Tuesday, September 07, 2010

Wicked Girls (A Novel of the Salem Witch Trials by Stephanie Hemphill


Book Description
What started out as girls' games became a witch hunt. Wicked Girls is a fictionalized account of the Salem witch trials told from the perspectives of three of the real young women living in Salem in 1692.

Ann Putnam Jr. (12) plays the queen bee. When her father suggests that a spate of illnesses within the village is the result of witchcraft, Ann grasps her opportunity. She puts in motion a chain of events that will change the lives of the people around her forever.

Mercy Lewis (17), the beautiful servant in Ann's house, inspires adulation in some and envy in others. With a troubled past, she seizes her only chance at safety.

Margaret Walcott (17), Ann's cousin, is desperately in love and consumed with fiery jealousy. She is torn between staying loyal to her friends and pursuing the life she dreams of with her betrothed.

Betty Parris (8), The daughter of Reverend Samuel Parris and Abigail William's cousin. She is the youngest of the accusers.

Abigail Williams (12), Is a niece of Reverend Samuel Parris and a cousin to Betty Parris. She lives in the parsonage with the Reverend and his family.

Elizabeth Hubbard (17), Is another new girl in Salem who has been sent to live with Doctor Griggs and his wife.

Susannah Sheldon (18), Is the only girl not from Salem Village but from Salem town. She serves in William Shaw's house and joins the group last.

With new accusations mounting daily against the men and women of the community, the girls will have to decide: Is it too late to tell the truth?

A Printz Honor winner for Your Own, sylvia, Stephanie Hemphill uses evocative verse to weave a nuanced portrait of one of the most chilling and fascinating times in our nation's history.

What I Can Tell You: At first, I thought I will never be able to get into this book. It is written in verse and each girl gets her own "diary" so to speak as we hear each of their views.  It took me no time to move quickly through the book and decide that my next Netflix movie will be The Crucible. However, after a while, I wanted to just read a story.

Stephanie Hemphill's writing is very poetic and I believe this book would make for a wonderful classroom assignment and discussion about the history and times but but as a Young Adult book, I think younger girls will lose interest.

The book is powerful and the mountain of lies that pile up as the girls move forward in the trial is gripping and makes me long to attend a witch trial. The whole bewitching thing and the times, are very interesting to me.



Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy from Harper Teen

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous7:53 PM

    I think my sister would like this book. Sounds interesting but not sure if it is the book for me. hmmmmmm.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Definitely my kind of book, the genre, the fact its in verse I kinda go for that thing. Great review, I think I'm gonna grab a copy.

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