Publisher's Synopsis
The Rules Of Magic Novelist Alice Hoffman is out to change everything. She has long celebrated supernatural individuals in many of her many novels. Her newest, The Rules of Magic is an enchanting prequel to her beloved bestseller Practical Magic, the tale of Sally and Gillian Owens, damned by a family curse that any man who falls in love with them will die. In Alice Hoffman's 1995 story, Practical Magic, sisters Sally and Gillian share a healthy sibling relationship and a complicated relationship with the spell. Their story is rooted in their heritage history and a legend that includes witchcraft, feuds, and rejection dating back 200 years. Her last book travels back to the 1960s to acquaint young Franny and Jet Owens, the family members who later raised Sally and Gillian after their parents died in a fire. In The Rules of Magic, Hoffman's introduction to Practical Magic, we learn regarding the family's latest history: the backstory of Aunts Frances and Jet, Sally and Gillian's mysterious protectors. Young Franny is redheaded and feisty; she loves science and looks for logical explanations for everything, even their unusual family traits that don't have a reason. Bridget, called Jet, is shy and so beautiful that boys are willing to die to be with her. Vincent, their brother, is a mysterious heartbreaker, tormented by perceptions of the future and keeping more secrets than his sisters can presume. The three siblings are bound together by blood, magic and a damning that affects any romantic partner they ever love. Persistently practical Franny, tender, raven-haired Jet and their captivating brother Vincent receive an invitation to their Aunt Isabelle's house for the summer in Massachusetts, Franny turns 17. Isabelle's only precept is "Be true to yourself." The siblings' suspect that they aren't quite "normal," confirmed as they see Isabelle formulate love potions and magical soap for her clients, the town's residents from the plants in her garden and greenhouse. Their story develops in the 1960s, and Hoffman constructs cultural and historical evidence into the novel. It's the midsummer meets the "Summer of Love"; magic, potions, and superstition conjure with riots and music celebrations and bellbottoms. Hoffman handles this combination quite beautifully, and the fact that her fantasy is grounded in reality makes it feel determined and more tangible. Franny discovers they are the progeny of Maria Owens, who was judged as a witch in the 1600s by the married magistrate who fathered her child. "Know that for our family, love is a curse," Maria warned in her diary. The Rules of Magic completes topics presented in Practical Magic, but it works quite well as a standalone too. It's obvious why Hoffman is a favorite for fiction readers: She creates new mythologies; she's able to manufacture magic into the modern world, and she refers to the magical properties of herbs and everyday items without overexplaining or overcomplicating her narratives. Franny proceeds to deny her passion for her childhood boyfriend, Haylin. Vincent sneaks from bed to bed without making a genuine connection, and Jet falls irrationally in love with Levi, a boy whose father, a preacher, identifies her as a witch. The magic in these engaging witches is in their everydayness. They cope with high-school bully girls, apply to college, play music and, of course, can hear each other's thoughts, move objects with their minds and are unable to sink in water. The Rules of Magic is purportedly about three family members who find all their love experiences marked. But the commitment that draws them together as a family creates a bond that proves indestructible and may conclusively be the key to finally breaking the curse that's haunted their family for ages.
