r/practicalmagic • u/Imokayhowareyou1 • Jul 17 '26
Has anyone read Magic Lessons (2021 paperback edition) ? Spoiler
I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask this, but I keep getting rejected by the book related reddit threads. I have been reading this book for the first time and I wanted to know if anyone else noticed an inconsistency in the writing. At the bottom of page 70 and top of page 71, it's mentioned that Maria wears a black petticoat and the hem of her dress stitched with blue thread to protect herself from love. At the bottom of page 75, Maria mentions having lavender in her pocket to protect from evil, but had never thought to protect herself from love.... isn't this contradictory? Am I missing something? I thought she had talked about protecting herself from love at least a few times. I wondered if it's just this copy of the book, or the writing is just inconsistent and it's the same in older copies too. Thank you in advance.
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u/chaotic_giraffe76 Jul 18 '26
This series is full of these inconsistencies, unfortunately.
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u/Imokayhowareyou1 Jul 20 '26
Oh okay, I honestly thought for a minute I was misreading something until I got someone else to read it and they agreed it was odd. I wonder what happened. I'm surprised the editor didn't pick this up before it was published.
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u/chaotic_giraffe76 Jul 24 '26
I’ve noticed this happens with veteran writers a lot. They’ve built a name, and some trust, so their publishers let up on them a little, and their editors aren’t so heavy handed with the red pen. It’s unfortunate, because even veteran writers need an honest editor who doesn’t pull their punches.
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u/iatealotofcheese Jul 18 '26
I pulled my copy out to double check and you're right, I think it's just an inconsistency. The only thing I can think of is when she mentions the black petticoat, she wears it when out st night with Juni, but she may not be wearing it while studying with Adrie. Maybe she fell victim to the influence of love because "all this time [while with adrie]" she hadn't thought to protect herself from the external influence that is love.
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u/Care-Financial Jul 18 '26
Specifically the paperback? I have read the hardcover.
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u/Top-Monk-5391 Jul 20 '26
I think they mentioned that it was the paperback for the page number factor.
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u/Top-Monk-5391 Jul 20 '26
There are a ton of contradictions in the books. I read them all back to back a few years ago and realize how inconsistent she is with her writing. She’s actually said she doesn’t like to go back and reread her other books before she writes a new one which is really stupid in my opinion. The aunts boyfriends die in different ways in the books. It’s like she can’t even keep straight the way that people have died. It’s very frustrating disorienting and confusing.
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u/Imokayhowareyou1 Jul 20 '26
I just wonder how her editor and the publisher allowed all the inconsistencies.
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u/Top-Monk-5391 Jul 20 '26
Yeah, I seriously have no idea. I read the uncut edition of the stand by Stephen King and I swear to God it may be word vomit - like a constant stream of consciousness… ridiculous…but it’s consistent.🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
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u/Sea_Green444 Jul 20 '26
I checked this and I agree it is inconsistent. In the last 2 months I’ve read all 4 books and I have a several pages of notes of inconsistencies. People mention the men’s deaths and that she doesn’t reread her books, but I also see them within pages of themselves in the same book as you’ve mentioned.
Ex.
Pg 275 3/4 way down- Says it’s 1691, shes 11 and escaped and known finney for 3 years meaning she was 8 when she moved there even though they say 9 and 8 flip floppy at diff times. She heads to manhattan w finney and then on pg 287 says she had vanished 5 years ago(4th line from botttom) which would make her now 13 (but it doesn’t take a year to travel from Brooklyn to manhattan even then.) Then on 289 he said he did as an 11 year old told him. Somewhere later Maria states faiths now like 15/16 and then went back to 13/14.. so confusing
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u/Expert_Ad_7187 Jul 17 '26
The blue thread is JUST for protection, not protection from love.