Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

118 reviews

emzconklin's review

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Emotional abuse

lenorayoder's review

• 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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying and Grief

Minor: Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Stalking, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

bessadams's review

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, and Murder

darkmagic_magic's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal cruelty, Death, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Abandonment

maite_moonchild's review against another edition

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, and Alcohol

mel_is_sa_ledgend's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

2.5

Like the general vibe of the story but would have enjoyed more actual magic. The best parts of the story were the ones that either involve magic or serious issues, the rest is bumf. Some nicely written metaphors and some not so much. Really didn't like the switching between POVs part way through a paragraph. Main issue with this book is the utter focus on men

every woman is insanely beautiful, if you skip breakfast a couple of days you'll lose weight?!, falling in love is the most important thing in life. Maybe the message was that falling in love is a risk (all the men die) but we should do it anyway, but that's not how I felt while reading the story. How I felt was - omg can we think about something other then men and being beautiful?

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Animal cruelty

k8tlane's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse

chanancrompton's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Sexual violence

Moderate: Death of parent

kelly04's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Toxic relationship, and Grief

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault

izzy_v's review against another edition

dark lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

Very different from the movie (read this before seeing the movie for the first time), but still enjoyed the book! Much less magical and witchy than the movie, which was a bummer for an October read but still was sweet and good fall vibes. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment