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Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'
Magic Lessons: The Prequel to Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman
17 reviews
j3mm4's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Listen. I love Alice Hoffman's writing, and I have ever since I bought a copy of Incantation at a Scholastic book fair when I was eight or nine years old, and I've loved every Owens Family book I've read of hers so far, but this one falls a little flat for me, both on a technique level and on an emotional level. Hoffman sticks to a very contemplative, internal monologue driven third person POV in these books, so you get told not only what's happening but how the people it's happening to feel about it and how the story wants you to feel about it an awful lot. I usually like it, because it's such a neat stylistic trick to keep things so free from traditional blow-by-blow action and still have them feel immediate and gripping, but in Magic Lessons, Hoffman's narration starts stumbling over itself, telling you thing after occasionally contradictory thing, and it doesn't feel like she's delving into an unreliable narrator or like she's revealing a change in understanding. It feels like a change of heart or of mind that wasn't contended with between drafts or by the editor.
And then, emotionally speaking, what happens to Faith makes me so angry. I understand it on a craft level; in order for the rules of the magic system to make sense, there have to be consequences for using the left-hand path, and Faith turning a blind eye both to the practical magic represented by both her bloodline and the teachings of the woman who gave that bloodline its name and to the warnings of her mother, the embodiment and origin point of both as far as the family lore is concerned, means she has to face consequences. The consequences being the loss of her sight and her access to magic at all is narratively fitting, and I fucking hate it. Why should she face such permanent and horrible consequences for something she did halfway when she was thirteen? For taking an inadvisable path to cope with the trauma of having been kidnapped and abused by a Puritan freak who kept her in irons so tight she'll live with permanently bruised indentations in her arms also until the day she dies to keep her "tainted blood" from manifesting itself and using the power she gained through dark magic after, again, five years of being made powerless by force primarily to help other abuse victims free themselves and get their own vengeance? Only, what, twice for selfish gains, and in the most egregious case, only to ensure that history remembered her violent, selfish, hypocritical biological father for the monster he was? She kills a bird, she doesn't kill Jonathan Hathorne, she tries to save her familiar when two drunk townies shoot him, she gets clapped in irons again and almost drowned (like her mother almost was!) and again only uses magic which is (to paraphrase) only as dark as the heart of the person it's used on and which barely even has an effect because she is in fucking irons to make her would-be murderers look like the monsters they are inside, and then watches the closest thing to a father figure in her life who she hasn't seen since she was a baby die saving her, and after her mom lucks into CPR and resuscitates him, she loses her powers altogether? Bullshit!
I get it on a craft level, I promise I do. There's even this constant direct address throughline about how you are who you are at your core no matter what you do, and therefore Faith is always good at her core even when she copes with trauma with a little bit of blood magic, and the sixth part of the book, the happy ending epilogue, makes a big stink about how the book she learned blood and dark magic from shouldn't be destroyed just because it was made by a woman who, because of how women were treated for most of human history, had no other choice to protect herself and others, and how it's the book that will one day undo the Owens curse. Faith is good, pain doesn't make you evil, even the worst ways you cope with pain can teach someone else something valuable that will help them escape or prevent or overcome their pain without it being an unhealthy coping technique - but if that's true, if pain doesn't make you evil, and if Faith is still good, and if what you do at your lowest can bring healing and warmth and safety for others, why can't it bring that for her? Why is she punished for how she handled being abused for five years? Why does she have to be cut off from "good" magic because it was stripped away from her by someone who decided all magic was "bad" and, when she got her power back, her fear and pain drove her to seek out the "bad" so she could protect herself and others like her? I get that Hoffman was going for restorative rather than punitive/retributive justice, but when it comes to thirteen-year-old girls who have spent more of their living memory being abused than being cared for and protected dedicating that energy to helping others and outing the one person who hurt her and the people she loves as the monster he is, I don't give a shit about restorative justice, I give a shit about that little girl being allowed to thrive and not being punished for how she coped with massive trauma when she was barely a teenager!
There are lots of things about this book that I love, and if I'd started writing this before I reached the climax, they'd all be listed with parenthetical citations and paragraph upon paragraph of gleeful dissection. But I liked the book so much that I didn't pause to start a review between sections, and now we all have to deal with the consequences.
