Guest Review - Earwig and the Witch by Diana Wynne Jones

Recurring visitor, friend and all-round cool guy, Darren from Bookzone for Boys and I share a love for all things action and adventure and thrillers.  We also have a deep shared fondness of Diana Wynne Jones so when in turn offered to review her most recent boo, we jumped at the chance.  Here is Darren, as part of Under 14's Only, chatting to us about Earwig and the Witch.

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Diana Wynne Jones


Since I started The Book Zone I have been incredibly fortunate to meet some fantastic authors whose work I have loved. It is always wonderful to see how passionate they are bout their work and about encouraging kids to read. However, for me there will always be a few regrets in my world of reading, mostly related to the authors I have loved but because they are no longer with us I will never get to meet and tell them how much I loved their work. Roald Dahl is the most obvious example, but on 26 March 2011 another much loved author also joined this list, much to the great sadness of her legions of fans worldwide. I am of course talking about the legendary Diana Wynne Jones, whose Howl's Moving Castle and Castle In The Air both rank amongst my all-time favourite fantasy stories. I therefore jumped at the chance when I was contacted by Tiffany at HarperCollins asking if I would like to review Earwig and the Witch, the last book Diana wrote before passing away.

The blurb:

Everyone knows that orphanages are horrible places. But Earwig has a surprising amount of power over everyone else at St Morwald’s Home for Children, and loves it there. So the last thing she wants is to be sent to live with the very strange Bella Yaga…

Earwig was left at St Morwald's as a baby. Unlike the other children, she loves it there, mostly because she has the run of the place and seems to be able to persuade people to do as she wants. Then one day Earwig is chosen to live with a very strange couple: Bella Yaga, her new 'mother', is actually a horrible witch. Earwig will need all her ingenuity (and some help from a talking cat) to survive…

Earwig and the Witch is classic Diana Wynne Jones, although it is written for a younger audience than the two books I mentioned at the beginning of this post. Compared to these it is a short story (140 pages with largish text and line spacing) that would have great appeal to the 7+ age range as a self-reader who for slightly younger children as a bedtime book read by a parent. Short though it may be it is still nothing short of wonderful and it still contains many of the DWJ traits we have come to know and love: a clever, resourceful protagonist; quirky, interesting characters; lashings of mystery and magic; and humour that will make you and your child giggle incessantly. The story is also accompanied by the beautiful (and equally quirky) illustrations of Marion Lindsay, images that in my opinion capture that tone of the story perfectly.

Earwig has lived in St Morwald's Home for Children ever since she was left on its doorstep as a baby, with the following rather unusual note to explain her abandonment:

“Got the other twelve witches all chasing me. I'll be back for her when I've shook them off. It may take years. Her name is Earwig.”

Differing from many orphanages in children's fiction, St Morwald's has been a very happy place for Earwig to grow up in, although this is in no small part to her seeming ability to get the people around her to do exactly as she says. She likes it so much there that whenever it was the day when people who wanted to be foster parents came to visit the orphanage Earwig would somehow manage to make herself very “unlovable”, and avoid being chosen for fostering. Until the day that Bella Yaga the witch, and her creepy companion Mandrake come calling, and without any hesitation decide to take Earwig home with them. So begins the greatest challenge of Earwig's life so far as she must find a way of exerting her control over this sinister and darkly magical couple.

I would not be surprised if this helps book helps to create a new generation of Diana Wynne Jones fans as those who read it grow up and seek out more of her classic works.

I feel a little mean in that I have one small criticism of this book though, and that is simply that it is that the ending comes around far too soon, and seems a little rushed. I am left wondering whether it was originally intended to be a series or part of a volume of short stories featuring Earwig, especially as that note that was attached to her when she was left on the steps of the orphanage seems to suggest that there could have been a wonderful back-story for Earwig to discover in the future. That one small (and admittedly selfish) gripe aside, this book would make a wonderful present for a child, both because of its story and its beautiful cover and illustrations.

Enchanted Glass by Diana Wynne Jones

When Andrew Hope's magician grandfather dies, he leaves his house and field-of-care to his grandson who spent much of his childhood at the house. Andrew has forgotten much of this, but he remembers the very strong-minded staff and the fact that his grandfather used to put the inedibly large vegetables on the roof of the shed, where they'd have vanished in the morning. He also remembers the very colourful stained glass window in the kitchen door, which he knows it is important to protect. Into this mix comes young Aidan Cain, who turns up from the orphanage asking for safety. Exactly who he is and why he's there is unclear, but a strong connection between the two becomes apparent. There is a mystery to be solved, and nothing is as it appears to be. But nobody can solve the mystery, until they find out exactly what it is!

Diana Wynne Jones is a new-to-me-author. But she's not a new author, of course. Having seen her on the bookshelves at various bookshops and having seen Howl's Moving Castle, I knew who she was, but I've not read any of her books. Until now. I was eventually tempted to buy Enchanted Glass because I loved that cover so much and wanted to own it for myself. I had also heard from the media online that it is a pretty ace book.

I leapt into Enchanted Glass and struggled a bit. I really had issues with her voice and for the longest time I couldn't figure out which way the book was going as it seemed to be a little bit directionless.

*rolls eyes*

Oh, the stupidity of me. HOW could I have doubted someone as skilled as Diana Wynne Jones? Where I thought I was the one floundering, I was being shown Andrew Hope's slightly aimless existence as he moves into his grandfather's old house (Meltstone and tries getting used to everything there. We are shown the peculiar members of staff he has to deal with on a day to day basis and how people in the nearby village fully expect Andrew to know about this mysterious "field of care" business. What is that anyway?

Everyone seems keen to run poor Andrew's business for him. Everyone except young Aidan Cain whom I personally grew to like a great deal. Aiden's grandmother has passed away and he's run away from his foster parents to Meltstone House as he was told by his Gran that he would be safe there.

Andrew was fond of his grandfather and loved his time at Meltstone House as a child. But too many years locked away in an office, lecturing and forgetting that real magic is closer than you might think, has dimmed his perceptions to what is clearly a not average household and responsibilities.

With the help of Stashe Stock, an organised, slightly bossy young woman, Andrew has no choice but to try and figure out what exactly is going on in Meltstone House. On his plate is a border dispute with the obnoxious Mr. Brown who seems intent on taking land that does not belong to him (and threatening neighbours with it), what is the real story of Aiden Caine, what or who is the mysterious creature that eats the oversized vegetables Andrew leaves on the roof of the shed (as instructed by his grandfather all those years ago) and will Mrs. Stock ever stop moving the furniture around? But most importantly, what exactly is this field of care he has been given the responsibility for and what does it do? And what should he do about it?

I genuinely loved this book. It took me by surprise. My initial thoughts were not flattering at all and then suddenly, when I realised what was going on, how things fit together, I had a real facepalm moment of: how did I not see that happening?

Enchanted Glass is a tremendously enjoyable novel for younger readers but also for older and adult readers. It has action, adventure, mystery, suspense, nasty creatures, good people, shapeshifting dogs and countrylife shenanigans. It really has it all and it is written so well. I have got two other books lined up to read by her too, for later this month, so I've definitely become a fan.