The Book of Magic (Practical Magic, #2)

by Alice Hoffman

Some stories begin at the beginning and others begin at the end, but all the best stories begin in a library.

Courage or caution? Why on earth would you want to be normal? What fun would that be?

Franny understood this was how loss began. She had been here before, but then, like anyone else, she had forgotten this is what happened, that things ended when you least expected them to, that you could not protect those you loved from nature and fate.

Seeing has little to do with opening your eyes; it’s what you feel inside that counts, it’s what you know without anyone telling you.

Life was like a book, Jet thought, but one you would never finish. You would never know how people would wind up; the good often suffered and the wicked prospered and there was no explanation for the way in which fate was meted out as there was in novels.

When you are ready and have nothing to lose. When you are unafraid. When you wish to save someone else more than you wish to save yourself.

Life all happened so quickly; people tell you it will, but you won’t believe it until it happens to you. Cry all you want, being young will slip through your hands and you will be left standing there, you who were once so young, not recognizing yourself or your life.

you must be yourself no matter what; anything else was a lie, and a denial of who you were would always cause grief. What you put out into the world came back to you threefold. If you could not accept yourself, you would be reviled and cast out, adrift in the world.

There are some things you have only once in a lifetime, and then only if you’re lucky.

Words were everything, stories were more powerful than any weapon, books changed lives.

The Magus, written by the British occultist Francis Barrett,

Come home, get out quick, don’t trust anyone you don’t really know. I’m your sister, I’m not some stranger who has desires all his own. You are asking for trouble and trouble is what you’ll get.

Let the wrong man into your life and you have set out on the path before you know it. A step at a time, until you are turning left.

What you wind up regretting aren’t the things you do, it’s what you don’t do that you will never forgive yourself for.

Antonia thought about how he had lost his beloved son; he had never gotten over it, because no one can get over such a loss, and yet here he was, being kind to her. If he kept this up, she would be on the brink of tears.

Do not steal, do not lie, do not trust a man you can never really know.

Wake up, girl! Look at what is right in front of you. Is your heart beating too fast? Are you shaky when you see him and when you walk away? Well, that’s love all right, and it will still be there, even if you want to pretend it’s not.

The Book of the Raven nearly ruined my daughter Faith’s life. I could have destroyed it, but it was written by a woman of knowledge who wrote it in order to grant the reader her heart’s desire, whether it be revenge or love. It will instruct you on the way to end our affliction, then you must pass it on to the next woman who needs the raven’s knowledge. I thought a curse would protect us, but curses come back to you threefold. There is only one way to put an end to it. Courage. My letter is written for the bravest among us. To save a life, a life must be given. To end the curse, the book in which it was originally written must be destroyed. The Grimoire which was mine must be no more. The future rises from the ashes of the past, Begin at the beginning and end at the end. To have a blessed future, dispose of a cursed past. Return it to its element, no matter how deep.

Read as many books as you can. Choose courage over caution. Take time to visit libraries. Look for light in the darkness. Have faith in yourself. Know that love is what matters most.