Diana Wynne Jones

[Hex]

She is probably my favourite author, and @The Bluestocking and I were discussing her here, so I thought I'd suggest where people might start.

She's kind of unusual in that she wrote books for 5-8 year olds right the way to adult, but most of what she wrote (I think) qualifies as Middle Grade (8-12 years).

You might want to start with the Chrestomanci books, which are MG, I think, and I'm suggesting them because that was where I started!

Or, if you prefer a standalone (pretty much, though not entirely) Howl's Moving Castle is wonderful, and even if you've seen the film, it's so different that it doesn't spoil anything.

My personal favourites are:

• Fire and Hemlock (this might be my favourite... or it might be... )
  
• Hexwood (I didn't actually understand what was happening on my first read-through, and had to read it again immediately afterwards)
• Deep Secret (which is for adults, probably because the mc is in his 20s) and The Merlin Conspiracy (which slightly confusingly is in the same kind-of series but is YA)

 

[hitmouse]

My kids love DWJ. She does not patronise her juvenile readers at all, and is frequently very funny. Chrestomanci are great: some of the adults and children in the stories are really genuinely nasty, especially in the first book.

Howl's Moving Castle is also good. It contains a knowing Welsh reference when Howl comes back through the door one day with a terrible hangover from a night at the rugby club.

 

[pambaddeley]

I started with Dogsbody and loved it, so went on from there to Chrestomanci et al.

 

[aThenian]

I'm a huge DWJ fan - she wrote some of my all-time favourite books.

I'd agree that a lot of her books are "middle-grade" in theory, but a lot of her fans discover her as adult readers (that includes Neil Gaiman I think. His Ocean at the End of the Lane was very influenced by DWJ I would say).

My absolute favourite of her books is The Ogre Downstairs - it's probably her funniest book. It's about family dynamics as much as anything, and, as with all her books is very tough and unsentimental about relationships - and yet it's also very heart-warming.

I also love Charmed Life - from the Chrestomanci series - and Howl's Moving Castle, which again is very funny.

I think some people compare DWJ with JK Rowling and there are definitely similarities. Personally I think DWJ has that something extra when it comes to character and quirkiness - although maybe JK Rowling has the edge on plot. Unlike JKR she wrote a lot of books that are very different in style, which I think has maybe made her less popular - prevented a "brand" identity.

 

[Kytaari]

She and Lloyd Alexander were my favorite 8th grade writers.

My favorite of her's is the Dalemark Quartet. It revolves, backstory-wise, around a group of entities called the Undying. The first book the series is called "Cart and Cwidder." Doesn't get old, it's a YA classic.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

Howl's Moving Castle is an amazing anime from Studio Ghibli.

 

[pambaddeley]

She and Lloyd Alexander were my favorite 8th grade writers.

My favorite of her's is the Dalemark Quartet. It revolves, backstory-wise, around a group of entities called the Undying. The first book the series is called "Cart and Cwidder." Doesn't get old, it's a YA classic.

I love that series as well.