Rules of Magic - Alice Hoffman - 4 stars

[Kelly]

Hoffman’s prequel to her earlier book Practical Magic focuses on the sisters Franny and Jet Owens. They are part of the long line of Owens women who have special powers. In this story Franny and Jet have a brother Vincent. The three are aware of a family curse that will harm the person they fall in love with. This curse affects how they approach their relationships and they look for ways around it.

The brother, Vincent, was a good inclusion to the story. He has seen his future and is often careless with his present when he is young. Vincent goes places his parents would disapprove of; he also plays the guitar and naturally attracts people to him.

Hoffman’s characters struggle here with who they are and what they want out of life. The author has the siblings face real events happening in the world and this helps give them more depth. However, it is the Franny, Jet and Vincent’s everyday life and how they try to balance love that make the book.