Diana Wynne Jones

Sad news in the YA world...fantasy writer, Diana Wynne Jones has passed away.  Best known for the Chrestomanci series, she started populating her books with witches, sorcerers, ghosts and goons when J.K. Rowling was still playing in the sandbox.  One of the things that I particularly enjoyed about her books is her wonderful sense of humor.  She could be both funny and scary, which is quite a rare mix.  It's hard to believe that we'll soon be seeing the last of her phenomenal books. What a great loss.  As far as I know, and surprisingly, only one of her books was turned into a movie, Howl's moving Castle, which is probably why a lot of North American readers aren't as familiar with her as they could be.  I've heard that her very last book will be published by Greenwillow Books early next year. Fortunately, she leaves a huge body of work.  I know I'll be downloading a few of my favorite titles on my Kobo to reread. Elizabeth Bluemle posted a great tribute on Shelftalker this morning.

Cover of Howl's Moving Castle