by Diana Wynne Jones
Read by Jenny Sterlin
ages: 12+

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Others in the series: Howl’s Moving Castle

Abdullah is a mediocre carpet merchant in Zanzib, living a terribly boring life. Sure, his daydreams are exciting, full of princesses and beautiful gardens, but his life? It’s just selling carpets and dealing with his father’s first wife’s relations. That is, until a stranger comes by and sells Abdullah a magic carpet.

The first night he has it, he goes to sleep on it and wakes up in the garden of Flower-in-the-Night, a smart, yet naive (and very sequestered) princess. Abdullah, of course, falls instantly in love. Everything was supposed to be happily ever after, but a powerful djinn kidnaps Flower-in-the-Night, and Abdullah’s life suddenly gets more complicated. There’s a cranky genie, a trip to Ingary, falling in with a bitter Strangian soldier, and finally, a castle in the air where Abdullah has to save 30 princesses from their fate of being brides of an evil djinn.

It’s the perfect kind of fairy tale (which is, of course, what DWJ is known for): romance, adventure, humor, magic; sweeping grand panoramas that captivate you fully. No, Howl and Sophie aren’t in this one (well, hardly at all), but that’s really just fine: Abdullah, the pompous flatterer and coward that he is, made up for that. I was constantly rolling my eyes at him — the way that Sterlin made him sound was quite grating at first — but that didn’t mean I didn’t like him. On the contrary, he was quite enjoyable to go on an adventure with, even if he was lovesick and heartily silly.

Sterlin (aside from the grating-at-first Abdullah) was a stellar reader, doing voices for all the different characters and keeping me entertained throughout the story. I’m glad I picked this one as an audiobook; it was definitely an enjoyable way to spend a commute.