Practical Magic

Practical Magic is book one of the Practical Magic series by best-selling American author, Alice Hoffman. After their parents die in a house fire, four-year-old Sally Owens and her younger sister, Gillian are sent to Massachusetts, to the house on Magnolia Street owned by their mother, Regina's aunts. Their upbringing with these unconventional women is undisciplined.

The rumours about the aunts reflect on the sisters and taint the town's perception of them: the sisters are feared, avoided and excluded. Sally makes every effort to create for them lives as ordinary as possible: cleaning, washing, cooking and excelling at school; but the girls can't avoid seeing the town women who visit the aunts, nor avoid knowing much of what is requested by these women. Attractive to the men of the town, young and old, at eighteen, Gillian escapes into a nomadic life of conquests and breaking hearts, vowing never to return.

Her own happy marriage settles Sally, until the unthinkable happens. Thus, it takes Sally longer to leave, but eventually she overrules her daughters' reluctance to abandon the aunts, takes them to New York and brings them up in a normal house in a normal town.

Redhaired Antonia, sixteen, dazzles the boys and men a bit like Gillian did, while at twelve, dowdy Kylie sticks to soccer practice and chess games with her gawky best friend, Gideon. It all turns upside-down when Gillian turns up. Arriving in an Oldsmobile bearing Arizona plates, she brings trouble and, even when it is dead and buried, it does not allow them any peace.

With three divorces and a dead body in Gillian's recent history, Sally worries about her sister's influence on her younger daughter: Kylie turns thirteen and is suddenly too attractive, turning dangerous heads, and haunted by a ghost in the backyard. More of a worry, though, is a new arrival in town: Gary Hallet is from the Attorney General's department, looking for Gillian's latest boyfriend but also mesmerised by Sally's letter to her sister. Time to call in the aunts?

Hoffman gives the reader an enchanting tale of family and love and magic. The characters are appealing and often a bit quirky, the romance is delightful and the magic fun. It will be interesting to see how Hollywood interprets this one, and where the two prequels and the second book in this series lead. An enjoyable and entertaining read.