Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter speaks directly to Mia Jacob, who lives in a repressive religious community in contemporary Massachusetts and recognizes her mother in Hawthorne's Hester. Reading allows her to break the bonds that restrain her, even the bonds of time. From the ever magical, ever best-selling Hoffman. Prepub Alert. Copyright 2023 Library Journal

Hoffman (The Book of Magic) again brings a touch of the otherworldly to serious issues in a novel opening with Ivy Jacob's flight from her tony Boston home when she becomes pregnant. Finding refuge at a Western Massachusetts commune, she immediately comes under the control of Joel, the commune's leader. He allows commune members no personal possessions, not even books, and he denies them families of their own, administering punishments to those who disobey. Ivy knows she has made a mistake but cannot leave, and daughter Mia grows up at the commune, chafing at the rules. Mia secretly goes to the town library, where she finds a copy of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter with an inexplicable dedication to her on the flyleaf. When Ivy is killed in a freak accident, Mia decides that it's time to escape, but Joel still stalks her. One magical day, she is transported to 1837 and meets Hawthorne, encouraging him to write the book that will save her life more than a century later. VERDICT Hoffman's integrated storylines effectively highlight the subjugation of women throughout time, with results that will appeal to a wide range of fiction readers.—Joanna M. Burkhardt

Hoffman (the Practical Magic series) keeps up her flair for the fantastical with this enchanting tale of a woman and her daughter living in an oppressive modern-day commune, where they find comfort in books. Ivy Jacob's ever-disappointed mother and stern father react badly to news of her teen pregnancy, prompting her to run away from her tony Boston home for Western Massachusetts, where she's embraced by a group called The Community. There, she gives birth to her daughter, Mia, and marries the group's charismatic but controlling leader, Joel, when Mia is three months old. The Community's rules are draconian—members are branded with letters corresponding to their alleged crimes—and eventually the abuse weighs on Ivy's conscience. At 16, Mia secretly takes out books from a nearby library (education and reading are forbidden after members turn 15), and she tries to convince her mother to join her in an escape. Alternate chapters portray Nathaniel Hawthorne's writing life in the mid-19th century, and a series of time-traveling twists illuminate Hawthorne's inspiration for The Scarlet Letter, Mia's favorite book. Though the evil Joel is a bit one-dimensional, the portrayal of Hawthorne is credible and the conceit feels truly magical. For the most part, Hoffman manages not to break the spell. Agent: Amanda Urban: ICM Partners. (Aug.)