Castle in the Air

Goodreads Synopsis:  Young merchant Abdullah leads a humble life. Or he did until a stranger sold him a threadbare--and disagreeable--magic carpet. Now Abdullah is caught in the middle of his grand daydreams. Waking one night in a luxurious garden, he meets and falls instantly in love with the beautiful and clever Flower-in-the-Night. But a wicked djinn sweeps the princess away right before Abdullah's eyes, leaving the young man no choice but to follow. This is no ordinary quest, however, for Flower-in-the-Night isn't all the djinn has stolen. Abdullah will have the so-called help of the cantankerous carpet, a cranky genie in a bottle, a dishonest soldier, and a very opinionated black cat. Will this motley crew be able to find the djinn's mysterious dwelling and rescue a castle full of princesses?


My Thoughts:

-    Except for the ending, this story wasn't as enchanting as Howl's Moving Castle, but I still enjoyed it.

-    It begins in the Middle East (Aladdinish), and then later in the story the characters travel to a more familiar scene.

-    I loved Abdullah.  He was such a great character, maybe even a charming character.  He was a lot of fun to read.

-    I wish there had been more Howl and Calcifer, but there was a good bit of Sophie.

-    When characters revealed themselves towards the end, I was like "what?"  Some things were a little weird.

-    There was a whole lot of traveling.

-    I liked this one, but I enjoyed Howl's Moving Castle better.  I'm excited to read the third!! 


Series Info:

This is the 2nd book or companion book to Howl's Moving Castle.  Click on the cover below to see my thoughts on the previous book.