Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The Story Sisters

3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 · rating details · 6,415 ratings · 1,137 reviews

From the New York Times Bestselling
Author of The Third Angel

Alice Hoffman’s previous novel, The Third Angel, was hailed as "an unforgettable portrait of the depth of true love" (USA Today), "stunning" (Jodi Picoult), and "spellbinding" (Miami Herald). Her new novel, The Story Sisters, charts the lives of three sisters–Elv, Claire, and Meg. Each has a fate she must meet al...more

Hardcover, 336 pages

Published June 2nd 2009 by Crown

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Feb 13, 2011 Michele Harrod rated it 5 of 5 stars

There really needs to be a 6th star for Alice Hoffman. When I see that there is a new novel out, I get butterflies in my stomach in antipation of the joy that is about to be held in my hands. Before I turn the cover, I am like a child again on Xmas morning - just before the household wakes, and it is time for presents to be opened. I cancel life, and settle in for my journey. My breath shortens as I read, and my heart swells amidst the beauty of her words and the love that she paints - sometimes...more

like 23 likes · see review

Apr 20, 2012 JJ rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Perhaps a more apt title for this book would be "Four Funerals and a Wedding." It started with such promise: a secret language shared between sisters, a private world, a shared tragedy. For the first half of the book, I was enthralled with the dark and troubled Elv, the oldest daughter, and her self destruction; I was especially captivated by the magical elements of the novel. But then halfway through, the plot degenerated into one tragedy after another; I don't mind bleak and dark novels, but i...more

like 11 likes · see review

Jun 22, 2009 Lynn rated it 5 of 5 stars

Alice Hoffman doesn't just write about magical reality, she performs it. I had no idea, really, what to expect when I picked this up (other than lovely prose and captivating characters, of course) since no one else I know has read it yet. What happened was like being grabbed by the throat and yanked into the Story sisters' world. Each Alice Hoffman book has me greedily reading as if starved for words and language, and when I am through, I usually feel wistful, but sated. With this book, the banq...more

like 5 likes · see review

Aug 06, 2011 Stephanie (Stepping out of the Page) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2010, young-adult, cover-appeal, magical-realism, books-i-own

This was a rather strange book - it was dark, mysterious and also enchanting as well as being a very difficult book to describe! The way that it is written is detailed and beautiful - I really do think that the writing style should be commended. Especially in the sections situated in Paris, I soaked up the atmosphere and felt as though I was there. The subjects that are faced in this book are pretty 'sinister' (Abuse, mental issues, drugs) and the book does seem dark, but not at all horrifying -...more

like 5 likes · see review

Jul 11, 2010 Dawn rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like 2 likes · see review

Aug 02, 2011 beth added it

Recommendation: don't start this book at 1am when you're in bed and want to read for just a couple minutes before sleeping. No, you'll be up for the next 4-5 hours because this book, while not the most astounding or deep work of literature ever, is nevertheless unputdownable. And now, several days later I'm still thinking about it.

I've been a longtime fan of Alice Hoffman and I feel like her newer books are getting increasingly Jodi Picoultesque with all the over the top melodrama and super-conv...more

like 1 like · see review

Feb 20, 2013 Nancy rated it 1 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Jodi Picoult's endorsement of this book should've been warning enough. This is the most melodramatic work I've read since I unsuccessfully attempted Ellen Hopkins earlier this year. "The Story Sisters" tells the story of sisters. Endowed with all the intrinsic and extrinsic blessings any girl could want, these sisters descend a pathetic downward spiral after an isolated unfortunate act of violence befalls the eldest. Said eldest, Elv Story, lives up to her weird name by being an unbecoming, mood...more

like 2 likes · see review

Mar 16, 2012 Laurie rated it 4 of 5 stars

“The Story Sisters” is a grim tale. This family of three very close sisters, their divorced mother, and their maternal grandmother, can’t catch a break. One bad thing happens after another; child rape, illness, accidents, deaths, self harm, alcoholism, drugs, self isolation and an almost total lack of communication shatters the family.

