The two beautiful sisters will grow up to be the memorable aunts in Practical Magic, while Vincent, their beloved brother, will leave an unexpected legacy.Īlice Hoffman delivers “fairy-tale promise with real-life struggle” ( The New York Times Book Review) in a story how the only remedy for being human is to be true to yourself. Yet, the children cannot escape love even if they try, just as they cannot escape the pains of the human heart.

But when her children visit their Aunt Isabelle, in the small Massachusetts town where the Owens family has been blamed for everything that has ever gone wrong, they uncover family secrets and begin to understand the truth of who they are. And most importantly, never, ever, fall in love. Difficult Franny, with skin as pale as milk and blood red hair, shy and beautiful Jet, who can read other people’s thoughts, and charismatic Vincent, who began looking for trouble on the day he could walk.įrom the start Susanna sets down rules for her children: No walking in the moonlight, no red shoes, no wearing black, no cats, no crows, no candles, no books about magic. Hundreds of years later, in New York City at the cusp of the sixties, when the whole world is about to change, Susanna Owens knows that her three children are dangerously unique. Patricia Worth, River Reader Books (MO), Lexington, MOĪn instant New York Times bestseller and Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick from beloved author Alice Hoffman-the spellbinding prequel to Practical Magic.įor the Owens family, love is a curse that began in 1620, when Maria Owens was charged with witchery for loving the wrong man. No matter what our gifts or our limitations are, love matters.” Alice Hoffman weaves love, family, and the events of the 1960s and ’70s into a beautiful story. One of the biggest prohibitions is falling in love-it never ends well. Their magical lineage causes their mother to issue many rules for them to live by (or break). “In The Rules of Magic, we follow the three Owens siblings through their teen years and as they become adults, through the turbulent 1960s and beyond. Heather Herbaugh, Mitzi's Books, Rapid City, SD Winter 2018 Reading Group Indie Next List Full of sorrow and beauty and courage, The Rules of Magic is a delicious, satisfying read.” Hoffman's writing is frank, tender, vivid, and elusive all at once. The Rules of Magic takes us back two generations with practical Franny, who must learn how to love sensitive Jet, who must learn how to persevere and restless Vincent, who must learn how to be happy.

“In a dazzling, emotive prequel to her bestselling novel Practical Magic, Alice Hoffman brings the reader back into the world of the Owens family.

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