Nina Kiriki Hoffman

Loved it!! I absolutely adore these books, with their quirky magic and lovable characters. There is way more psychology in these books than is usual for fantasy, and I know some people who are put off by it, but I love the way it is integrated in a magical world. I like that even the evil people are not completely evil, and that some of the good people are somewhat questionable. Mostly, I love the talking objects. The car! The house! The road! I like that one of the characters changes sex without it being a problem. I like that there are so many magical women and that they work together. I have to admit, I was sorry that the house was no longer a house in the end. She is cool as a human too, but she was such a nice house... In hindsight, the largest issue I have is the reaction of Julio's mother when she finds out what has happened to him. In all fairness, that seemed way too accepting to me. Ah, and maybe with Matt drinking the chocolate milk. That seemed like asking for trouble. But it didn't bother me too much while reading. Now I'm just sorry there is no sequel...… (more)

Loved it! I am a huge fan of this author. As usual, there are quite some psychological issues that lie at the heart of the story. I was slightly disappointed that Tom was taking center stage so much during the first three quarters of the book. Laura only starts using her magic more at the end and is in need of help a lot in the beginning. With Tom being new to the whole magic thing, this seems a bit off.

Second review:
I gave this 5 stars the first time around, but I think that is a bit too much. I like the psychology that Hoffman puts in her work, but everything does come very easy to Tom, with him hopping around everywhere and saving everyone. I find his character to be a bit bland, he's just a decent person with a backstory.… (more)

I really loved it. It's less hectic than the first book and more balanced in personalities. The story is told quietly, slowly revealing the events, forming the friendships. It was charming, even if those friendships had some abusive elements. It was clear that everyone was damaged in some way by previous events, but trying to do their best to improve. And most of them did evolve and become better people.
I do feel the information in the extra story should have been part of the main book. But still, I enjoyed this a great deal, even if the connection with book 1 didn't become fully clear without that extra story.… (more)