And yet there are traces of magic, both good and bad. Demons attach themselves to young girls. Cakes make one tell only the truth. Some of the characters find hap...more

like 3 likes · see review

Nov 05, 2011 Marike added it · review of another edition

Shelves: novels

The Story sisters by Alice Hoffman

Three beautiful sisters close in age growing up in New York – Elv, Meg and Claire. They share the attic, they speak their own language linked to the fairyworld Elv invented, a place where they could be safe from harm. Becasue in spite of their seeming charmed lives, darkness broke in early. When Elv was eleven, the summer when their parents got divorced, on a day Meg was ill, something terrible happened and though Claire escaped, Elv was kidnapped by a twisted m...more The Story sisters by Alice Hoffman

Three beautiful sisters close in age growing up in New York – Elv, Meg and Claire. They share the attic, they speak their own language linked to the fairyworld Elv invented, a place where they could be safe from harm. Becasue in spite of their seeming charmed lives, darkness broke in early. When Elv was eleven, the summer when their parents got divorced, on a day Meg was ill, something terrible happened and though Claire escaped, Elv was kidnapped by a twisted man. She managed to escape, returned hours and hours later and refused to speak of it. As she grows into a teenager she becomes wild. Meg, the studious one. Claire, the kindhearted one who feels drawn to her worlds, an accomplish in all.

Stories are important – there is the sisters’ surname Story. There are the stories Elv tells. There are the charming stories Lorry tells to enthrall Elv at the school for out-of-control young people. And of course this story that draws one in, in spite of it seeming to knock on so many cliches. As cuh it is a celebration of family and love and pullling through.

The most beautiful part of the book for me is the short fairytale-like stories at the beginning of each chapter. If I took this book from a library, I’d copy them to keep. They function as entrants to the chapter, setting the tone.

Maybe the only unusual thing in the story is that Elv’s love for the drug-addict small-time crook and charmer Lorry is presented as real. Just because he is bad for her in all the obvious ways does not dismiss what is between them. But of course everything just gets better from the moment Pete, the decent man, enters Annie (the mother’s) life and for Elv, when Lorry exits.

Elv’s darkness seems to put her as the central sister. Even Claire’s silence and withdrawal is not really presented in a way that makes her inner reality vivid. And there is the sense of all things rushing inexorably to a unifying and probably sentimental end. All will be well. We know this. So we read on. But it seems to be presented as a consolation or some presented wisdom rather than shown (as Elv’s teenage rebellion and it’s effect on her family is shown). Enters the decent man and everything picks up. Mother dies, but somehow this redeems her (though as readers we can’t ever really blame her, b ut even Elv no longer does). Elv falls pregnant and this turns her life away from drugs and despair. Meg has a reading room named after her. Claire somehow manages to find a vocation by accident and leave her listless desolation. She even finds true love. Even their ama finds a last love. The child reunites everyone with her innocence and joy.

Yes, all of this takes years that flutter by in a few pages, yes are happy that all is well. For a story that starts out to be concerned about the real possibility of evil in the world, the sweetness of the ending, the redemption by a loving eccentric neighbourhood of friends and family might be a bit ‘pat’. Seeing that the story is how the sisters fell out of the reach of such community or the ability to experience or access this, the fact that the edges of this sense between self and community is not explored at all may be a let-down.

(less)

like 1 like · see review

Oct 19, 2011 Maria rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I ran into Alice Hoffman by accident. This is kinda my thing... lately I've been running into many, until then unknown to me, authors that quickly become part of my favourites list... in a blink of an eye, I would say, or perhaps at the turn of a page, if you prefer.

