Chronicles of Chrestomanci, by Diana Wynne Jones

reviewed by Sarah
Ok, so I finished a few books while on the family reunion, so I'm just gonna stick them all in one post. I'm in a kind of distracted mood, so the reviews may be a bit... fragmented... but just bear with me.

The Lives of Christopher Chant By Diana Wynne Jones
Start Date: July 26th
Finish Date: July 2...8? 9? Somewhere thereabouts.
Star Rating: 8 stars, because I love you DWJ
"Movie" Rating: PG

This is probably my third favorite of the Chronicles of Chrestomanci. Which isn't to say it isn't an excellent book, quite the contrary. That just goes to show how very awesome my favorites are :-)

This is the first book in the series chronologically, but for some reason they put Charmed Life first. In some ways I can understand why--its interesting to be able to go back and see, Oh, so thats how he became the Chrestomanci. But on the other hand, why not read them in order? Well, I guess in the end it really doesn't matter.

This book seems to me to be the darkest of the Chronicles except for Witch Week. I don't like Witch Week much at all (I'd give it, say, six stars) because of how dark it is, but I do like this one. Why? Well, mostly because of Christoper. Hes another of your (my? ;) clever Sir Percy/Eugenides/Peaceable/yeah-you-know-the-list types. But in many ways he's more believeable, thanks to the marvellous DWJ. His realization of how other people see him is, in my opinion, one of the best parts of the book.


Conrads Fate by Diana Wynne Jones
Start Date: July 29, I think
Finish Date: July 30, probably.
Star Rating: 9 stars, because it is hilarious and awesome and I love this book
Movie Rating: PG

This is undoubtably my favorite of all the Chronicles of Chrestomanci. And it runs an extremely close second to Howl's Moving Castle for my favorite DWJ. This, I believe, is the only one of the Chronicles of Chrestomanci that is narrated in first person. I do have a kind of thing for first person.

This is the second book chronologically. Christopher is still cocky and clever and hilarious and awesome. Conrad is great too--I kind of wish he came back later in the Pinhoe Egg, to see how his relationship with Christoper changed. Because they're not allowed to stop being friends, because I said so.

This was definitely the book that had me laughing out loud the most out of all of the Chronicles. One line in particular got me-- "Know your place, wheelbarrow." I'd laugh so hard I'd lose my place and laugh a bit more, get my laughter under control, go to find my place, and I'd find it --"Know your place, wheelbarrow" and I'd be set off again. This is part of the brilliance of DWJ--a troupe of actors, of course, had very little to do with the plot, but it added drastically to the awesomeness. I APPROVE.


The Pinhoe Egg by Diana Wynne Jones
Start Date: July 30
Finish Date: August 1
Star Rating: 9, because it isn't quite as good as Conrads Fate but I still Love it Muchly
"Movie" Rating: PG

I really like the idea of "dwimmer". And Cat gets a horse. The way he gets it is pretty awesome, and of course hilarious. And I'm getting tired and Preston wants the computer so I'll just say: The Chronicles of Chrestomanci are great. Just pretend that the second volume isn't really important. :D