The Rules of Magic: A Novel (The Practical Magic Series Book 2) Kindle Edition

Lyrically written by Alice Hoffman, this sprawling novel is filled with eccentric, flawed yet luminous characters, and, of course, magic, wonder, bittersweet longing, and love.

4½ stars. It has been quite a few years (a decade or two) since I first stumbled across Practical Magic in my teens. It is a singular novel full of beauty & sorrow, much like life, & I've often reread it, though the last time was more than a few years ago. But it always stuck with me (the movie was good, too, despite being vastly different from the book), so I was of course interested when I learned that The Rules of Magic, telling the story of Aunt Francis & Aunt Jet, was coming out. And I have to say that upon finishing this prequel, I feel very much similar to how I felt that first time reading Practical Magic.The Rules of Magic begins with Francis-- Franny-- & Bridget-- Jet-- as children in New York, & continues throughout the course of their lives, ending in the moments Practical Magic began, with a call from a serious little girl named Sally Owens who had just lost her parents. Like it's predecessor, it is filled with instances of magical realism & anecdotes about the dangers inherent in magic, love, & life. Franny & Jet also had a brother, Vincent, whose story is (in my opinion) the most tragic yet beautiful one of all of the siblings.I'm not sure if it's because I am older, but this book seemed to me to have a more serious side to it than Practical Magic did. Of course, when I first read that book I was a teenager, & thus related to the characters close to my age, whereas now some of the joys & sorrows that Jet & Franny experienced as they aged spoke to me more. Either way, I found it an easy to read book that on more than one occasion moved me to tears. The writing is both lyrical & fast paced, painting a picture but not bogged down in the details. Much of the advice & anecdotes shared will, I believe, speak to anyone who has fallen in love, lost someone they loved, lost themselves, or experienced any of the many perils that are the cost of living.I would definitely recommend The Rules of Magic first & foremost to fans of Practical Magic, but you do not have to have any familiarity with that book, as they both stand perfectly well on their own. I think it would be interesting to read them back to back, yo see what carries over from one to the other & to take new meaning from Practical Magic due to what I've learned reading The Rules of Magic. In fact, as soon as I finish writing this review I intend to find my old battered copy of the original & reread it with this prequel in mind. Obviously it will also appeal to fans of Alice Hoffman in general, & probably to anyone who enjoys any type of magical realism or books about witches (Paula Brackston comes to mind, among others, as an author with similar style & subject matter).Bottom line: if you're looking for a sweet & touching book that will stick with you long after you've finished it, filled with a multitude of highlightable lines & memorable bits of advice (magical & otherwise), then The Rules of Magic might just be the book for you.

The Rules of Magic: A Novel: The Practical Magic Series Book 1 is by Alice Hoffman. This book is about love, happiness, sadness, peace and war, witchcraft, and finding oneself. It is the prelude to Practical Magic which was made into a movie. It explains the rules the witches have to live by and the curse of love which falls on the Owens family. It also shows why the family is so close even when they live apart. They have to be as they are not “normal” and live outside the rules of normality. It does show that being different is just fine and you don’t have to be ashamed of it.The book revolves around the lives of three children, Franny, Jet, and Vincent. Franny, the oldest, was tall and had bright red hair. She was a take charge person, even as a small child. Jet, called that for her long black hair, was beautiful inside as well as out. She was the compassionate one. Vincent, the only boy and gorgeous even as a baby, was self-confident and talented. He was somewhat reckless as well. Being the youngest, the girls always looked after him. The three spent their time doing things their parents did not want them to do, explore their abilities for one. They covered for each other too as they broke those rules.The three spent a summer with their aunts in Massachusetts where they learned more about their abilities as witches and began to accept themselves. They learned about the curse on love. If they loved anyone, that person would die. They would spend a lot of their time trying to figure out how to break that curse. The others they met at home and here that would affect their lives greatly were: April, their cousin who was also a witch and older than they were; Haylin, a boy in Franny’s grade at school who became a very good friend of hers and they became very close; Levi, a young boy who fell in love with Jet but whose Father was a Reverend who hated the Owens family; and William, a friend of Vincent’s when they were in New York later.The book is fun to read with the kids getting into trouble even when they don’t intend to . The spells they talk about are interesting as well. Their magic is mainly science rather than actual magic.

Oh my goodness this was so rich and beautifully tragic. I mean, just an absolute gem. Reflects the human experience, especially elements of control, extent well. Can’t wait to start the next one.