There's one word that perfectly describes Alice Hoffman's books (even though I haven't read all of them... yet): enchanting. Her words lure you to a private little world... and you fall in love with it, not being able to put it down,...more

like 6 likes · see review

Aug 19, 2011 Marion Marchetto rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: alice-hoffman

What would you do for the love of your sister or brother? Alice Hoffman takes us on a journey into the minds of three sisters who are so close as children that they have created a fantasy world where no others are allowed. This world is the creation of the oldest sister, Elv, who rescues her youngest sibling from probably child molestation by taking shoving her out of a moving car and taking her place. When she is released she keeps it all inside herself, vowing to keep both her sisters safe fro...more What would you do for the love of your sister or brother? Alice Hoffman takes us on a journey into the minds of three sisters who are so close as children that they have created a fantasy world where no others are allowed. This world is the creation of the oldest sister, Elv, who rescues her youngest sibling from probably child molestation by taking shoving her out of a moving car and taking her place. When she is released she keeps it all inside herself, vowing to keep both her sisters safe from the demons that inhabit the real world.

Elv and her sisters are the products of divorced parents. Annie, their mother, thinks she has a close bond with the girls but sadly knows nothing of their fantasy world and Elv's private hell.

Elv is driven to sex, drugs, and the dark side in her search for love. Claire, the youngest, who Elv rescued from being a victim, watches this downward spiral. She blames herself not only for Elv's fall but also for the deaths of people and animals she loves. Most importantly Claire blames herself for the death of their middle sister, Megan, and vows never again to love another being.

In the end, we watch the lives of the sisters drift apart before they reunite years later. It is a long, intricate journey but one that is skillfully woven by Ms. Hoffman. The characters are believable and vulnerable and I was anxious to see how they would fare. I would have enjoyed getting deeper into the feelings of Claire and learning more of the young Megan. Perhaps even learning about how the actions of the sisters caused their mother to do some of the things she did. Another aspect I would have enjoyed would have been the story of the girls' father and how he viewed his rebellious oldest daughter.

As in other Hoffman novels we are treated to wonderful descriptions of Long Island and New England. The author makes good use of using the seasons to reflect the changing lives of Elv and her family. Another thread, common in many of Hoffman's stories, is the use of black roses to signify the dark side of things.

In all, I didn't like this book as much as Ms. Hoffman's earlier works. There was just something missing, that elusive call to the reader that says, "don't put me down just yet".

The story starts out full of promise but it isn't until the final chapters that the promise is fulfilled. The middle reads like just so many other stories one sees on the nightly news.

(less)

like 1 like · see review

May 28, 2011 Marigold rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: soap-opera

I’m typically not a fan of Alice Hoffman nor of magical reality novels. But this one was different. It’s a story about 3 sisters, Elv, Meg & Claire who live with their mom. Something terrible happens to Elv & Claire that changes their lives forever, but knowing that their mom is sad about her divorce, they never tell her. In the absence of appropriate treatment for their trauma, the girls invent a secret world, with its own language, that they spend more & more time in. Over the year...more

like 2 likes · see review

May 15, 2011 Catherine rated it 3 of 5 stars

I saw the following review and it was exactly how I'd describe the book myself. So I thought I'd share it here with my friends: My experience reading this book was somewhat surreal. In the beginning, it was a bit like a train wreck or a car accident - ghastly and grim, yet I couldn't look away. It was nothing like I expected, not at all what I wanted, and yet I found myself incapable of just returning it, unread, to the library. I continued on, reading the unfolding horrors and drama, told in th...more

like 5 likes · see review

Dec 05, 2010 Meneesha Govender rated it 4 of 5 stars

This has to be one of |the most haunting, |heart-breaking books I've |read this year.

Elv, Meg and Claire live with their mother on Long Island. They're beautiful, mysterious, intriguing and envied by all their peers.

They also have their own form of communication - something that appears harmless and endearing at first, but turns out the |be the source of their eventual undoing.

It is this secret world that the sisters inhabit that has you questioning throughout the beginning of the novel whether...more

like 2 likes · see review

Nov 14, 2010 Melissa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

The Story Sisters was so dark that I considered putting it down. Alice Hoffman is such an excellent writer that I was transfixed as much as I was repulsed.

