Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

37 reviews

claudiamacpherson's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-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

4.0

I was immediately enchanted by this funny, sweet, magical story of sisterhood. The sisters of the Owens family are far from perfect, but so charming that you can’t help but love them. The magic is subtle and satisfying, because everyone gets what’s coming to them (good and bad). I loved how Hoffman wove superstitions and folklore through the story, some common and some I’d never heard of.

I hit a bit of a reading slump mid-read, so it took me a while to finish, but definitely not because I didn’t enjoy the book. I’ve noticed that, for some reason, books with super long chapters (like this one, which is divided into 4 sections rather than traditional chapters) take me a lot longer to finish than books with shorter chapters.

Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just the vibe of the ending):

It’s satisfyingly happy.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Violence, and Vomit

lain_darko's review against another edition

hopeful mysterious medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Cursing, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders

kelseydaffodil's review against another edition

challenging mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Murder, Death, and Bullying

Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Sexual harassment

hbby's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Rape

bedtimesandbooks's review against another edition

dark hopeful 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

I just finished rereading this, and I have to admit it’s been awhile since I’ve read it - simply because I don’t really reread books. 

This is a book I’ve long considered one of my all time favorites, but I think that honor may be given to Magic Lessons (which is part of this series, and tells the story of Maria Owens). 

BUT, this book is still great... I just think Alice Hoffman has perfected telling the stories of the Owens women the farther she gets into the series. I cannot wait for the final installment (The Book of Magic) to come out later this year.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, Alcoholism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Stalking, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Murder, Addiction, Drug use, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Child death

syltetoy's review against another edition

emotional funny 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

I had no idea the movie was based on a book! I haven’t watched it since I was a kid but I remember I loved it. From what I remember, the movie is much more action-oriented? The book is very much about love and family and expectations and the magic is small. Hoffman has a way of describing that blends simile with magic and it just was lovely to listen to. I found it easy to imagine scenes, the descriptions are very sensory. I just really really enjoyed this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

ahopper7's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

I finally read this book after years of having it on my shelf. It was hard for me to get into at first because the writing style is so different than most books. It reads like a fairytale rather than a start-to-finish story. When I switched over to the audiobook it was much more enjoyable. The last part, levitation, was my favorite part of the book. My favorite part is the relationship between sisters and the witchy vibes. I really do with their was more dialogue to love the. plot along instead of narration. I also think I went in a little biased because I’ve seen and loved the movie way before I even knew the book existed, so the book’s story wasn’t as lively for me. But overall I really enjoyed the book. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, and Sexual content