4 stars
A remarkable tale of an orphaned girl who winds up in the care of two rather strange individuals. Diana Wynne Jones’ writing is wonderful. She creates such amazing worlds, which I love visiting. This book is home to a cast of odd characters from the reluctant familiar, Thomas, to the easy-to-anger mandrake, and of course the always disagreeable blue-haired witch.
A fun book filled with mischief. I find I have a soft-spot for girls who aren’t overly concerned with being polite and Earwig is just that. She’s not afraid to go after what she wants and to work her own form of magic on those around her.
The recent Studio Ghibli adaptation sticks closely to the original source material and does a wonderful job capturing the essence of these unique characters.
An entertaining read that is engaging and fun. It is difficult to judge the book on its own. There are certainly questions left unanswered, but given it was published after the author’s death, we can’t quite know if Jones had other plans for Earwig. Excited to see what the Ghibli sequel brings to the universe, but as is, this book was splendid fun.