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Conjure
"It was August, when the crickets sang slowly and the past lingered in bright pools of glorious light, even though it would soon be gone, the way summer was all but over, yet the heat was still on the rise. The weather had been extreme that month: days of drenching rain, sudden showers of hail, temperatures passing record highs. Local children whispered that an angel had fallen to earth in a thunderstorm. There were roving groups who swore they had found signs. Footprints in the grass, black feathers, a campfire in the woods behind the high school where there were sparks of shimmering ash. One neighborhood boy vowed that he had seen a man in a black cloak rise above the earth and walk on air, and although no one believed his account, mothers began to keep their children home. They locked the doors, called in the dogs, kept the lights on after dusk..."
Alice Hoffman is the New York Times bestselling author of Practical Magic, The Dovekeepers, and The Marriage of Opposites. Hoffman’s work has been published in more than twenty translations and more than one hundred foreign editions. Her novels have received mention as notable books of the year by The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, The Los Angeles Times, Library Journal, and People Magazine. She has also worked as a screenwriter and is the author of the original screenplay “Independence Day,” a film starring Kathleen Quinlan and Diane Wiest. Her teen novel Aquamarine was made into a film starring Emma Roberts. Her short fiction and non-fiction have appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe Magazine, Kenyon Review, The Los Angeles Times, Architectural Digest, Harvard Review, Ploughshares and other magazines.
Flyleaf Journal Issue #15
December 2014
Illustrated by Timothy Tang
Hand Lettering by Heidi Unkefer
Alice Hoffman is the New York Times bestselling author of Practical Magic, The Dovekeepers, and The Marriage of Opposites. Hoffman’s work has been published in more than twenty translations and more than one hundred foreign editions. Her novels have received mention as notable books of the year by The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, The Los Angeles Times, Library Journal, and People Magazine. She has also worked as a screenwriter and is the author of the original screenplay “Independence Day,” a film starring Kathleen Quinlan and Diane Wiest. Her teen novel Aquamarine was made into a film starring Emma Roberts. Her short fiction and non-fiction have appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe Magazine, Kenyon Review, The Los Angeles Times, Architectural Digest, Harvard Review, Ploughshares and other magazines.
Flyleaf Journal Issue #15
December 2014
Illustrated by Timothy Tang
Hand Lettering by Heidi Unkefer
13 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 25, 2014
103 people are currently reading
903 people want to read
About the author
Alice Hoffman
119 books25.2k followersAlice Hoffman is the author of more than thirty works of fiction, including The World That We Knew; The Marriage of Opposites; The Red Garden; The Museum of Extraordinary Things; The Dovekeepers; Here on Earth, an Oprah’s Book Club selection; and the Practical Magic series, including Practical
Magic; Magic Lessons; The Rules of Magic, a selection of Reese’s Book Club; and The Book of Magic. She lives near Boston.
Magic; Magic Lessons; The Rules of Magic, a selection of Reese’s Book Club; and The Book of Magic. She lives near Boston.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
October 9, 2016
I could find a stack of muddy, half-torn pages lying in a ditch somewhere, devoid of a cover or any type of byline, and I would still have no difficulty recognizing Alice Hoffman's work. She breathes magic into every single word and makes the ordinary into something mystically, whimsically extraordinary.
Conjure is actually a short story Alice wrote for a magazine in celebration of Ray Bradbury's work, specifically Something Wicked This Way Comes. As I've reluctantly admitted previously, I'm really not a fan of Bradbury and didn't care much for that particular book nor The October Country. I did, however, adore this story that was inspired by those works and I did pick up a similar vibe in Conjure, as far as the whole theme of something potentially dark and dangerous arriving in a small town. Luckily, this story was infused with Hoffman's lyrical language and compelling storytelling and while it was far too short to fully satisfy me, what we were given was very well crafted.
☆☆☆☆
Conjure is actually a short story Alice wrote for a magazine in celebration of Ray Bradbury's work, specifically Something Wicked This Way Comes. As I've reluctantly admitted previously, I'm really not a fan of Bradbury and didn't care much for that particular book nor The October Country. I did, however, adore this story that was inspired by those works and I did pick up a similar vibe in Conjure, as far as the whole theme of something potentially dark and dangerous arriving in a small town. Luckily, this story was infused with Hoffman's lyrical language and compelling storytelling and while it was far too short to fully satisfy me, what we were given was very well crafted.
☆☆☆☆
February 16, 2025
Entertaining relationship listening 🎉😕
This kindle ebook novella is from my Kindle Unlimited account
She is a young girl 😏 who has dreams of traveling to a lot of places. She meets a young man who tells her tales of traveling. The truth comes out effecting her life!
