This book confused me a lot when I first read it (to be fair: it is a confusing book). Then I watched the movie a year or two later, and I didn't connect it with the book at all. It only came to me slowly over the course of months that the two might be connected. It's so weird!

Chrestomanci was my first encounter with the phenomenon that is Diana Wynne Jones. I liked the books – they seemed to strike the tricky balance between whimsy, absurdity, and having an actual plot. I can still remember how Christopher starts going into other worlds, touching things to make them solid. It's a great image.

Neat YA book. Read this as comfort read and because you can't go wrong with Diana Wynne Jones, really. A group of teenagers thrust into political conflict, with a side of magic, by way of mythical music, handled by them as a wandering troupe. I didn't find the story particularly compelling (authoritarian countries bad, liberal countries good blah), but as always, Diana Wynne Jones absolutely delivers on characters and group dynamics.

It has been over a decade since I read my last book by Diana Wynne Jones, but I'd like to think that I would have recognised this as hers by the playful prose and convoluted plot where you will miss half the fun if you blink. I had left this book on my reading list as a guaranteed good book, and after being so disappointed by Romanitas, I needed the palate cleanser badly.

Parallel England, where a teacher at a boarding school is accused of witchcraft. The inquisition is called and a terrified pupil has to look for a way out … It gets very dark very fast.

Young Chrestomanci, as seen by outside eyes. Fun, but mostly fun if you have read any other book of the series. Gave me Doctor Who vibes, funnily enough.

Romeo and Juliet: magic edition! Feuding Italian families, throwing magic at each other and being delightfully temperamental. Add in nosy kids, moody teenagers, snarky cats and almighty matriarchs … yes, I really like this book. It's among my top books by Diana Wynne Jones, and that's saying something.