The Homeward Bounders by Diana Wynne Jones

"Oh I did," he said. "I hated Them for aeons, make no mistake. But it wore out. You'll find that Things wear out, specially feelings." He didn't seem sad about it at all. He acted as if it was a relief, not hating Them anymore.

I picked up this gorgeous copy of The Homeward Bounders at the Shakespeare & Company bookstore beside Notre-Dame while showing the store to a visiting friend. I caught sight of this paperback while perusing the YA section and, being a huge fan of Howl's Moving Castle, another work by Diana Wynne Jones, I immediately snatched it up.

When Jamie stumbles upon the dwelling in which They live, he discovers that his world, an many others, are all territories in a series of elaborate board games that They control. Having discovered this secret, he is cast out of the game and made a Homeward Bounder. This means, he must travel through worlds on his own and with no control over when or how he goes. The only way he can make it stop is by finding his way home. If he manages that, he resets himself within the game and may continue as a player there.

The game has many rules, most of which are vague and never really explained to Jamie. Every Homeward Bounder he's managed come across has a different perception of what it is they might be. But one things is for certain: Homeward Bounders are meant to be alone and, therefore, must not team up or travel together. Teamwork could cause them to interfere with game play.

When Jamie meets up with Joris and Helen, he does everything in his power to make sure the three of them stay together, but it may not be in his power to keep the three of them that way. All bets are off if They find out about their teamwork, and the three aren't exactly subtlety personified.

I'll be honest here in saying that this book didn't exactly live up to my expectations after the masterpiece that was Howl's Moving Castle. I definitely preferred Sophie's adventures to Jamie's. That being said, I did enjoy this book. I enjoyed Jones's writing style and her deeply imaginative storytelling. Stepping out from under the shadow of Howl, this book still managed to be deeply interesting and I was definitely eager to find out how a resolution could possibly take place.

All in all, I would suggest this for a thoughtful read, but if you're only looking for the best, I'd give you a free pass to skip this one.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

"We took them off, " he said, "to show that we have no hope. Hope is an anchor, you know."