Enchanted Glass

By: Diana Wynne Jones

Narrated by: Steven Crossley

The mysterious Stalkers show up at almost the same instant 12-year-old Aiden Cain’s grandmother dies. Following his grandmother’s instructions, Aiden decides to seek out a powerful sorcerer at Melstone House. Yet when he arrives, he discovers the man died a year earlier. Melstone House now belongs to the sorcerer’s adult grandson Andrew, who agrees to help Aiden with the Stalker problem. But then other problems come up: a creepy neighbor is stealing power from the land, and magic is leaking between the realms. Dealing with these issues would be so much easier—if only Andrew could remember anything his grandfather taught him about magic. Fantasy legend Diana Wynne Jones, who has captivated young listeners for generations, delivers a compelling and humorous adventure. Steven Crossley’s narration captures the excitement and wonder as newly acquainted characters work together to prevent terrible consequences.

©2010 Diana Wynne Jones (P)2010 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

“Flashes of humor, realistic … dialogue and growing-up moments both painful and authentic create a convincing and poignant read.” ( Kirkus Reviews)

Another Classic by Mistress Diana Jones

Excellent performance of an original story. No one does it like Ms. Jones did! Highly recommend.

Thoroughly Charming

Would you listen to Enchanted Glass again? Why?

I enjoyed the voice, characters and story very much and would like to revisit them another time.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Enchanted Glass?

Andrew visits Aidan's foster family and discovers that the story is more complicated than he had realized.

Which character – as performed by Steven Crossley – was your favorite?

While I liked most of the characters, Andrew - a person of magical talents, but not seeking after power, with, instead, a sense of responsibility and a passion for history, definitely engaged my sympathies the most.

Any additional comments?

This is a delightful story - suitable for children and adults.

Amazing through and through

What made the experience of listening to Enchanted Glass the most enjoyable?

Steven Crossley is a master of the voice. Listening to him is an experience in itself! He narrates wonderfully, even giving each character an individual "voice."

Who was your favorite character and why?

My favorite protagonist was Andrew because he was a very real to life character. The puck was my favorite antagonist due to his annoyingly good meddling.

What about Steven Crossley’s performance did you like?

He gives each character a voice and was NEVER monotone. His voice forced my attention and made me happy to listen.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

The title of course: Enchanted Glass

Any additional comments?

n/a

Quirky fun

It’s no Howl’s Moving Castle, but Enchanted Glass is quirky and fun, filled with odd characters and surprising and memorable events. One of my favorites of DWJ. Well performed too by S. Crossley. I’ve listened to it a couple times and find more to like—in the book and the performance—each time.

Wonderful magical tale

Fanciful and fun story told engagingly. Great for car trips and bedtime. Interesting for both children and adults.

wished it would never end!

such a great story, wished it would never end! highly recommended this and all Diana Wynne Jones books!

Very Engaging

I give so few 5 stars, I really have to explain. I make no attempt to be completely analytical in my ratings especially for fiction. Ultimately, I feel like the first job of fiction is to engage and entertain so any book that drags or repeats or bores me, no matter how well written otherwise, cannot be a 5 star. And, with only rare exceptions, a book that I will never read again will not get more than 3 stars. My 5 star books will be a step above just engaging/entertaining - I want to see fleshed out characters with individual personalities, atmospheric settings that easily create pictures in my mind as I read or listen, plots that contain some mystery and cleverness, and a reasonable level of decent grammar and word usage. Although I read very few children's, middle school, or even YA fiction, I have read a few in each of those categories that are 5 stars for me even though I am not the target audience. Enchanted Glass is probably ideally targeted to middle school readers, but is not "written down" at all. I picked up the book because it looked interesting (magic/alt reality) and it was free on Audible Plus (nothing to lose). I was so caught up in the fun of the magic system, the mysteries woven into the plot, and the wonderful quirky characters that I ended up listening to it start to finish in one day and quickly went to find another Diana Wynne Jones on Audible Plus. Steven Crossley's narration was an extra touch of elegance to a fine novel. I suspect most children/teens will enjoy this book and any adult who enjoys speculative fiction will not be bored.

Wonderful

The last and best book Dianna Wynne Jones wrote. And the audio book is splendid. Perfect narrator.

Creative and fun

An enjoyable book with interesting characters and engaging story line. The voices fit the characters well.

Magic and Ordinary Life

I had already bought and read a hardcover copy of this excellent book, but I like Steven Crossley's reading so much that I bought the audiobook too. Diana Wynne Jones's books are a convincing blend of magic and ordinary life. Her characters are clearly drawn and memorable, The villains are menacing, and the good guys are charming, including the rather dangerous young giant who's filled with glee because his new clothes have zippers. Even the good guys don't always agree (for example, there's a prolonged silent contest over the arrangement of furniture), but we get to see friendship, humor, and loyalty among people willing to go out of their way to help each other.