How is this not a movie yet? Maybe "just" a Lifetime movie, but SOME VARIETY OF MOVIE. It seems ripe for it.

Oh, wait, it looks like there is a version of The Probable Future headed that way -- I can't find much about it, but it seems to be a Thing. Called it.

I've read Hoffman before, and am a fan of her writing, which reminds me of fairy tales. So coming in, I expected to like this novel, and I did. My only problem was the predictability of most of the plot points, but that's one of my ~~issues~~ and I don't think it would bother most readers.

The story focuses on the women of the Sparrow family, who each wake up on their thirteenth birthdays with a "gift," some sort of spooky sense. Sometimes (most of the time) the gifts get them in trouble. The Probable Future zeroes in on Stella, who's just turned thirteen, and her mom and grandmother; it follows them after Stella's gift ends up getting her dad in trouble, and ends up being a study in mother/daughter relationships.

It's not a life-changing book: it has the feel, for me, of a nice little escape. Good writing, pleasant atmosphere, interesting but not too stressful plot. It's the book equivalent of a (good) chick flick.

Also, I would like to re-christen my house "Cake House" now.