“It was true, when you saved someone, they belonged to you in some small way, but it was also true that you belonged to them. They would stay with you and enter into your dreams and your thoughts, as you would enter into theirs.” Magic Lessons was written by Alice Hoffman and published by Simon Schuster in 2020 as a 396 page book. Who should read this? This book is a great read for any fan of Practical Magic or its sequel. It is full of charm, enchantment, desire, ambition, hope, lust, hate, foolishness, regret, and all of the emotions in between. This is an ideal story for anyone who loves romance stories, tales about magic, or coming of age stories. Overall rating: 4 Other books by Hoffman:
SummaryMagic Lessons is a prequel to Hoffman's hit Practical Magic and its sequel The Rules of Magic. This novel dives into seventeenth century England and Massachusetts. A young Maria is adopted by Hannah Owens, an ancestor to the witches who later serve as protagonists in future books in the series. Maria may not be related by blood, but she does learn a lot from Hannah about life, love, and magic. As stories go, Maria must embark on her own and follow her own heart and endeavors. She does just this, but at a great cost-- one so expensive that future generations will pay for the suffering she summons. No Owens shall ever be able to be with him whom she loves, a punishment that others must face, but which she must face, too. Maria fights for opportunities of love and happiness throughout the story, finding that her truest love is her very own daughter; but even with this love, life is not complete. Maria seeks to find the man she claimed was her soulmate, only to be met with conflict. Will this conflict lead to deadly ties and broken hearts? Will the Owens find a way to bring light back into their lives and build a happiness of their own? It all comes down to how her magical life helps make or break her. ReviewOverall, this was a truly fun book. I am a HUGE fan of Hoffman's sequel in the series, The Rules of Magic. As a result, I was eager to dive into the read when I realized it was coming out. I was so eager, in fact, that I listened to it on Audible to pass the time during my hour long commute. As an audiobook, I must say that it was hard to engage with initially. The first portion of the story pertaining to Hannah Owens and Maria moves rather slowly, at least when hearing it read aloud. That being said, it was an interesting storyline. I liked how Maria ended up crossing paths with Hannah and I knew the groundwork was being laid for a solid story. It was just hard to get through without getting distracted in the beginning.
Once I pushed past that and started to focus on Maria's journey through life, it felt more entertaining and really captured my attention. I was intrigued by her foolish mistakes and desires. I, too, was once a young girl caught up in the attention of a boy I liked. I also teach high schoolers, which makes this relevant to me today as I see young girls and boys "fall in love" so easily. I wanted to see how Maria navigated her romance and if she would find a way to make it work or if she would rise to become a strong female protagonist, doing things on her own terms in her own time. She does a bit of the independent woman move, but not entirely in a satisfying way. She is young and foolish, following her heart and actin irrationally at times. Her actions demonstrate her naivety and willingness to believe that her life will work out as planned. It is a hard pill for her to swallow as situation after situation shows her that life is not that simple, she will not always be accepted, and she will never be ready to accept the gifts that life wants to give her over what she desires most in the moment. Watching her age and slowly realize the mistakes she has made is a bit painful in that, as a reader, it is obvious her mistakes are irreversible. She must reap what she sows and make the best of it, which ultimately leads to a fairly satisfying ending. There are elements I wish that could be rearranged and changed to give the story the fully satisfying anecdotes that I crave, but I also understand that it would not be realistic to have a perfect ending. However, this is about magic, so maybe that is not a valid point. At least that is how I justify feeling unsatisfied with the ending and feeling that there should have been more to it, or changes that could be made. I will say that the book is consistent with those that follow, tying it nicely to the series without deviating from its truths. I appreciate and admire that greatly. Overall, the story had me emotionally invested, wanting to hear each chapter daily on my drives. I would wish for a few changes, but I am essentially satisfied with the arc of the story and the lives of the characters that were created. Hoffman is wonderful at creating characters, making the audience feel the emotions she puts forth, and cultivating a world of magic that intertwines with real life, in this case history, to make the reader feel enchanted and consumed by a good story. I would read another book in this series, preferably another sequel as that was the book I enjoyed most thus far.
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