Bloggin 'Bout Books Blog

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman Published: June 13, 1995 Publisher: Putnam Adult Received: Borrowed from my best friend "What had she thought, that love was a toy, something easy and sweet, just to play with? Real love was dangerous, it got you from inside and held on tight, and if you didn't let go fast enough you might be willing to do anything for its sake." Sally and Gillian Owens are orphaned at a young age. They are sent to live with their aunts: two older women who are known throughout their small Massachusetts town as witches. Both girls grow up resentful of their aunts and their aunts' practice, but the girls take this resentment out in different ways. Sally doesn't believe in the aunts' power, but she's always a good girl. She takes care of Gillian, the house, and ultimately her own family. After her husband's untimely death, Sally takes her two girls and moves away from the aunts. Gillian had left years earlier. She sough...

I received an advance e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Nightbird by Alice Hoffman is a delightful bit of magical realism for middle grade readers.  Twig lives in Sidwell, MA--a town known for its pink apples and its monster. But Twig knows more about the monster than anyone else. And when someone starts framing the monster for grafitti, Twig finds herself hanging out with the new girl next door to help solve the problem. While I know Hoffman works usually in adult fiction, I would have never guessed that this was her first foray into middle grade. She pulls it off perfectly. I was enchanted by Twig's story. There's a touch of nostalgia too it. It doesn't seem to be set in contemporary times--there're no cell phones, and basically no computers. It's not a historical novel: there are cars and sewing machines and regular phones. But Twig and the other young people don't have the electronic addiction which most kids today have....