Book Review - The Book of Magic

The Book of Magic by Alice Hoffman

5 Huge Stars

I’m going to make this spoiler free, because I really want you to read this book.

Many years ago, I sat down and watched the movie “Practical Magic”, with Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, along with one of my favorite actresses of all time, Stockard Channing.

I loved the movie, and almost immediately bought the book the movie was based on. It sat on a shelf for awhile. I wasn’t reading much fantasy during that time period, having just moved to Wisconsin after separating from ex-husband. I was reading more historical fiction about the Tudor period. I was much more interested in court intrigue than anything remotely related to a story that might have elements of love in it.

As I was packing up books to donate to the library in the small town my parents live in, I ran across the paperback again, and moved it to my nightstand, committed to reading it.

I read it. And instantly fell in love with these characters of Gillian and Jet and Franny and Sally all over again. The book gives so much more detail, so many things the movie could not begin to cover. I lingered in the Owens’ world as long as I could.

Fast forward to 2017, and I see, by chance, an ad for a new book about the Owens’ being released. Even 10 years after reading the first book (for the first time…), I was excited! The Rules of Magic was the backstory of Jet and Franny, their lives as teenagers into adulthood, and additionally about their brother, Vincent. By the time I finished it, I was officially a fangirl.

2020 saw the release of a third book about the Owens’ family, Magic Lessons, which tells us the story about Maria Owens. Again, I could not have been more thrilled with this new addition, and I gushed about it to anyone who would listen.

And finally in 2021, the world received the release of The Book of Magic, which picks up with the Owens’ several years after Practical Magic ended.

As you may have guessed already, I loved it.

The book went far too quickly for me. I typically only read for an hour or two before bed, and I finished this book in three nights, forgoing more than a few hours of sleep to follow around my favorite book family, to live in their world, to share their heartbreak and challenges and their love, support and …magic.

This book does not disappoint, for fans of any of the first three, or even of the movie. Ms. Hoffman’s writing style is unique, and her story-telling is far above most of us. These are not quote-unquote fantasy books, per se. They are more contemporary literature, written with fantasy elements. The magic is important to the story, but the characters could easily plug into a story without magic and be just as endearing or infuriating as they are in these books. The magic is a primary element of the story, but the relationships are just as important to it.

And in the end, for me, it’s the characters that drag me down into this story, invest me in it, and make me one of their own.

It might upset people that these books were written and released out of timeline order. Personally, I like the way they’ve come out. The history seems richer to me, getting to know the characters in new and unique ways, if the timeline is not linear. If you want to read them in chronological order, they would be:

• Magic Lessons

• The Rules of Magic

• Practical Magic

• The Book of Magic

I cannot recommend these books any more highly than I do.

My favorite quote from the book: "Words were everything, they built worlds and destroyed them."