The three Story sisters are so close that they invent their own world as youngsters. They have their own language and their mother feels quite left out. After a tragic event effects Elv and Claire as young girls, they grow inseparable and the third sister, Meg, feels more and more left out. Elv and Claire tell no one what happened and Elv's s...more

like 1 like · see review

Nov 09, 2010 Filledacier rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like · see review

Sep 29, 2010 Toni rated it 4 of 5 stars

4.5 or a 5-THis is difficult book to review. Let's start that I was on vacation, I started the book at 8am after a walk and read until my husband was done working at noon, then read and finished it by 11 pm at night- it would not let go. After finishing it, while my husband slept,I could not stop thinking about the characters- Even though I would class this as a fable or allegory or fantastical even , the characters seemed real to me.Not just the 3 girls but even the mom and grandma and Pete, bu...more

like 4 likes · see review

Sep 10, 2010 Edienna rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I loved this book immensely. I've only read two other Alice Hoffman books so I was excited to start this one, I finished it within a week and was sad for it to end. There is something about the way Alice Hoffman writes that makes me appreciate the little things in life so much more. Possibly because that is how she creates her stories; a slew of occurrences and detailed descriptions of...TOMATOES!!!! and other small things that create the world of the Story sisters.

I also had strange moments wi...more

like · see review

Jul 02, 2010 Judith rated it 2 of 5 stars

In my humble opinion, Alice Hoffman has either degenerated or I have outgrown her. This book read like a Danielle Steels novel---all incredible extremes.

This girl is the most beautiful girl in the world; men commit suicide over her when she is a teen. Everyone adores her, yet she cares for no one except her little sister. She becomes more and more withdrawn, sitting in a tree outside her window; running off in the night barefooted to get involved in drugs and drinking and sex, because she suffe...more

like 9 likes · see review

Feb 23, 2010 Deborah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Alice Hoffman never fails to please and never fails to take us into her world of light fantasy that tips reality into the spirit world. It's as if the harshness of the everyday world is touched by a mist of the "otherness" that only some can see or experience.

The story sisters are just such girls. They are mysterious and other-worldish, beautiful and aloof. They have a special language and a world created all of their own. It's mindful of the creativity and strangeness of the Bronte children. Cl...more

like 1 like · see review

Jan 01, 2010 Jessica rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 25-books, 9th-grade

The story sisters is a book about 3 sisters who live in a world that no other person can see. They have their own language and their own rituals, but soon when they grow older, they soon start to distant and as they thought they would always use their magic for good, they all forget, one losing the world completely and living in reality, the other trying fight off the demons and the oldest embracing good and bad. They are all beautiful, yes, but how much do the demons get involved to make them f...more

like · see review

Jul 14, 2009 Dawn rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Brooke

Shelves: fiction

Another incredible book from one of my favorite authors! Alice Hoffman has the amazing ability to combine fantasy with reality, to the edge where you are not sure which world you are in anymore. Here it is particularly effective in the telling of the story because it is part of the story. Three sisters, a mother, and a few other important characters are woven together so skillfully and with such depth that they become part of your heart and breath while reading and long after. Hoffman excels at...more

like 1 like · see review

Jun 21, 2009 Diane rated it 5 of 5 stars

Alice Hoffman is an author known for her novels filled with magical touches. Her latest, The Story Sisters, continues that, when a magical world created by three sisters collides with the reality of the world in which we all exist.

Elizabeth, called Elv, Meg and Claire Story live with their mother in a small town on Long Island. Their parents are in the middle of a bad divorce, and it has affected the girls deeply. When they were young children, Elv (whose nickname connotes the fairy-like elves)...more Alice Hoffman is an author known for her novels filled with magical touches. Her latest, The Story Sisters, continues that, when a magical world created by three sisters collides with the reality of the world in which we all exist.

Elizabeth, called Elv, Meg and Claire Story live with their mother in a small town on Long Island. Their parents are in the middle of a bad divorce, and it has affected the girls deeply. When they were young children, Elv (whose nickname connotes the fairy-like elves) created a fairy tale world, Arnelle, which had its own language. It slightly concerned their mother Annie when they would continue to speak this language, even as they grew out of childhood. Annie's mother Natalia warns her that this behavior could isolate the girls from the real world.

