The Book of Magic

The Owens women are all grown up.  Kylie and Antonia are in college and choosing their own path in life…and love.  Sally is running the Owens Library and trying to keep magic and love as far away as possible.  Gillian is working in a research lab and embracing the family’s history of outsmarting the curse.  Jet and Franny are…well…Jet and Franny.  But when the curse sneaks up on one of them and she turns to left-handed magic to reverse it, the entire Owens clan is on a mission to save her and the family once and for all.

Alice Hoffman’s fourth and final book in the Practical Magic series, The Book of Magic, is the perfect ending to the story we all love.  Hoffman’s keystones of magical realism and romance are foremost in this beautiful tale of redemption and family ties.  Hoffman brings together the characters and places from the first three books in the series in a way that wraps up the story leaving the reader both satisfied with the outcome and wanting more. 

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I give The Book of Magic 4 out of 5 stars.  Reading all four books in close succession had me in love with the story development, but a little frustrated with the outcome.  This book beautifully sums up the first three books – the start of Maria Owens’ journey, the history of the trio of siblings in the older generation, and the reasons both Sally and Gillian are shy to magic.  Hoffman also shows how generations repeat the faults of generations through this family.  I was frustrated with the outcome when dark magic came to the table though – the return to right-handed magic felt too quick or too forced as though the dark side could have been better developed.  However, the imagery and vivid descriptions are classic Hoffman, allowing the reader to feel like they are really in the scene with the characters.

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If you love the Practical Magic series (or movie) as much as I do, you will enjoy this book!  I would recommend this read for those looking for books about magic and it’s negative effects as well, or about magic in other countries other than America – in my reading, I find that most of the books about witches and magic are generally set in New England, but this takes place mostly overseas.  With discussions of sex, death, and evil forces, I would recommend this book for more mature audiences over the age of 13.

I chose The Book of Magic for the Booklist Queen Reading Challenge prompt “About Magic”.  I am excited I have finally been able to finish this series – when I read the first installment last year, I wanted to jump into the others right away, but didn’t have time.  By the way, if you have watched the movie, I can tell you that the books are so very different is some great ways – I personally love both the movie and the books, but would recommend the books, of course.  Do you love Alice Hoffman as much as I do? What’s your favorite of her works? 

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What I’m Reading

• Current print book: The Getaway List, Emma Lord
• Current audio book: Wild, Cheryl Strayed
• Book I’m most looking forward to: Tom Lake, Ann Patchett