#44 in Middle grade
Charmed Life
- 272
- Pages
- about 5 h
- Reading time
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Our view
“Charmed Life”, the first Chrestomanci book, remains an inviting introduction to Diana Wynne Jones’s world of witches and enchanters. Readers who meet it as adults are split: some find it pleasant but not brilliant, or sketchy and lacking drive; others only wish they had read it sooner. It is first of all a book for the young who like magic.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
Charmed Life is a children's fantasy novel by British author Diana Wynne Jones published by Macmillan Children's Books in 1977. It was the first Chrestomanci book and it remains a recommended introduction to the series. Greenwillow Books published a US edition within the calendar year.
Reading order · Chrestomanci series
Full order & progress →
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.1 across 117 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 44% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Middle grade average of 8.0. That is how 8.0 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardcover | 8.1 | 117 | 100% |
Frequently asked
What age is Charmed Life for?
Charmed Life sits on the Children shelf in the sources we use, which by convention means roughly ages 5–10. This is a guide from the book’s category, not a publisher’s age rating. It has 272 pages — shorter than 95% of the ranked books in Middle grade.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Middle grade — with scores between 7.9 and 8.2, closest to this book.