This fantasy world contrasts with the physical world in which they live. Annie has a large garden, and grows heirloom tomatoes. The girls are knowledgeable in all areas tomato. They love animals: Elv likes dogs, Claire rides horses. Elv is artistic, attracted to painting and color. Meg is a voracious reader, and a very good student. They sleep in the same bedroom, and are each other's best friends.

The horrors of the real world intrude on the girls of Arnelle when a bad man hurts Elv, who saves the younger Claire from his clutches. They never tell anyone about "the day the bad thing happened", not even Meg. This bad thing, and her reluctance to tell her mother, causes Elv to act out. Annie is struggling too, "she felt as if everything she did was in halves: half a mother, half a teacher, half a woman". In that one sentence, Hoffman articulates the feelings of so many women.

Elv begins to believe "that evil repelled evil, while good collected it", and she is determined to become evil in order to expel it from her life. She uses drugs, becomes promiscuous, steals- everything a young woman with low self esteem does to dull her pain. Meg is angered by her sister's behavior, but Claire vows to remain loyal to Elv. Elv's behavior breaks the bonds of sisterhood she so tenderly nurtured.

Hoffman uses imagery and metaphors so beautifully. When Elv saves a kitten thrown into a river, she tells Claire that she is haunted because she couldn't save a second kitten thrown in. Claire reminds her that it is important that she saved one, but Elv can't get over that she couldn't save the other, echoing the fact that she saved Claire once, but was unable to save herself.

The author's writing hits home with the reader, as when following a death, Annie's cousin says,
"Call me the minute you need something," she told Annie and Claire, but neither of them could think of a single thing they might need that anyone could possibly give them.
Everyone who has lost someone knows that exact feeling.

This is a moving, haunting novel that will make you cry. There is so much sadness, so many tragic things that happen, and we all know people about whom we say, "haven't they suffered enough?" About a good man who becomes involved with the Story family, Hoffman writes
He stayed in the kitchen with the dog for a while. He covered his face and wept. When he was done, he patted Shiloh's head. This wasn't his house or his family or his dog, but it was his sorrow.

Hoffman broke my heart with this beautiful story of how secrets can destroy, but ultimately about the power of love to redeem. I became deeply invested in her characters, and will not be able to get them out of my thoughts. It is so powerful, so moving, it is the best of what fiction attempts to be. I give it my highest recommendation of five stars.(less)

like 5 likes · see review

Jun 19, 2009 Kathy Kennedy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, fiction

I really loved this book. I am not one for graphic and detailed books on violent crimes toward women and children. The harsh reality makes me ill so I try not to read it. BUT, this book was amazing! There is drug use and premarital sex within the story but its not graphic at all. I thought Alice Hoffman did a fantastic job telling a story of three sisters who make a transition from childhood innocence to real adult women. Each sister took a different path on the way to adulthood. The oldest, Elv...more

like 1 like · see review

Jun 16, 2009 Sara rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: female-authors, fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Just a note: I really want to give this two and a half stars, but Goodreads won't let me do that.

This novel tells the story of three sisters, Claire, Meg and Elv. Led by Elv, the oldest, they invent their own language, and stories of a magical underground world that only they can enter. As children and young adolescents, the girls are secretive and insular, and the two younger sisters, Claire and Meg, are fascinated, envious and adoring of beautiful Elv, as are all of her classmates. Elv's fairy...more Just a note: I really want to give this two and a half stars, but Goodreads won't let me do that.

This novel tells the story of three sisters, Claire, Meg and Elv. Led by Elv, the oldest, they invent their own language, and stories of a magical underground world that only they can enter. As children and young adolescents, the girls are secretive and insular, and the two younger sisters, Claire and Meg, are fascinated, envious and adoring of beautiful Elv, as are all of her classmates. Elv's fairy tale inventions were borne largely out of a traumatic event shared by Claire and Elv as young girls, when a local schoolteacher attempted to abduct Claire. Elv had pursued his car, begging to be let in, until the teacher stopped the car and she was able to signal Claire to run as he pulled Elv into the vehicle. Claire was saved, but Elv was abused before she was able to escape from the teacher's house. The fairy tale world and secret, bird-like language became a way for Elv to feel powerful and separated from the human world in which such terrible things could happen.

