Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman

6 reviews

ginbat's review against another edition

mysterious reflective sad

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Easy to get sucked into. Perfect for fans of Lemony Snicket, Wes Andersen, Forrest Gump and The Little Prince.

The plot is somewhat sad/bittersweet. But the true art is in the writing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Grief, and Addiction

Moderate: Death of parent, Incest, and Sexual content

Minor: Drug use, Terminal illness, War, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Cancer, Homophobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, and Forced institutionalization

There may be a lot of triggering things in this book, but because of the way the book is written, they pass by quickly to move on to the next (also triggering) thing. Death happens relatively frequently for instance, but specifically the death of a parent isn't a repeated thing. If something triggers you but you still want to continue reading, it's generally pretty easy to skip a few pages and then it won't be brought up again. Except for death!! If someone dies that shit is brought up like crazy! Incest:

is it really incest if it's your ninth cousin twice removed?

Addiction/Alcoholism:

One of the main characters becomes and alcoholic at like 14

Death/Grief:

people lowkey drop like flies and then people are sad about it

dulces's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Homophobia, Cancer, Drug use, Grief, and Alcoholism

judassilver's review against another edition

Dropped due to the incest

he gets his older cousin pregnant fyi

and the comments around youth and beauty and the conflation of love and obsession-- something that seems to be used as a way to handwave the grooming and sexual assault that Vincent is victim to, which I didn't see addressed in any meaningful way. It felt very victim blaming that it was "his charm" that made his

30-something neighbor grope and then sexually assault him.

His aunt seemed to think it was normal for him to have these "flings" , at 14 years old. I also wasn't a huge fan of the constant mention of sex, drugs, alcohol, and smoking that peppered this book-it made it feel edgy more than anything. I wish I had known going in, so let this be a word of awareness to unsuspecting readers. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Drug use, Alcohol, and Pregnancy

aislinn_mcd_harrison's review against another edition

mysterious sad medium-paced

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

2.5

This was one I wanted to keep reading but i didn’t feel I really loved the writing style or even the characters. There was a sadness all through the book that made it difficult to enjoy but I don’t think it had a particularly strong message or view on its theme of love is disaster / love is the only good. Also don’t like books whose endings only set up the next book. 

Questions to ask book club:
Is the curse real? 
What do you think Alice Hoffman’s writing about youth and beauty and age? 
Do you think Franny is consistent? 
What do you think of how she portrayed real events like the Vietnam war and the stonewall riots? 
Did you like the siblings? Who was your favourite? 
This book is a prequel and the ending fairly unapologetically has nothing to do with the book you’ve read and is a preamble to practical magic - did it make you want to read the next one and why? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cancer, War, Homophobia, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Suicide attempt, Car accident, Death, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, and Sexual content

jacquelynjoan's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

So magical. I wasn't sure if the 1960's setting was going to feel as magical as the 1600's (I read Magic Lessons first), but Alice Hoffman makes them just as magical. I didn't want to finish the book. I think there are re-reads in my future of the whole series. I am very pleased to see that a 4th book will be coming out soon! 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Mental illness, Death, Homophobia, and Drug use

apoppyinthewind's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.5

 Practical Magic is and has been in my top five favourite books for decades so it's a little crazy to me that I'm just reading The Rules of Magic now. I enjoyed it, it had the same style of writing that drew me into Practical Magic decades ago and I read it within a day which ....well, it isn't unusual for me but it's a good sign. If I can't put a book down because I need to know what happens next then the writer is doing a good job in my book.

I'm torn between a 4 or 5. I did truly enjoy it and I can see myself re-reading it again when I'm in the mood for something witchy. I might even pick up a copy to go with the copy of Practical Magic I've been meaning to re-buy (Decluttering remorse 🤦‍♀️) and yet it is lacking something that Practical Magic holds for me. I can't quite put my finger on it so I may update this review when I do so for now let's say 4.5 stars. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Cursing, Drug use, and Medical content

Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Incest, Police brutality, and Homophobia