A review by jrosenstein
The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman

2.0

I got all the way through but on reflection this book was really not for me. It was well-written but it all just felt like one long cliché about witches and love and curses and blah blah blah. I also deeply object to the whole idea that you only get one true love in your life. When Jet's beloved dies when she's 17, she mourns him for the rest of her life and basically ceases to be a remotely interesting character after he's dead. No, I disagree. Mourn him, miss him, fine, then move the f*ck on and be a human being who's entire being is not wrapped up in the love of a teenage boy. I think this kind of "one great love" nonsense is honestly really damaging to young woman and creates unreal expectations for relationships. And yes, I realize this is fantasy, but we read fantasy for what it can say about real life. What this fantasy had to say really pissed me off.