Rating: 
Summary: Magic in every day life
Review: I just finished this book, and I must say that I really enjoyed it. I love the way that Alice Hoffman weaves a little bit of "everyday magic" into her stories. Even though this story reminded me of "Practical Magic" it still kept me anticipating what would happen next -- Alice Hoffman's characters are always so well drawn they seem like people that you know. If you haven't tried Alice Hoffman before, I urge you to experience her writing, it is beautiful.
Rating: 
Summary: Lovely, but for Hoffman Fans Only
Review: I like Alice Hoffman. Her writing is lyrical and poetic and sensual. It often combines fantasy and reality in the most wonderful of ways. But, it's also quite predictable and I don't think any book shows Hoffman's predictability more than does THE PROBABLE FUTURE. In fact, as one reviewer has already pointed out, this book seems to be a retelling of PRACTICAL MAGIC, only a retelling that, like most retellings, is not quite as good as the original.
THE PROBABLE FUTURE centers on the women of the New England Sparrow family and the supernatural gift each of them receives on her thirteenth birthday. This "gift" began, we are told, three hundred years ago when Rebecca Sparrow was seen "communicating" with a flock of sparrows and, because the poor woman had the misfortune of living in Massachusetts, was subsequently executed as a witch. The power to "communicate" didn't die with Rebecca, however, and it has been passed down to the Sparrow women, and only the women, ever since. For example, the elderly and ailing Elinor Sparrow can "read" a lie on a person's face. Her daughter, Jenny, dreams the dreams of others (whether she wants to do so or not) and her own daughter, Stella, is able to predict how others will die. It is on Stella's "gift" that the plot of THE PROBABLE FUTURE turns.
Stella is a good person and she decides to use her gift for the good of others, attempting to stop their deaths before they occur. In a restaurant she sees a woman with her throat slit and when her father tries to convince the local police that a murder is going to occur, he's met with the disbelief most of us would accord such a revelation. However, (and predictably) the murder does occur and Stella's well-meaning father becomes the prime suspect.
There are several subplots, one involving the real killer and Stella and several involving romance. These subplots are woven into the main plot very nicely, but none of them has any real passion and they are, like the rest of the book, simply too predictable. In fact, that's my main objection to THE PROBABLE FUTURE. It is just too predictable in every way. The plot is predictable (we can guess the ending before we've finished even one hundred pages) and the characters' actions and reactions are also "nothing new." THE PROBABLE FUTURE is simply PRACTICAL MAGIC redux, only not as well.
Don't get me wrong; the writing is lovely and is certainly "vintage" Hoffman. In fact, the book might be worth reading just for the lyrical, poetic prose alone, but only if you're a die hard Hoffman fan or don't have other, more worthy books just sitting around waiting for you to pick up.
THE PROBABLE FUTURE could have been, and should have been, a gorgeous, romantic book. Instead, it's simply a very predictable plot with very predictable characters wrapped in very lovely prose. All in all, a book for true Hoffman fans only.
Rating:
Summary: Great story but hard to follow at times
Review: I love a story that weaves a bit o'magic into its character's lives, and "The Probable Future" is no different. A wonderful tale about love, magic, and its influences on a family. However, this is one of those novels in which one feels the need for a map to keep track of who loves whom, and all the other different little subplots involved.
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Summary: Wow, one of her best ones!
Review: I loved it! One becomes totally involved in the story, the characters and the outcome.
Rating:
Summary: Good writing, shallow story line
Review: I read The Blue Diary and was intrigued by the writing talent of Alice Hoffman. I read this novel because I so enjoyed her previous work. I must say that I especially enjoyed her philosophical and spiritual passages. I am a Hospice volunteer, so I found comfort in her discussion of the dying process. The story line seemed somewhat shallow and predictable. However, the content, the thought process was intriguing. I took this book on vacation and found it to be a wonderful companion. I am so tired of reading about characters who are losers and never manage to get their act together. It was a pleasure to read that Will began his life with difficulty but managed to redeem himself when his spirit was ready. I think you will find this book enlightening and moving even if the story lines leaves you slightly bored.
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Summary: loved it
Review: I really thought that this was a great read. I just love Alice Hoffman and there was something about Stella that I could really relate to. Do read.
Rating:
Summary: Good solid read
Review: I'm not a writer nor am I an expert on Alice Hoffman. I did, however, rather enjoy this book. I will admit that it took me a while (even a little re-reading) to really get into the story, but once I was engaged, I really enjoyed it. It actually made me cry at the end, so I really was moved. I found the story very heartwarming and perhaps ending a little more realistically than other Alice Hoffman novels. MUCH MUCH BETTER THAN THE RIVER KING!!
Rating: 
Summary: Probable Boredom
Review: If you choose to read this anemic novel, your probable future is several hours of wasted time. The characters hold possibility, but are woefully underdeveloped, the plot is predictible, contrived, and often silly, and neither the "magic" nor the "mystery" have any depth. A small strain relating the story of 18th century Rebecca Sparrow has some interest, but the storyline concerning this character is brief. Mostly the story centers around a sullen, selfish 13 year old, her dysfunctional relatives, and her romantic fantasies. A young girl in 7th - 10th grades may enjoy this book. It is at the reading level and literary depth suitable to jr. high school.
Rating:
Summary: Folklore, Character, and Murder combined.
Review: Imagine a family whose past begain in the birth of 'gifts.' To this one family line, the women are all given a gift on their thirteenth birthday. When she was young, Jenny Sparrow found herself able to dream the dreams of others, and suffered under a bad relationship with a mother whose gift was to immediately tell who is lying.
Jenny ran away with the wrong type of boy, and it is soon the time for her own daughter to turn thirteen. And Stella, her daughter, gets a the most terrible gift of all: she sees the future - but specifically, how people will die.
When Stella tries to prevent a murder, and her father - who acted in her stead - is the one accused of the crime, Jenny has no choice but to send her daughter to live with her mother. There, Jenny and her cancer-ridden grandmother Elinor learn a lot about fate, death, and just what it means to be alive. Events conspire to force Jenny, and her husband, to return to the city they ran away from, and before long, passions and gifts are intertwining.
With typical Hoffman elegance to the prose and emotionality of the characters, 'The Probable Future' was an absolute joy to read. I am a huge fan of Hoffman to begin with, but this one is on par with 'The Blue Diary' and 'Practical Magic', two of Hoffman's best. I read it in one extended setting (with bothersome interruptions of meals and work), and cannot wait to pass this along to another Hoffman fan.
If you've never read Hoffman, you simply must read her for her elegant style, her immediacy in writing in the present tense, and her beautiful use of power, magic, and folklore in the evocation of characters.
'Nathan
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book
Review: In my opinion, this is the best book so far by Hoffman. I rather enjoy the touch of the supernatural that seems to be laced throughout her novels. I was reminded of Rice's Mayfair Witch series. I have read most of Hoffman's novels and thought they were okay. I consider this to be the best by far.
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