I would recommend this novella and author to readers looking for a quick read 🤔🙃 2025 🤓🙄
This kindle ebook novella is from my Kindle Unlimited account
She is a young girl 😏 who has dreams of traveling to a lot of places. She meets a young man who tells her tales of traveling. The truth comes out effecting her life!
I would recommend this novella and author to readers looking for a quick read 🤔🙃 2025 🤓🙄
December 17, 2020
This short story takes place towards the end of summer and is about two 16 year old girls who meet this mysterious man who has come to town and says he can tell the future. One believes him, and one doesn't. And not much else really happens.
December 13, 2019
FICTION, MIDDLE GRADE (mature), MAGICAL REALISM
CONJURE is a novella told in the writing style of Ray Bradbury. Alice Hoffman has dedicated the story to Bradbury as well. The story has a fairy tale quality as it is a warning to teen girls to be careful of strangers and wishes. The underlying story balances the twilight hours of childhood innocence and the emerging sexuality and longing of adulthood. **Nothing inappropriate in the story. The message is to listen to your gut/intuition. Sometimes a friendship must be sacrificed to overcome evil intentions.
CONJURE is a novella told in the writing style of Ray Bradbury. Alice Hoffman has dedicated the story to Bradbury as well. The story has a fairy tale quality as it is a warning to teen girls to be careful of strangers and wishes. The underlying story balances the twilight hours of childhood innocence and the emerging sexuality and longing of adulthood. **Nothing inappropriate in the story. The message is to listen to your gut/intuition. Sometimes a friendship must be sacrificed to overcome evil intentions.
March 1, 2015
Short, short stories probably written for teens, but featuring all the urban magic of joy and sorrow Alice Hoffman is known for. If your goal is to read everything she has written, that this is nice addition.
August 13, 2022
Well written, and a good short read if you have a few minutes to kill, but overall meh. Honestly, to me, it felt like it was more of a quick story someone might write for an 8th grade English assignment.
June 4, 2023
A short Alice Hoffman tale, hard to find. Young teen girls find a wayward man living in a field. He is mysterious and darkly alluring. A true friend chooses to end her friendship rather than lose her friend another way.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 18, 2015
Creepy
Very dark but intriguing. Alice Hoffman makes the magical real. A nice short story but disturbing at the same time.
Very dark but intriguing. Alice Hoffman makes the magical real. A nice short story but disturbing at the same time.
May 2, 2015
I'm a big fan of Alice Hoffman, and I liked this story a lot. I just wish i would have realized it was a short story because I wasn't ready for it to end.
July 22, 2016
The first and last book I've read this year were written by Alice Hoffman. Excellent.
Beautiful written and very frightening.
Happy New Year Goodreaders!
Beautiful written and very frightening.
Happy New Year Goodreaders!
November 26, 2017
I wasn't ready for it to end.
June 26, 2019
Eerie
One time a man befriended my ex-husband by telling him that he was my cousin. He had been adopted by a woman who had gone to church with my step brother. When I would tell others he wasn't really my cousin he made them believe it was because I didn't count him as a cousin since he was adopted. He was attempting to keep me isolated from others as he was attempting to get his needs met through those around me at my church and even from the man I was married to at the time. There are some people that are like an autumn breeze, there one minute, gone the next. They can send a chill up your spine and bring goose bumps out on your skin or leave you wondering if they were actually an angel as they become more like a memory of a good dream. This book is about a girl and her friend who decide to cross a field where an angel is said to live. They encounter someone that seems so good, and the girl makes a decision that seems so bad. Hoffman create a realistic scenario that challenges a friendship. I liked this short story. This seemed to describe my own teen years by the river accurately. This, to me, is the magic.
One time a man befriended my ex-husband by telling him that he was my cousin. He had been adopted by a woman who had gone to church with my step brother. When I would tell others he wasn't really my cousin he made them believe it was because I didn't count him as a cousin since he was adopted. He was attempting to keep me isolated from others as he was attempting to get his needs met through those around me at my church and even from the man I was married to at the time. There are some people that are like an autumn breeze, there one minute, gone the next. They can send a chill up your spine and bring goose bumps out on your skin or leave you wondering if they were actually an angel as they become more like a memory of a good dream. This book is about a girl and her friend who decide to cross a field where an angel is said to live. They encounter someone that seems so good, and the girl makes a decision that seems so bad. Hoffman create a realistic scenario that challenges a friendship. I liked this short story. This seemed to describe my own teen years by the river accurately. This, to me, is the magic.
March 5, 2018
Reminds me of summers before cellphones
This story reminded me of my high school summers in the late 80’s, when my friends and I would walk everywhere with our backpacks full of library books. We spent a lot of time hiking around Linear Park during the day and the golf course at night, reading our books—yes, I was that nerdy. Of course, the golf course was the scene of a grizzly abduction and murder of a teenage girl in the 60’s, but maybe that’s why we gothic nerds would hang out there. It also reminded me of “Where are you going, where have you been?” by Joyce Carol Oates.
