Reviews with content warning for Bullying - Practical Magic

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Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

46 reviews

lenorayoder's review against another edition

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Loved this! I can see why people who come here from the movie have a problem - while the plot is similar, the characters, themes, and feeling of the book are pretty removed from the adaptation. I like both for what they are.

The magical realism, somewhat non-linear storytelling, and flawed characters with distinct personalities are real strengths of this book. The style of writing is so charming and then at times startling, it drew me in immediately and enhances the story and characters.

By the end of the book I was still irritated by Gillian, but that’s not a fault of the book - like most of the characters she’s excellently written. The characters all feel real, and if I met some of them in real life I wouldn’t like them, but that’s what makes them interesting and propels the story!

The ending of this book doesn’t wrap everything up neatly in a bow, but that’s kind of the point. Life is messy. We grow and learn and try our best, but we are imperfect. We do what we can with what we have.

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maite_moonchild's review against another edition

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2.5

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kelly04's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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maddireads13's review against another edition

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emotional funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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susannas_booknook's review against another edition

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emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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haileyhardcover's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I think it would be impossible for me not to compare the book to the movie I’ve seen countless times. I never expect a movie to be a perfect retelling of a book, but having now read the book, I am surprised by how different they are… and even more surprised to find that this may be the one time that the movie is better than the book… 😬 Sorry, not sorry.

That’s not to say that the book isn’t great in its own right, though! I’m not normally a fan of this descriptive style of writing, but Hoffman’s writing is definitely an exception. I almost want to describe it as lyrical, though I don’t think it technically is. It’s beautiful, though, for sure. Captivating. Magical. Though different, I still thoroughly enjoyed reading the origin story of the characters I’ve loved for over a quarter century.

I do have to say that nearly three hundred pages contained within only FOUR chapters is an absolutely horrific choice. Borderline cruel. Were this any other book, I would’ve returned it without reading a page for that fact alone. I would really like to read the other books in this series but if they have similar chapter lengths, I may have to pass. If you’ve read them, please let me know if Hoffman learned the art of reasonable chapters!

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