Castle in the Air by Diana Jones is a wonderful and fast pace fairytale. The story begins by introducing you to an average carpet merchant named Abdullah. A swindling merchant finds Abdullah’s shack and offers him a flying carpet. Abdullah, finding no apparent use for the carpet, turns down the expensive offer. After a time of negotiation, the price is lowered and the carpet has a new owner, Abdullah.

Fearing the carpet will disappear, Abdullah decides to sleep on the carpet. He has a series of dreams that feel very real. When he wakes up, Abdullah realizes that he is missing his night cap and distinctively remembers taking it off in the dream. He now knows that the dreams are real.

During one dream (or trip), Abdullah meets a princess named Flower-In-The-Night. Flower-In-The-Night believes that she is to marry Abdullah because an earlier prophecy said that she would marry the first boy she meets. Before they can marry, Flower-In-The-Night is snatched away by an evil djinn, which is a magical winged monster. The djinn takes Princess Flower-In-The-Night along with thirty other princesses to the castle in the sky.

Later in the story, Abdullah joins forces with a solider, two magic cats, a magic carpet, and a genie. With their assistance, Abdullah is able to reach the castle in the sky. The team is able to outwit the two djinn that guard the castle and all the princesses are freed.

Castle in the Air has many components that create a fairytale. Abdullah purchases a magic carpet and later finds a genie in a bottle. His team, who rescues the damsel in distress, includes magic talking cats. The adventure includes a fictional village which is full of witches and sorcerers. The rescue attempt leads them to a castle in the sky. The villain of this book is also a fictional creature that is full of magical powers.

I really enjoyed this book; however, the beginning was very slow and boring. After the first chapter or two, this book became more exciting and had a strong message. The theme of this story is that while being mean may be the easy choice, being nice is the responsible choice. This story made me think about my own friendships and choices that I make every day.

Castle in the Air is a book for fantasy lovers because this book is a thrilling fantasy with a witty main character who can outsmart even the smartest man. I would also recommend this book to individuals who enjoy the movie Aladdin because that plot is very similar, but with a few twists. Overall, this book was great and I look forward to reading the sequel entitled Howl’s Moving Castle.