This story reminded me of my high school summers in the late 80’s, when my friends and I would walk everywhere with our backpacks full of library books. We spent a lot of time hiking around Linear Park during the day and the golf course at night, reading our books—yes, I was that nerdy. Of course, the golf course was the scene of a grizzly abduction and murder of a teenage girl in the 60’s, but maybe that’s why we gothic nerds would hang out there. It also reminded me of “Where are you going, where have you been?” by Joyce Carol Oates.
July 17, 2020
Short and Sweet (actually s bit scary)
I'm glad I noticed that this was a short story before downloading it - I avoided the disappointment if some readers who hadn't - and take a short and enjoyable spin with Ms. Hoffman. Short and Sweet (actually s bit scary) - and well worth the read.
I'm glad I noticed that this was a short story before downloading it - I avoided the disappointment if some readers who hadn't - and take a short and enjoyable spin with Ms. Hoffman. Short and Sweet (actually s bit scary) - and well worth the read.
March 27, 2024
wow… very griping short story
This is very short like 13 pages and about summer time for two young girls and a bit of horror. Maybe a homage to Ray Bradbarry I think as his books were mentioned even.
This is very short like 13 pages and about summer time for two young girls and a bit of horror. Maybe a homage to Ray Bradbarry I think as his books were mentioned even.
November 17, 2017
Not terribly interesting!
I'm not sure what to say! The story seemed pointless to me! It didn't hold me active for a moment!
I'm not sure what to say! The story seemed pointless to me! It didn't hold me active for a moment!
September 11, 2018
A book to whisper in the bath. A pocket Bradbury and all the better for it.
May 18, 2022
Good quicky
Alice Hoffman is quickly becoming my favorite author. Although this story was short & I wished there was more, it was a nice quick read.
Alice Hoffman is quickly becoming my favorite author. Although this story was short & I wished there was more, it was a nice quick read.
December 21, 2022
Great potential, but too short.
Novella would be an understatement for this. The bones of the story were great though. I enjoyed the small plot twist at the end.
Novella would be an understatement for this. The bones of the story were great though. I enjoyed the small plot twist at the end.
June 10, 2023
quick and spooky. felt like eerie dusk in a small town at the end of summer.
September 23, 2024
Wouldn’t load on Kindle
Wouldn’t load on kindle and was only able to read 20 pages. Couldn’t get it to load on any devices
Wouldn’t load on kindle and was only able to read 20 pages. Couldn’t get it to load on any devices
October 7, 2025
⭐ 6 Stars and 1 Comet
Gorgeous.
Frightening.
A tribute to Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Day Comes.
Gorgeous.
Frightening.
A tribute to Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Day Comes.
October 23, 2025
Another wonderful short story from Alice Hoffman
January 8, 2023
Camp fire story
I was worried the entire time I was reading this short story. It is definitely one of those camp fire stories that you share, passing around s’mores, as the fire flames dance around on the circle of faces. It had familiarity mixed with fear.
Great read!
I was worried the entire time I was reading this short story. It is definitely one of those camp fire stories that you share, passing around s’mores, as the fire flames dance around on the circle of faces. It had familiarity mixed with fear.
Great read!
July 11, 2025
Gosto quando uma história parece se encaminhar por um lado e acaba indo por outro. Tinha tudo pra ser sobrenatural, mas no fim das contas, as ameaças são muito mais reais, mesmo se isso signifique menos medo. Talvez por isso sejam piores.
November 5, 2015
This was written as an ode to Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes, and it was excellent.
I don't know what else to say about it. It was excellent and creepy. Just like in Bradbury's SWTWC, I wished that the bad guy could win, even though I was conflicted because they really are evil. I do think Hoffman's villain was a lot more black and white than Bradbury's but that's kind of what real evil looks like, so no complaints there.
I don't know what else to say about it. It was excellent and creepy. Just like in Bradbury's SWTWC, I wished that the bad guy could win, even though I was conflicted because they really are evil. I do think Hoffman's villain was a lot more black and white than Bradbury's but that's kind of what real evil looks like, so no complaints there.
January 30, 2020
Not her best work. It's ok for a short story, but not what I've come to expect from this author.
February 4, 2016
Good book
I love all of Alice Hoffman's books . I always look forward to reading more. One of my very favorite writers
I love all of Alice Hoffman's books . I always look forward to reading more. One of my very favorite writers
May 16, 2016
Beautifully haunting, I'm sad it was so short, it's been a while since a story made me go back and read the ending a few times.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews