The dazzling return of Diana Wynne Jones! A world full of unpredictable events, clever twists, and thrilling magic. Fantasy literature master Diana Wynne Jones returns to readers after five years with the third book in the Howl's Moving Castle series. Written while the author was battling cancer, this novel bursts with the same vivid imagination that never faded even through illness, creating lively characters full of humor and heart that captivate readers from start to finish. Feeling almost like a grand finale movement heralding the series' conclusion, this story unfolds in the same setting as the first two books—Ingary, in the land of High Norland, where Howl's moving castle resides. While Book 1 told the story of the wizard Howl and Sophie's meeting and the adventures that followed, and Book 2 followed Howl and Sophie as they helped the carpet merchant Abdullah rescue his beloved princess from a demon, Book 3 centers on Charmain, a bookworm girl who lives with her nose buried in books, as she experiences a wild and delightful coming-of-age adventure while staying at her great-great-uncle the wizard's house—all while Sophie and Howl work to defeat a band of villains. Now settled into family life as parents to a young child, Howl and Sophie haven't lost a bit of their signature charm: Howl remains the eternally immature yet devastatingly handsome charmer, and Sophie is still the one fiercely keeping him in line. Their three-year-old son Morgan, who has inherited both of their personalities in full, adds his own irresistible burst of childhood energy to the story. Readers who found themselves wanting more of Howl in Book 2 will be utterly charmed here, as he transforms into an angelic toddler named Twinkle, babbling in a lisping baby voice just to tease and exasperate Sophie. The vivid supporting cast the author creates keeps readers guessing where the story will go next, adding to the fun at every turn: Waif, the small white magical dog gifted by fairies; Peter, the accident-prone apprentice always causing chaos; Aunt Sempronia, who can't hide her unmistakable witchy powers; the small blue-skinned kobolds; the terrifying purple-skinned lubbocks, who lay eggs in their victims and consume them from within until death; the lubbockins, offspring of the lubbocks; and the Witch of Montalbino. Each brings their own story and larger-than-life personality, weaving tension, laughter, twists, and heartfelt moments throughout. When the tangled threads of these characters' stories come together seamlessly at the climax, the author's masterful storytelling shines once again. Humor, rich magic, astonishing imagination that conjures another world, and thrills full of twists and wit await. One day, Charmain is asked by her Aunt Sempronia to look after the house of her ailing great-great-uncle. Her mother, Mrs. Baker, isn't so sure it's a good idea, but Charmain—tired of her dull routine shuttling between home and school—secretly celebrates the chance to leave home. When she finally arrives at Great-Uncle William's house, it looks ordinary at first glance, but everything in it is enchanted. William, the Royal Wizard of High Norland, leaves that very afternoon with fairies sent by the king to seek treatment for his illness, leaving Charmain alone and utterly lost—she can't even find the bathroom in the strange, magically folded house. To make matters worse, the kobolds who normally handle all of Great-Uncle William's housework have gone on strike, tricked by a lubbock's scheme. Charmain, who has never so much as washed a dish let alone cooked a meal, watches in confusion as the house grows messier by the day. The one saving grace for this stubborn bookworm is that Great-Uncle William's house holds more books than she could read in a lifetime! But there's another obstacle: Peter, William's clumsy and accident-prone apprentice. Peter knows how to do laundry, cleaning, and dishes, but any time he tries to use magic, disaster follows. Trying to get hot water running, he drills holes all over the pipes and floods the entire house; attempting to dry clothes, he ends up singeing off not just his hair but his eyebrows too. As a result, Charmain spends far more time cleaning up after Peter's mishaps than she does quietly reading. Meanwhile, the King of High Norland finds himself in crisis over gold coins that keep mysteriously disappearing...