Hayao Miyazaki may be one the only film maker's on the planet who can say that most people know his films first. And he may also be the only filmmaker on the planet that can confidently say that instead of ruining a book he enhances the experience of the book and in turn reading the book enhances the experience of watching the films he's created from the books, this is why I thoroughly enjoy reading the books his movies are based on. I'm never disappointed and I come to love characters that I already love even more.
Kiki is a young witch whose coming of age day is approaching fast. Her mother Kokiri is driving her mad, asking her when she is leaving, what type of town Kiki should settle in (not a big one dear), which broom she should take (certainly not the one Kiki just spent forever making herself), and even the type of clothes she should wear! Kiki finally settles on a date to leave and she and cat Jiji take off, Kiki isn't entirely certain what type of town she will pick for her coming of age year but she knows that it must be by the sea. Flying past each of the smaller towns Kiki finally finds exactly what she's looking for a town by the sea; except it is the exact opposite of the type of town her mother recommended, Koriko is a large bustling town with a huge clock tower right in its center. As soon as Kiki lands she realizes that maybe her mother is right. This town hasn't had a resident witch in years and the city folk all believe tales about witches being evil. Kiki's only magic is she can't figure out how she will be able to help these people. That is until she meets Osano a baker who has a simple request to make a delivery for her. And with that one request, Kiki's Delivery Service is born, unfortunately now Kiki must convince the rest of the town that they need her service, which is much easier said than done! With only a year to accomplish her task Kiki isn't sure she's up to it but with a little help from the townspeople of Koriko maybe just maybe Kiki will be able to head home with her head held high!
This was such a delightful little book. It is episodic in nature, which was not what I was expecting after watching the movie a million times, however, I really enjoyed it. It gives us a better idea of Kiki's entire year in Koriko and the people she met there. Telling the story in this manner gives us not only a better idea of how Kiki grew in the year she spent in Koriko but also of the people she meets as well as the whole town. And some of the chapters are just wonderfully magical. Whether it's Kiki helping Chrysthanum dry clothes by flying high into the sky with them or trailing an entire band's instruments throw the sky and ushering in Spring with the sounds they make each episode truly makes you simply happy. Kiki's can-do attitude in the book is something that we miss in the movie until the very end, wherein the book it's almost the entire point. And Kiki is downright clever. There never seems to be a situation she can't resolve.
Kadono's descriptions of Koriko itself were brilliant as well. Even without the benefit of the movie she describes it so well right down to being able to figure out roughly where one address that Kiki is given is in relation to another. That being said it's not too much. This is a children's book and Kadono keeps that in mind. She keeps descriptions short and important to what's happening, just enough to keep a child's interest and allow them to use their imagination.
What I think Kadono does best here though is really cover what it's like to be a young girl. Kiki has feelings of inadequacy at some points, she doesn't understand boys, she is sometimes cranky for absolutely no reason at all (this is honestly one of my favorite chapters), she gets frustrated with her clients sometimes, and she thinks her mom is overbearing. Basically everything a thirteen-year-old goes through. And yet for the most part Kiki keeps up this very positive attitude throughout the book. And while having three teenagers in my house proves that is probably a tad bit unrealistic I still enjoyed it.
Overall, this is one of those books I'd recommend for anyone of any age. Especially if you need just a little spot of sunshine, it's a quick read for adults and would make a perfect bedtime story for children thanks to its episodic nature. And if you've watched Miyazaki's version as I said earlier this will only make you love the movie more.
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