The children on the playground all heard her. They took off running together, as far away as possible from Antonia Owens, who might hex you if you did her wrong, and from her aunts, who might boil up garden toads and slip them into your stew, and from her mother, who was so angry and protective she might just freeze you in time, ensuring that you were forever trapped on the green grass at the age of ten or eleven.

Career
Hoffman's first job was at Doubleday which later publiAlice Hoffmand two of her novels. Alice Hoffman (born March 16 1952) is an American novelist and young-adult and children's writer best known for her 1996 novel Practical Magic which was adapted for a 1998 film of the same name. She graduated from Adelphi University with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Alice Hoffman (born March 16 1952) is an American novelist and young-adult and children's writer best known for her 1996 novel Practical Magic which was adapted for a 1998 film of the same name.