Practical Magic by Alice HoffmanMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
I just finished reading this recently and still am not sure if I really liked it or not. I loved the movie but the book is entirely different. Basically only the names and a few points were the same.
Sally, her daughters and her sister spend most of the book being either emotional, snobby or just plain horrible. I didn't like any of them. Sure, they had their moments and in a house filled with estrogen bad stuff is always going to happen. Trust me, I have a sister.
After Sally's husband dies she moves her 2 girls to New York to start a life away from her aunts who encourage her girls to be horrible and nasty. She could have helped stop this but she basically spent a year hiding in her room being hurt and not taking care of her kids. When her girls get to be teens her sister shows up with a dead guy in her car. Much weirdness and drama ensues. Sally pretty much has no happiness until Gary shows up- and he cries a lot, it's annoying. Then he leaves a couple pages later. What? It was an average read, but this is one instance when I like the movie better than the book. There is also next to no magic. I thought it was more about the magic in ourselves (who/how we love, how we act, etc.) and overcoming obstacles.
I think my next read will be a challenged (classic) book. I think I have The Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird around here somewhere so I'll attempt to read one of those. The only problem with classics is that a lot of them bore me. I haven't read The Lord of the Rings yet either so maybe that will be more exciting since I loved The Hobbit so much.