And then, emotionally speaking, what happens to Faith makes me so angry. I understand it on a craft level; in order for the rules of the magic system to make sense, there have to be consequences for using the left-hand path, and Faith turning a blind eye both to the practical magic represented by both her bloodline and the teachings of the woman who gave that bloodline its name and to the warnings of her mother, the embodiment and origin point of both as far as the family lore is concerned, means she has to face consequences. The consequences being the loss of her sight and her access to magic at all is narratively fitting, and I fucking hate it. Why should she face such permanent and horrible consequences for something she did halfway when she was thirteen? For taking an inadvisable path to cope with the trauma of having been kidnapped and abused by a Puritan freak who kept her in irons so tight she'll live with permanently bruised indentations in her arms also until the day she dies to keep her "tainted blood" from manifesting itself and using the power she gained through dark magic after, again, five years of being made powerless by force primarily to help other abuse victims free themselves and get their own vengeance? Only, what, twice for selfish gains, and in the most egregious case, only to ensure that history remembered her violent, selfish, hypocritical biological father for the monster he was? She kills a bird, she doesn't kill Jonathan Hathorne, she tries to save her familiar when two drunk townies shoot him, she gets clapped in irons again and almost drowned (like her mother almost was!) and again only uses magic which is (to paraphrase) only as dark as the heart of the person it's used on and which barely even has an effect because she is in fucking irons to make her would-be murderers look like the monsters they are inside, and then watches the closest thing to a father figure in her life who she hasn't seen since she was a baby die saving her, and after her mom lucks into CPR and resuscitates him, she loses her powers altogether? Bullshit!
I get it on a craft level, I promise I do. There's even this constant direct address throughline about how you are who you are at your core no matter what you do, and therefore Faith is always good at her core even when she copes with trauma with a little bit of blood magic, and the sixth part of the book, the happy ending epilogue, makes a big stink about how the book she learned blood and dark magic from shouldn't be destroyed just because it was made by a woman who, because of how women were treated for most of human history, had no other choice to protect herself and others, and how it's the book that will one day undo the Owens curse. Faith is good, pain doesn't make you evil, even the worst ways you cope with pain can teach someone else something valuable that will help them escape or prevent or overcome their pain without it being an unhealthy coping technique - but if that's true, if pain doesn't make you evil, and if Faith is still good, and if what you do at your lowest can bring healing and warmth and safety for others, why can't it bring that for her? Why is she punished for how she handled being abused for five years? Why does she have to be cut off from "good" magic because it was stripped away from her by someone who decided all magic was "bad" and, when she got her power back, her fear and pain drove her to seek out the "bad" so she could protect herself and others like her? I get that Hoffman was going for restorative rather than punitive/retributive justice, but when it comes to thirteen-year-old girls who have spent more of their living memory being abused than being cared for and protected dedicating that energy to helping others and outing the one person who hurt her and the people she loves as the monster he is, I don't give a shit about restorative justice, I give a shit about that little girl being allowed to thrive and not being punished for how she coped with massive trauma when she was barely a teenager!
There are lots of things about this book that I love, and if I'd started writing this before I reached the climax, they'd all be listed with parenthetical citations and paragraph upon paragraph of gleeful dissection. But I liked the book so much that I didn't pause to start a review between sections, and now we all have to deal with the consequences.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Child abuse
bookishfaye's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book is a very slow burn & very heavy on the historical elements so with that being said I can see how this book is maybe not for everyone. I have never seen or read practical magic & decided to go about the series in chronological timeline order so I’ve started with the story of Maria Owens. I absolutely loved every second of this book, it was beautiful, & heartbreaking, & hopeful, & devastating & I’ll be jumping right into The Rules of Magic Asap!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Death, Grief, Infidelity, Violence, Chronic illness, Confinement, Abandonment, Animal death, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
julianalo's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Murder, Colonisation, Death, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Abortion, Sexual assault, and Slavery
josephinefarine's review against another edition
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
An enjoyable read. I just wish the narrative had been more active. Given the style in which this book is written, with this sort of omniscient, fairytale-like narration, the character's actions did not feel active. I never felt connected to any of the characters, and I never felt as though they had much depth. That said, the world-building was quite immersive. I suppose this style of writing just isn't for me.
