- Paperback: 368 pages
- Publisher: Ace Books; Rep Rei edition (31 May 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0441011772
- ISBN-13: 978-0441011773
- Product Dimensions: 16.8 x 10.7 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,088,088 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Gypsum LaZelle is the middle child in a family of very talented people. The Lazelle family have magic powers. Gyp watches her two older siblings go through the transition (a serious illness where you either die, or gain your powers) and is expecting it to be her turn any time now, but when her younger brother becomes sick, it is obvious the transition has passed her by.
Gyp is devastated not to go through transition. It changes everything. She quickly finds herself resenting her family for their good fortune and eventually leaves for boarding school. Years pass, and Gyp learns to live with being normal until one day in her twentieth year, she falls terribly sick... :¬)
This book was a simple story about Gyp's relationships with her family and friends and how they change when she finally receives her powers. Transitioning so late, means that she didn't complete her magical studies and now needs to learn everything quickly. Also, a late transition means she is very powerful indeed... VERY. Worst of all, her power turns out to be a Dark Power--the power of curses. Magic must be used or Gyp risks death, but that means she has to curse someone or something three or four times per day EVERY day forever. Talk about a fun premise. Who or what would you curse?
Mark E. Cooper
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
43 reviews
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Couldn't Put it Down!
29 Jan 2005
Format:Hardcover
This is one of the most imaginative books I have come across in a long time, and I had trouble putting it down! It's one of those gems that engross you, and you will think of it long after you've finished it.
Gypsum LaZelle, the middle child in a family of talented witches, has resigned herself to being normal. Having not undergone transition, she never acquired the powers that her siblings and mother have. So she was surprised, to say the least, when at twenty years old, she underwent her own transition and gained her own power. Her surprise was greater still when, instead of having a positive power like the rest of her family, she had a negative power-the power of curses.
Waking up each morning with power literally spilling out of her, Gypsum HAD to utilize her curses, but more often than not, things went awry. With a perfectionist mother, every failure was blown out of proportion and criticized. Luckily, with the love and support of the rest of her family, Gyp starts to learn how she can use her power for good rather than evil.
Sometimes dangerous, sometimes funny, and always entertaining, Gyp's magical attempts will fascinate the reader. What's great about the main character is that she's not perfect: overweight, naive and a bit squeamish, she is a wholly lovable, believable character. Hoffman did a marvelous job crafting Gyp's emotions, and the characters are extremely endearing. If this is any indication of the writer's talents, I'm going to go out and buy all her works.
Gypsum LaZelle, the middle child in a family of talented witches, has resigned herself to being normal. Having not undergone transition, she never acquired the powers that her siblings and mother have. So she was surprised, to say the least, when at twenty years old, she underwent her own transition and gained her own power. Her surprise was greater still when, instead of having a positive power like the rest of her family, she had a negative power-the power of curses.
Waking up each morning with power literally spilling out of her, Gypsum HAD to utilize her curses, but more often than not, things went awry. With a perfectionist mother, every failure was blown out of proportion and criticized. Luckily, with the love and support of the rest of her family, Gyp starts to learn how she can use her power for good rather than evil.
Sometimes dangerous, sometimes funny, and always entertaining, Gyp's magical attempts will fascinate the reader. What's great about the main character is that she's not perfect: overweight, naive and a bit squeamish, she is a wholly lovable, believable character. Hoffman did a marvelous job crafting Gyp's emotions, and the characters are extremely endearing. If this is any indication of the writer's talents, I'm going to go out and buy all her works.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
You don't always get what you want
25 Feb 2006
Format:Paperback
And sometimes, when you do, it turns out you may not want it after all. At least that's what Gypsum LaZelle discovers when, after having convinced herself she'd never receive her magical powers like the rest of her family did, she actually does receive them, only they're not exactly what she expected.
This is the story of Gypsum LaZelle, the "black sheep" of her magical family. Unlike the rest of the LaZelle's, Gypsum didn't go through her transition to receive her powers. She's accepted her fate as a non-magical member of her family and of society, even if it means that she won't quite measure up to the rest of her siblings, especially in her very magical mother's eyes. It isn't until she becomes sick, and something suddenly changes in her, that Gypsum realizes she may not be all that different. But then again...maybe she is.
This is a wonderful coming of age story about a young girl struggling with her identity. Take away the magic portion of the story, and it would still be a great story about finding your place, fitting in, being comfortable with who you trully are, whether or not it is who you always expected to be. Throw the magic element back into it, and it is a colorful, vivid, creative and imaginative tale. Hoffman does a wonderful job creating characters that are both realistic and full of fantasy. They are people the reader can identify with, and yet be mesmerized by.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and am looking forward to reading more by the author.
This is the story of Gypsum LaZelle, the "black sheep" of her magical family. Unlike the rest of the LaZelle's, Gypsum didn't go through her transition to receive her powers. She's accepted her fate as a non-magical member of her family and of society, even if it means that she won't quite measure up to the rest of her siblings, especially in her very magical mother's eyes. It isn't until she becomes sick, and something suddenly changes in her, that Gypsum realizes she may not be all that different. But then again...maybe she is.
This is a wonderful coming of age story about a young girl struggling with her identity. Take away the magic portion of the story, and it would still be a great story about finding your place, fitting in, being comfortable with who you trully are, whether or not it is who you always expected to be. Throw the magic element back into it, and it is a colorful, vivid, creative and imaginative tale. Hoffman does a wonderful job creating characters that are both realistic and full of fantasy. They are people the reader can identify with, and yet be mesmerized by.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and am looking forward to reading more by the author.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
A good read, but not the best....
10 Nov 2004
Format:Hardcover
In this quirky coming of age tale, late bloomer Gypsum LaZelle is the last of her brothers and sisters to gain her magical powers. Unfortunately, the power she gains is an 'unkind power' in the family parlance. She is 'gifted' with the power to curse and apparently is quite strong in this gift.
It's instructional to see how Gypsum learns to take a negative and turn it into a positive. She develops teamwork skills by filtering her powers through another sib Flint, who seems to get his magic wrong more often than not and ends up giving them both a self-confidence boost. In a Jungian twist, she also reconciles herself with her Shadow by working with 'curse child' Altria to find a way to deal with the power she has in a controlled manner. By trusting the Shadow, she is also trusting herself and the two can form a mutualiztic bond.
The book is very well done, but it loses its mark as an adult novel and in my opinion may be too high level for a young adult. Still, I would seek out Hoffman's other work and give it a try.
It's instructional to see how Gypsum learns to take a negative and turn it into a positive. She develops teamwork skills by filtering her powers through another sib Flint, who seems to get his magic wrong more often than not and ends up giving them both a self-confidence boost. In a Jungian twist, she also reconciles herself with her Shadow by working with 'curse child' Altria to find a way to deal with the power she has in a controlled manner. By trusting the Shadow, she is also trusting herself and the two can form a mutualiztic bond.
The book is very well done, but it loses its mark as an adult novel and in my opinion may be too high level for a young adult. Still, I would seek out Hoffman's other work and give it a try.
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