Charmed Life

Guardian Award winners are often disappointing and this is certainly no Ogre Downstairs but it might nevertheless appeal to some keen readers, especially fans of this author's earlier classic and other fantasies. It's set in an alternative world where witchcraft is commonplace. Cat, an orphan, is caught in a battle of wills and spells between his witch sister and their unapproachable guardian, Chrestomanci. At first it's comic and domestic but it climaxes in a more serious struggle for power, Diana Wynne Jones' books are often Puffinized with terrible covers; this one is merely indifferent. Worth remembering but not a wow.