Thursday, February 22, 2007

Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones

This was a most curious book. I couldn't put it down but when I got to the end there were so many loose ends still... I wish I hadn't read it. I usually don't read books about witches and stuff but a friend said this was a good book. It was creative and fun but it never really cleared up a few mysterious details.

A girl and a boy are orphaned. They live on a different world then the world we know. Witches and warlocks are quite common. The girl is Gwendolen and she is Cat's sister. She is a very powerful witch. He doesn't seem to be able to do any magic.

One day they get adopted by a distant relative and move to a mansion. blah blah blah...Gwendolen has a little temper tantrum and tries to get noticed. Then she does some bad things with magic. Cat is terrified that his sister will take things to far. Chrestomanci is another magic guy...but we never get to find out all the important things about this guy. That is where it really just leaves you hanging. Maybe the book was supposed to be this way because it is written from the perspective of the boy and he seems to be clueless about alot of things...and this leads to his death but only uses one of his 9 lives....
hmmm, weird story and I don't recommend it.

Broken Book

2 comments:

Maryanne said...

I haven't read it (well, I've read a little of it) but I know that it's the first in a series- the others are about his other lives. Maybe the next books make it all make more sense, kind of like Lemony Snicket? If I ever get around to reading them I'll let you know if it's worth trying the others.

The Bec-ster said...

Out of his 9 lives he only has 4 left. His sister used them up and he accidently killed himself off once. If there is a second book I might read it just to get some things cleared up.