Practical Magic

By: Alice Hoffman

Narrated by: Christina Moore

Alice Hoffman's enchanting witch's brew of suspense, romance and magic - now a major motion picture from Warner Bros.

When the beautiful and precocious sisters Sally and Gillian Owens are orphaned at a young age, they are taken to a small Massachusetts town to be raised by their eccentric aunts, who happen to dwell in the darkest, eeriest house in town. As they become more aware of their aunts' mysterious and sometimes frightening powers - and as their own powers begin to surface - the sisters grow determined to escape their strange upbringing by blending into "normal" society.

But both find that they cannot elude their magic-filled past. And when trouble strikes - in the form of a menacing backyard ghost - the sisters must not only reunite three generations of Owens women but embrace their magic as a gift - and their key to a future of love and passion.

Funny, haunting, and shamelessly romantic, Practical Magic is bewitching entertainment - Alice Hoffman at her spectacular best.

©2012 Alice Hoffman (P)2012 Simon & Schuster, Inc

Critic reviews

"Huffman's best since Illumination Night. ( Publishers Weekly)

It's not the movie, but I did enjoy it

Although there is a serious lack of magic in a book about witches, I did enjoy this. By the end I was left with the overwhelming feeling that this book was about the family, the sisters in particular and I'm okay with that.

I adored how the relationships for both Gillian and Sally happened, they fell hard and fast. A love we can all hope for.

The movie version will always remain my favorite of the two, but this was still a good book.

i loved this book

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

yes it actually held my attention all the way thru unlike a lot of books i have listened to which within 3 hrs lose me ...... this one held me and left me wanting more on this storyline

What was one of the most memorable moments of Practical Magic?

i loved it all

What about Christina Moore’s performance did you like?

all

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

it already has a movie

the narrator was ok but

love the story but the narrator ruined it for me. She made all characters sounded like old ladies. Even the men. It made them seem snippy and unlikeable because her tone was confrontational.. I like the book but it's hard to listen to

Most enjoyable!

Surprisingly different from the movie but still has the flavor of it. I was surprised that it didn't connect more to the first book. The reader was great except she mispronounced a word which drives me nuts. Forte is a French word people use quite a bit to mean a strength or ability. She pronounced it like the for kids build and not "fortay" as it should have been. Took me a minute to get her meaning.

Beautifully Ironic

An enchanting story with beguiling, vivid descriptions. The characters were charming and relatable, transforming over the course of the story with each new experience. They forged realistic bonds and reacted in likely ways. The tale held depth, meaning, morals, and lessons which many stories lack these days. Among those were lessons of family, confidence, caring, trust, fear, beauty, understanding, and love. It followed no preset algorithm based off what the masses wanted. But was a story of necessity. The kind which is better for one’s heart and soul, rather than the repetitious time-wasters many readers have grown to expect. There were no Jungian archetypes. Each character held depth and authenticity. There was no cookie cutter repetitive plot with superficial problems. The problems were real and believable, despite being somewhat magical. This story was a unique work displaying how the paranormal can impact real world lives. I should like to read it again soon.

Must read/listen

I’ve always loved the movie, not fully realizing it was a book. It is startling different, yet equally as magical. I thoroughly enjoyed this little escape during my weekly commute.

bot what I expected and pleasantly surprised

if your expecting something closer to the movie this may not be for you. you can DEFINETLY see where the story elements of the movie came from.
The book is a lot more enduring. Gives more insight to Sally and Jillian's relationship. You also get lol more insight on their relationship with the aunts and Sally's daughters. a fantastic book for a light summer reading

Not as good as I expected it to be

Frustrating narration and prose is kind of boring, but it's a decent story. Very remedial language use and strange shock-value placement of "f" word missed the mark. The emphasis by the narrator on this word was like listening to a wasp-ish woman say it in an angry/defiant sort of way. Maybe swearing just isn't that big of a deal anymore. Woman sounded like she wanted to wash her own mouth out with a bar of their special soap.

great book

different than the movie, but just as good. very well written, conjuring pictures in your head.

Delightful

I enjoyed this movie as a youngster and had no idea it was a book!! so thankful to know this now and enjoyed the story in the book much more than the movie. Isn't that often the case!?!