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A review by hollsesh
The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman
2.0
I have not read anything by Alice Hoffman before, including Practical Magic, and so I am new to her writing style. That said, this was probably not the best book for a first impression.
First off, within the first 20 pages (p. 16, actually), Hoffman makes a painful and embarrassing typo, describing a photo album that is wrapped in a material she calls "muslim." Ouch. Definitely a poor first impression for me.
Also, I found the introduction of characters and plot to be quite awkward. Although I am a sucker for a story that involves magic and power realization, I very nearly gave up several times while working my way through the first third of this novel. The only things that kept me going were the overall length, which gave hope for improvement, as well as a combination of general optimism and my aforementioned fondness for witch stories.
Essentially, the characters were too forced for my liking; the traits of the three children were awkwardly reinforced and reiterated as if the reader didn't quite grasp their personalities the first several times they were described (seriously, how many times can one describe a person as "scientifically minded" before I smash a beaker over my head?). I could say similar things for the rest of the plot as well: it dragged at times and then was rushed, as if the thing was a brainstorm on paper, a first draft that was never revised.
The middle third of the book was difficult to enjoy, due to the painful experience I had during the first third. However, the ending definitely picked up, and the plot became more original and exciting, and I was glad that I stuck with it. There were twists that I did not see coming, which is always fun for me, and the character development was pleasing, however choppy. Unfortunately, I felt that there was a major contradiction between the central problem (curse, rather) and the ending. I'm not sure how long this prequel has been planned, but it gave me the feeling that it was written because Hoffman is running out of other ideas, and decided to revisit one of her most popular works.
Overall, I would not recommend this book. Despite the original plot, the quality of writing is quite poor, and that really takes away a lot from the overall experience for me. That being said, it is a fun prequel for Practical Magic, so I suppose that might make it worth reading for others.
First off, within the first 20 pages (p. 16, actually), Hoffman makes a painful and embarrassing typo, describing a photo album that is wrapped in a material she calls "muslim." Ouch. Definitely a poor first impression for me.
Also, I found the introduction of characters and plot to be quite awkward. Although I am a sucker for a story that involves magic and power realization, I very nearly gave up several times while working my way through the first third of this novel. The only things that kept me going were the overall length, which gave hope for improvement, as well as a combination of general optimism and my aforementioned fondness for witch stories.
Essentially, the characters were too forced for my liking; the traits of the three children were awkwardly reinforced and reiterated as if the reader didn't quite grasp their personalities the first several times they were described (seriously, how many times can one describe a person as "scientifically minded" before I smash a beaker over my head?). I could say similar things for the rest of the plot as well: it dragged at times and then was rushed, as if the thing was a brainstorm on paper, a first draft that was never revised.
The middle third of the book was difficult to enjoy, due to the painful experience I had during the first third. However, the ending definitely picked up, and the plot became more original and exciting, and I was glad that I stuck with it. There were twists that I did not see coming, which is always fun for me, and the character development was pleasing, however choppy. Unfortunately, I felt that there was a major contradiction between the central problem (curse, rather) and the ending. I'm not sure how long this prequel has been planned, but it gave me the feeling that it was written because Hoffman is running out of other ideas, and decided to revisit one of her most popular works.
Overall, I would not recommend this book. Despite the original plot, the quality of writing is quite poor, and that really takes away a lot from the overall experience for me. That being said, it is a fun prequel for Practical Magic, so I suppose that might make it worth reading for others.