Property Of by Alice Hoffman - yes, that Alice Hoffman

What They Say....On the Night of the Wolf, the Orphans drive south on the Avenue, hunting their rival gang, the Pack. In the lead is McKay, their brooding, courageous President. Left waiting at the clubhouse is the Property of the Orphans, tough girls in mascara and leather who have declared their allegiance to the crew. Tonight, a new girl has joined their ranks. She waits only for McKay.

Drag races, dope, knife fights in the street. To the seventeen-year-old heroine of Alice Hoffman’s stunning first novel, the gritty world of the Avenue is beautiful and enthralling. But her love for McKay is an addiction—one that is never satisfied and is impossible to kick. Deeper and deeper she falls, until the winter’s day when she decides to break the spell once and for all.

A strikingly original story about the razor-thin line between love and loss, Property Of showcases the vivid imagery, lyricism, and emotional complexity that are the hallmarks of Alice Hoffman’s extraordinary career.

 What I Say.... This is one of the few Alice Hoffman books that I had not read.  She is hands down one of my favorite authors.  I don't think anyone can write magical realism, addiction or life derailing love/obsession like Hoffman does.  So when I saw an Alice Hoffman book on NetGalley as an ARC for review - I jumped!

This book was first published in 1977, and the book is definitely dated, but the story is timeless.  A young girl hungering for a bad boy, a bad boy who looks to drugs to escape his life, all while chasing his belief of what honor means, way past a time where he has any honor left.

Hoffman's books are often uncomfortable to read, they cause a visceral tightening in your stomach as you watch people make the wrong choices, take the wrong path, fall into ruin.  But the hallmark of 
her writing is making you passionately care, even when it causes you discomfort.

This book only had a bit of magic written into it, in the form of a locket, but it was still there.  Her focus on magical realism became more apparent in her later work, but this book was no less powerful without it.

You could hand me a book with no cover and within a few pages, I would know it was an Alice Hoffman book.  Her voice is that strong, and her style is that sure.  Love her.