House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones

I really enjoyed the first two novels of the "Howl's Moving Castle" trilogy. They are what I remember fantasy novels for young audiences embodying, and what I didn't realize had been leeching out of the genre for years. 

I even enjoyed 90% of this novel. Charmain is an over-privileged, fiercely sheltered teen. According to her mother, Charmain can only engage in respectable activities. This has led Charmain to a life in a chair with a book on her lap--and probably the cause of her glasses. Unfortunately, respectability is such a subjective principle. What does dear old mummy think of magic? Not respectable. Even though it is part of the family line--clearly the black sheep branch. 

When a far distant uncle needs his magic house looking after, Charmain is put in charge despite her mother's reservations. Charmain jumps at the chance for her freedom as she really wants to be the librarian at the Royal Library and mails a desperate letter to the king. Somehow, despite her sheltered naivete, Charmain is able to have her cake and eat it too. Kind of amazing--and unrealistic.

She has barely settled in when Peter shows up on the doorstep based on his own desperate letter. His presence really calls into question Charmain's ability to live. Honestly, it is a relatively scary thought on how her housesitting would have gone without Peter. *Shivers* The house itself does not contribute well as Charmain and Peter discover that one door can lead to endless possible locations with just the twist of the foot through bent time-space.

While all the story was fun and charming, I was saddened when the ending was slapdash and microscopic. In fact, there were actually a couple of additional plot building points introduced. This really felt like a case of the author telling not showing. I closed the book wanting so much more from the experience. 

Maybe it is because the third novel is written 18 years after the original two. While I've waited decades for some stories to have sequels, I am realizing it doesn't work. The story never pans out to my expectation level. And this makes perfect sense. The authors are different people. They have grown and changed (hopefully) in their writing capabilities. Even when it is a loosely tied together series, it ends up not as magical as the original. (Sighs for the hopes dying of ever reading the conclusion to Exiles series.)