9 of Our Favorite Magical Realism Books by Alice Hoffman

Hailey and Claire are best friends and neighbors who spend their days swimming at the Capri Beach Club. In their final Summer together, they discover that the now-derelict club has something concealed in the depths of its murky pools. It's a mermaid, a beautiful but sharp-tongued creature named Aquamarine who has left her six sisters to search for love on land. Aquamarine has grown attached to the handsome human Raymond but the more time she spends away from her home, the more she begins to fade. The friends must find a way to get her out of the pool and back to the sea lest she disappear forever.

Rain is a warrior girl born to Alina, the tribal queen who leads a race of fighters stationed near the Black Sea. But Alina she refuses to touch or even look at her only daughter, leaving Rain alone to discover her inner strength. She wants to be as excellent of an Amazon as her sister and win over her mother. But dreams of a strange black horse haunt her, hinting at her future death. How long can she and her people live lives of bloodshed before they become extinct?

Three generations of a frozen family reside in the Compound, a family fortress on Long Island where time has stood still. There's "White Esther," the aging matriarch, her suicidal son Philip, his perennially drunk wife Rose, and their teenage daughter who wants nothing to do with any of them. Over the course of another summer, Esther remembers her childhood of trauma and exploitation, and the ghosts who haunt her to this day. Her family, the compound, and her future are all at risk if she cannot find a way to love once more.

When Teresa sleeps, she often does so for days at a time, like a fairy-tale princess. During these times, she dreams of the Arias, outlaw riders on beautiful white horses who roam the desert night after night. She was warned about these horsemen by her mother, Dina, who left her own bedroom window open at night in the hopes that one would take her away. Teresa wants to find a cure for her strange sleeping sickness. Will she find the strength to save herself, or will the horses drag her into a new world?

For more than 200 years, the Owens women have been viewed as a curse on the cozy Massachusetts town they call home. Gillian and Sally Owens were sent to live with their aunts, Frances and Bridget, after the tragic deaths of their parents. It was there that they discovered their true lineage. They're descended from a long line of witches. It's not until they become adults, however, that they finally confront their powers and its consequences. Sally believes that it's her family's curse that killed her beloved husband Michael. The bonds of family might be tougher to escape than the thrall of magic. 

In 70 C.E., 900 Jews held out for months against armies of Romans on Masada, a mountain in the Judean desert. The ancient historian Josephus reported that only two women and five children survived. Yael's mother died in childbirth, and her father blamed her for it. Revka, a village baker's wife, watched the brutal murder of her daughter at the hands of Roman soldiers, leaving behind her young sons whose trauma has rendered them mute. Aziza is a warrior's daughter, raised as a boy, while Shirah is a medicine woman with uncanny abilities. These four women's lives intersect during the final days of the siege, bringing together a community fighting for survival in the face of utmost fear. 

In Berlin of 1941, the Nazi regime has a stranglehold over the city. Hanni Kohn knows she must send her twelve-year-old daughter away to save her from the tyranny. She finds her way to a renowned rabbi and his daughter Ettie, whose mystical powers allow her to create a golem, a figure from Jewish folklore crafted from clay. Named Ava, the golem is sworn to protect Hanni's daughter, Lea. The pair travel from Paris to the West of France, seeking salvation from Nazi rule. Meanwhile, Ettie is in hiding, ready to become a fighter for her people and their freedom.

After nearly twenty years of living in California, March Murray must return to her small Massachusetts hometown to attend the funeral of Judith Dale, the beloved housekeeper who raised her. A lot has changed since March was last here. She has a teenage daughter now, Gwen, and many years of mistakes to look back upon. Coming home means reuniting with Hollis, the great love of her life who was raised in her house after a tortured childhood. Their relationship ended in pain, and all these years later, March still has feelings for Hollis. But she's married. She desperately craves Hollis, but acting on it would mean risking her marriage and relationship with Gwen. Is chasing the ghosts of the past really worth it?

Rachel grew up in the paradise of St. Thomas of the U.S. Virgin Islands in the early 1800s, but she dreamed of escaping to the faraway magical city of Paris. Rachel's mother, a pillar of their small refugee community of Jews who escaped the Inquisition, would prefer that her daughter do as she's told. She forced Rachel to marry a widower with three children to save her father's business. When her husband dies suddenly and his handsome, much younger nephew, Fréderick, arrives from France to settle the estate, Rachel decides that now is the perfect opportunity for her to live the life she has always desired. Her passion will inspire her son, the father of impressionism, Camille Pissarro.