i was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for books they feel like would be similar to the movies produced by studio ghibli?

i don't read a lot of traditional fantasy, but ponyo and spirited away are two of my favorite & most memorable movies from my childhood— i would absolutely love to read pieces with the same "vibe".

This is book related, don't worry.

My friends and I have a late Christmas/birthday thing tomorrow night, and usually I'm not nervous, but yesterday my friend bought me 2 books, and u am lowkey terrified to know what they are.

Anyone else like this sometimes? Because you don't know whst they are getting you ?

Also , I'm gifting one of my friends Pucked by Helena Haunting because I DNFed it

Do we think that the other Sabine Matteo once new, was the widow who turned Maria/Sabine? I think so! What would their relationship have been? I'm hoping her backstory will be told via him.

Venice in the late 17th century was a city defined by performance and surveillance. Masks were worn year-round, allowing anonymity, social transgression, and reinvention, while the State relied o secret informants and hidden courts to maintain control. The city balanced indulgance and repression, freedom and fear. Though no longer a dominant empire, Venice remained wealthy, artistic, and haunted by the memory of plague and decline.

Why Venice matters here: Venice feels like a deliberate contrast to Spain. Where Spain enforced conformity through overy religious authority, Venice allows excess, pleasure, and disguise, but watches just as closely. Identity here is something you can put on and take off, but never escape entirely. The setting deepens the book's interest in hidden selves, performance, and survival by making secrecy not just necessary but normalized.