The remainder of the novel follows the sisters and their single mother as Elv becomes increasingly troubled and frightening. The loyalties between the three girls are in constant flux, and their mother struggles to save Elv from herself without pushing her away entirely.

This novel had a lot of promise, and some really wonderful moments. The fairy tale motif didn't become too cute, which I appreciated, and because it apppeared again and again it gave the author a lot of room for moments of magical realism within the plot. There were definitely plot points that didn't ring true, though. The family experiences one failure and tragedy after another, to such an extent that it becomes a little hard to swallow. There are also events in the book that seem sudden and out of place, and you can almost feel where the author made a decision that something needed to happen to move things forward, making it feel less natural.

Overall, though certainly dark at many points, it was an entertaining and fast read, and filled my general desire to read semi-magical stories in Summer. (less)

like 7 likes · see review

Jun 07, 2009 RNOCEAN rated it 5 of 5 stars

Alice Hoffman’s previous novel, The Third Angel, was hailed as "an unforgettable portrait of the depth of true love" (USA Today), "stunning" (Jodi Picoult), and "spellbinding" (Miami Herald). Her new novel, The Story Sisters, charts the lives of three sisters–Elv, Claire, and Meg. Each has a fate she must meet alone: one on a country road, one in the streets of Paris, and one in the corridors of her own imagination. Inhabiting their world are a charismatic man who cannot tell the truth, a neighb...more

like 2 likes · see review

Feb 09, 2010 Autumn Doughton rated it 4 of 5 stars

I don't know that I would say this book is amazing or full of literary merit, but God was it a emotional. I cried about every other page for the last two-thirds and so I have to give it four stars for being able to tug on my heartstrings so fiercely. I felt like a big marshmallow when I finished--like I'd been turned inside out and hung up to dry.
The plot follows the lives of three sisters as they come of age in a small town. It sounds typical at first, but quickly moves beyond the norm. The bi...more

like · see review

Mar 23, 2013 Ruth rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I wasn't sure what to expect when picking up this book and found it both enchanting and mysterious at the same time.

Alice Hoffman's writing style in this book should be highly commended. She takes you into this world of both light and dark at the same time.

What would you do for the ones you love ?

Elv the eldest Story sister creates a world of fantasy in Arnelle which she shares with her two other sisters Meg and Claire. She creates this world as a way to escape the tradegy of shoving her sister...more

like 3 likes · see review

Jan 29, 2013 Mirren Jones rated it 5 of 5 stars

In my opinion Alice Hoffman is one of the world’s finest storytellers, with a unique voice and her ‘trademark’- a weave of myth and contemporary realism, written with consummate skill.

This novel moves effortlessly forwards and backwards in time to relate a complex tale of three beautiful sisters and how their previous happy lives are torn apart by a damaging childhood encounter. They choose to keep this a secret, known only to themselves, but the subsequent childhood wounds run deep, affecting...more

like 1 like · see review

Sep 19, 2012 Meghan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

The teenage years. Man, am I glad they're over. I'm actually pretty shocked that I made it out of them alive and for the most part, happy and successful. There were things I did and situations I put myself into that had a 50/50 chance of going completely and absolutely bad. I feel like I got lucky. I had a family that cared enough to give me tough love and pull me out of it. Elv, one of the Story sisters, didn't have so much luck. The first part of this book brought me back so immediately to my...more

like 1 like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Magic Realism: Alice Hoffman	9	23	21. November, 09:55 Uhr

combine
Other Editions (12)

More editions...

