EARWIG AND THE WITCH [Hardcover]

I have loved Diana Wynne Jones' books ever since I first discovered them, and have devoured each eagerly as it's come out. I'd really looked forward to this - particularly as it will presumably be her last, following her sad death earlier this year. (Unless, maybe, perhaps, there is one still in the pipeline from her publishers.) "Earwig and the Witch" is vintage Wynne Jones, funny, quirky, intelligent and magical BUT, and it's a big but, it is very very short and clearly aimed at younger children. My 7 and 8 year olds will love it, but I'd hoped for something with a much older target - me! Her teen novels such as "Homeward Bounders" are superb - enthralling and brilliantly conceived and written. This is great for its target readership but I had wanted more.

Briefly: the plot involves a little girl in an orphanage who gets everything she wants. She is picked out to be fostered by a strange couple, the woman turning out to be a mean old witch and the man is actually some kind of supernatural being, and no longer does the little girl get everything she wants. She teams up with the witch's talking cat and the two devise ways to make their lives better.

This is possibly Diana Wynne Jones's last book (I've heard there may be one more coming out in the next year -although they are rereleasing Dogsbody with a Neil Gaiman introduction, so that may be the book they're referring to). Sadly, this is one of her shortest books, feeling as if it belongs in a collection of shorts such as her Stopping for a Spell or Warlock at the Wheel.

It's a wonderful, Diana-esque book, obviously aimed at a younger audience. Lines are generously spaced, the text is large, and there are plenty of illustrations (quirky, fitting illustrations by Marion Lindsay in the UK version. The U.S. version to come out Jan. 31, 2012 will be illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky), so the 144 page book really amounts to very little to read. I read it in 45 minutes, which is definitely why it feels like it should be in a collection of short stories. As a children's book it's fine, but those of us used to Diana's lengthy, thorough story-telling it is way too short. I wanted more!

It's all Diana though, and she created a quaint, interesting world and characters, as usual. My only wish was that the ending (basically the last chapter) was more elaborated on and the book was longer (while I was reading it with the fact it's geared toward younger children in mind, I couldn't help but think that part of the reason it is not as in-depth as many of her other books is because she was ill while writing it - but that doesn't affect the quality - it just makes you want to learn more about the characters and the world, but it is never given to you. Usually Diana does give you all the answers by the end of her books - she wraps everything up in a nice little package). But it was cute.

It is a must-have for those who love Diana, especially being her last (known) original book before her passing March 26, 2011. She was an inspired and creative genius and the world will be at a loss without her bright new stories. I always looked forward to the newest release of hers every year or two. Thankfully she was a prolific author, and has over 42 titles published. She left the world with a part of her and I am truly grateful to her. Diana, you will be greatly missed.

This will be a little review to suit a little book. A little book, but one that contains bag-fulls of charm, magic, mayhem and talking cats. Earwig is an orphan who was left on the steps of St Morwald's Home for Children. She has managed to entwine the inhabitants of the Children's Home round her little finger, and all now do her bidding. So she is beyond dismayed when Bella Yaga and the Mandrake come to the Home and choose Earwig to take home with them. Bella Yaga is a witch and determines that she is going to use Earwig as a second set of hands. Earwig is just as determined that she won't be used for that - and sparks certainly fly.

Diana Wynne Jones is sorely missed - an author who mixed mundane and magical to produce stories of great delight. I equate Diana Wynne Jones with Roald Dahl - someone who knew how to entertain children, not talk down to them, and introduced both darkness and humour to their tales.

Accompanying the text of Earwig and the Witch are atmospheric illustrations from the pen of Marion Lindsay - cute and eerie, all at once.

As I said above, I was utterly charmed by this novel and think that anyone who has enjoyed a Diana Wynne Jones in the past will love this dark little gem.