've already discovered Diana Wynne Jones, this one should certainly not disappoint. If you've never encountered her before, this is an excellent place to start. It's witty and well-written and full of particularly enjoyable characters and situations. There's enough imagination in this puppy to tide you over for quite some time. A true Jones creation.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Start to a Fantastic Fantasy Series
Review: Young Eric "Cat" Chant, doesn't mind the fact that he must live within the shadow of his older sister, Gwendolen, who is known as the most promising young witch on Coven Street. After all, she was the one who stuck by him when their parents were killed in a boating accident, and if it weren't for Gwendolen, Cat surely would have died. But he grabbed onto his loving sister, and due to the fact that witches can float, he floated away with her. However, the young orphans are soon summoned by Chrestomanci. A powerful sorcerer, who wants them to live within the walls of Chrestomanci Castle. Gwendolen, frustrated at the fact that Chrestomanci pays no attention whatsoever to the powers that she possesses, she decides to conjure of a tremendous scheme. One that has the power to destroy all the worlds of Chrestomanci.
In this first book in the wonderful CHRESTOMANCI series, Diane Wynne Jones proves the point that she can write absolutely amazing fantasy for children/teens. Her characters, are in-depth, and enchanting, and carry themselves wonderfully throughout the entire novel. Cat is somewhat of a shy character, who is easily taken advantage of by his older, bossier sister, Gwendolen; while Gwendolen is spoiled, and conceited, and filled with tons of rage that shines through at many times throughout CHARMED LIFE; Chrestomanci is portrayed as a scary human being, but at times can also reveal a softer side. All the characters combined create one non-stop joy ride that will have the reader trying to figure out what will happen next. Filled with wonderful surprises contained on every page, this is sure to be a hit with all.
Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
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.
Rating:
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.
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