Genres

Magical Realism

47 users

Fantasy

19 users

Book Club

18 users

Contemporary

16 users

Adult

14 users

Adult Fiction

13 users

Novels

11 users

Literary Fiction

10 users

Mystery

8 users

Womens Fiction > Chick Lit

7 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Alice Hoffman

Alice Hoffman was born in New York City on March 16, 1952 and grew up on Long Island. After graduating from high school in 1969, she attended Adelphi University, from which she received a BA, and then received a Mirrellees Fellowship to the Stanford University Creative Writing Center, which she attended in 1973 and 74, receiving an MA in creative writing. She currently lives in Boston and New York...more Alice Hoffman was born in New York City on March 16, 1952 and grew up on Long Island. After graduating from high school in 1969, she attended Adelphi University, from which she received a BA, and then received a Mirrellees Fellowship to the Stanford University Creative Writing Center, which she attended in 1973 and 74, receiving an MA in creative writing. She currently lives in Boston and New York.

Hoffman’s first novel, PROPERTY OF, was written at the age of twenty-one, while she was studying at Stanford, and published shortly thereafter by Farrar Straus and Giroux. She credits her mentor, professor and writer Albert J. Guerard, and his wife, the writer Maclin Bocock Guerard, for helping her to publish her first short story in the magazine Fiction. Editor Ted Solotaroff then contacted her to ask if she had a novel, at which point she quickly began to write what was to become PROPERTY OF, a section of which was published in Mr. Solotaroff’s magazine, American Review.

Since that remarkable beginning, Alice Hoffman has become one of our most distinguished novelists. She has published a total of sixteen novels, two books of short fiction, and eight books for children and young adults. Her novel, HERE ON EARTH, an Oprah Book Club choice, was a modern reworking of some of the themes of Emily Bronte’s masterpiece Wuthering Heights. PRACTICAL MAGIC was made into a Warner film starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman. Her novel, AT RISK, which concerns a family dealing with AIDS, can be found on the reading lists of many universities, colleges and secondary schools. Hoffman’s advance from LOCAL GIRLS, a collection of inter-related fictions about love and loss on Long Island, was donated to help create the Hoffman Breast Center at Mt. Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, MA. BLACKBIRD HOUSE is a book of stories centering around an old farm on Cape Cod. Hoffman's recent books include AQUARMARINE and INDIGO, novels for pre-teens, and The New York Times bestsellers THE RIVER KING, BLUE DIARY, THE PROBABLE FUTURE, and THE ICE QUEEN. GREEN ANGEL, a post-apocalyptic fairy tale about loss and love, was published by Scholastic and THE FORETELLING, a book about an Amazon girl in the Bronze Age, was published by Little Brown. This fall Little Brown published the teen novel INCANTATION, a story about hidden Jews during the Spanish Inquisition, which Publishers Weekly has chosen as one of the best books of the year. In January 2007, SKYLIGHT CONFESSIONS, a novel about one family’s secret history, was released on the 30th anniversary of the publication of Hoffman’s first novel.

Hoffman’s work has been published in more than twenty translations and more than one hundred foreign editions. Her novels have received mention as notable books of the year by The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, The Los Angeles Times, Library Journal, and People Magazine. She has also worked as a screenwriter and is the author of the original screenplay “Independence Day,” a film starring Kathleen Quinlan and Diane Weist. Her short fiction and non-fiction have appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe Magazine, Kenyon Review, Redbook, Architectural Digest, Gourmet, Self, and other magazines. Her teen novel AQUAMARINE was recently made into a film starring Emma Roberts.
(less)

More about Alice Hoffman...

Books by Alice Hoffman

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About The Story Sisters

2 trivia questions

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from The Story Sisters

“Sometimes words drew blood, they cut your tongue, they made you know things you couldn't unknow. ” — 63 people liked it

“Maybe some love was guaranteed. Maybe it fit inside you and around you like skin and bones.” — 18 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: The Story Sisters
avg rating	preview: The Story Sisters Goodreads rating: 3.77 (6415 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5802140-the-story-sisters?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1320400552l/5802140.jpg[/img][/url] [url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5802140-the-story-sisters?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman[/url]

The Story Sisters

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website