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, and Death
linesiunderline's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I discovered Alice Hoffman only in the last two years, and I’m a fan. Sign me up for her books when I am in the mood for something lush and atmospheric that just says, “Fall.” Add witches, and a love story, and I’m in.
While this one didn’t sweep me up quite so entirely as Practical Magic and Rules for Magic did, I still thoroughly enjoyed spending more time with a few of the Owens women, mostly because they are brave and gifted and full of heart. Something about the alternating perspectives didn’t entirely work for me - I wasn’t as consistently engaged as I was with her other two books in this cycle.
Hoffman really creates a strong sense of place, and writes so that all of your senses get involved in the reading process. I love that. Also, you want some strong women? This is a book with many of them.
Hoffman is a gorgeous storyteller. Grab a mulled cider and cozy up.
While this one didn’t sweep me up quite so entirely as Practical Magic and Rules for Magic did, I still thoroughly enjoyed spending more time with a few of the Owens women, mostly because they are brave and gifted and full of heart. Something about the alternating perspectives didn’t entirely work for me - I wasn’t as consistently engaged as I was with her other two books in this cycle.
Hoffman really creates a strong sense of place, and writes so that all of your senses get involved in the reading process. I love that. Also, you want some strong women? This is a book with many of them.
Hoffman is a gorgeous storyteller. Grab a mulled cider and cozy up.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Torture, and Xenophobia
apoppyinthewind's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I enjoyed Magic Lessons a little more than Rules of Magic so going with 5 stars. It feels closer in style to Practical Magic which makes sense Maria Owens' story is outlined in Practical Magic already, this book expands the story and weaves in far more details.
My only complaint is that Faith’s portion of the story feels like it was wrapped up too quickly and neatly.
Throughout the story, there’s a building up of this dark path she’s on and yet when she finally confronts her father it frizzles out and she just....changes her mind about revenge? It felt like it was done more for the sake of having a happy ending for everyone. Which, fair enough. I like these characters and have no objection to a happy ending though it does feel a little odd given the setup of Practical Magic.
In Practical Magic the Owens family has this so-called long-standing curse and the people of the town are scared of them. Yet at the end of Magic Lessons Maria & Faith have a library and a girl’s school so...what led everyone in town to be such assholes to Sally & Gillian?
I get it, time & superstitions could have easily led to the shift in the behaviour of the town for the later book. Not to mention the Owens after Maria & Faith could have caused trouble. Still, it felt a little too neat.
Oh well, I did enjoy it and will likely re-read it in the future.
My only complaint is that Faith’s portion of the story feels like it was wrapped up too quickly and neatly.
In Practical Magic the Owens family has this so-called long-standing curse and the people of the town are scared of them. Yet at the end of Magic Lessons Maria & Faith have a library and a girl’s school so...what led everyone in town to be such assholes to Sally & Gillian?
I get it, time & superstitions could have easily led to the shift in the behaviour of the town for the later book. Not to mention the Owens after Maria & Faith could have caused trouble. Still, it felt a little too neat.
Oh well, I did enjoy it and will likely re-read it in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Medical content, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Sexism
Minor: Dementia, Sexual content, Slavery, and Violence
hrhacissej's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thank you to Simon & Schuster for providing the ARC to me through Goodreads Giveaway.
Hoffman's fans will appreciate this prequel. Her signature storytelling provides the background to the Owens bloodline in Massachusetts which we were introduced to in Practical Magic.
The mix of history, magical realism and horticulture (this reader would appreciate some of the recipes for the various teas...) captured my interest and kept me up past my bedtime.
Hoffman's fans will appreciate this prequel. Her signature storytelling provides the background to the Owens bloodline in Massachusetts which we were introduced to in Practical Magic.
The mix of history, magical realism and horticulture (this reader would appreciate some of the recipes for the various teas...) captured my interest and kept me up past my bedtime.
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Religious bigotry
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