by Diana Wynne Jones
ages: 12+
First sentence: “When Jocelyn Brandon died — at a great old age, as magicians tend to do — he left his house and field-of-care to his grandson, Andrew Brandon Hope.”
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I’m having one of those smack myself moments: why, oh WHY, have I not read Diana Wynne Jones before? I’ve looked at her books, but never really felt called to pick one up. I don’t even know why this one ended up on my stacks, but it did, and even though the UK cover is much nicer than this one, I felt compelled to read it.

And, I’m SO glad I did.

It’s high fantasy, teeming with magic and fairies and all sorts of otherworldly creatures. A magician — Andrew — who doesn’t quite remember what he’s supposed to do. A lovely little romance. A boy, Aiden, at the center of it all drawing power to himself — sort of, anyway — and trying to find a place where he belongs. There’s crotchety, yet lovable, characters — Mr. Stock the gardener and Mrs. Stock the housekeeper (no relation; don’t even suggest it) and their various punishments and intimidations foremost among them. There’s adventure and mystery: who is Aiden, what is his purpose and who, exactly, is the reclusive Mr. Brown in the Manor next door. And of course, the mounting tension as Andrew and Aiden try to figure out what is going on in the village around the house. But, most of all, is Jones’s thoroughly wonderful writing. It’s not poetical like other writers, but there is a sparseness about it that makes you realize there is nothing wasted between the covers.

A quick passage, from the beginning, to give you a feel:

One way or another, it was nearly a year before Andrew could move into Melstone House.

Then he had to make sure that the various small legacies in his grandfather’s Will were paid, and he did that too; but he was vaguely puzzled that this Will, when he saw it, was quite a different size and shape from the paper his grandfather’s ghost tried to give him. He shrugged and gave Mrs. Stock her five hundred pounds.

“And I do hope you’ll continue to work for me just as you did for my grandfather,” he said.

To which she retorted, “I don’t know what you’d do if I didn’t. You live in a world of your own, being a professor.”

Andrew took this to mean yes. “I’m not a professor,” he pointed out mildly. “Just a mere academic.”

An interesting side note: I’m not quite sure why this is in the YA section of my library. It feels more teen than adult, but our two characters are 30 (Andrew) and 13 (Aiden). I think this is the first time I’ve come across a YA book that has an adult as a main character. It just struck me as odd.

But who cares, really? It’s a rollicking good time of a book, and that’s all that matters.