Reviews tagging 'Death'

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

88 reviews

haileyhardcover's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Vomit, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

ronan_lesh's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexual content, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Violence and Death of parent

emmettdakool's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying and Domestic abuse

Minor: Death and Death of parent

mels_reading_log's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

This is the story of a family of women who love each other fiercely and will do anything for each other. This is also the story of love, when it is a disaster, when it’s dangerous and when it is absolutely perfect. I just love a witchy family.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Grief

Minor: Death of parent

mariakureads's review against another edition

funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

I love watching this movie over and over so I figured it was about time to read the source and the two are different enough that I'm at a bit of a crossroads here but I found this to be a solid read.

For one, I like that the Sally's girls are teens in the book vs kids in the film since it lead a different aspect to the story and showcased Sally in a bit of a vulnerable light aside from being a widow, but a single mom on the verge of losing her girls if she's not careful.

Another is that very little magic happens. Lots of hints of magical things but it's just the I fluence of it and not the actual doing which I miss. It's such a visual in the film that I kept waiting for something that never came.

The additional small snippets of the aunts was a welcoming new fact for me since the film didn't give too much insight but here, there were little morsels throughout about their younger selves, the family, and Maria Owens that I'm sure get talked about in the other books.

All in all, the book and it's characters are so different from their movie counterparts, especially the relationships all the women have towards each other, Sally's daughters included, that I find I can enjoy them as separate pieces.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship

Minor: Death, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse

williamabookworm's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Murder

louiepotterbook's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

kirstym25's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Animal cruelty

alexjoneswrites's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

5.0

I grew up in love with this movie and starting the book series was magical. I loved the exploration into the relationship of Gillian and Sally through all its ups and downs and Gillian remains my favourite character. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, and Murder

Minor: Drug use

hoggman's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying and Death

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, and Abortion