Witch Child (turtleback School & Library Binding Edition)

Synopsis

it Is 1659 And Mary Newbury, Theyoung Granddaughter Of A Witch, Sees Her Wise And Beloved Grandmother Tortured And Hanged As A Servant Of The Devil. Then A Stranger With Hauntingly Familiar Eyes Approaches Her With An Opportunity--safe Passage To America. But The Difficult Ocean Voyage Only Leads Her To A Community Of Inflexible, Fearful Grownups Who Try To Decide For Her Who And What She Will Be. Mary Must Disguise Herself As A Pious Puritan Girl, Hiding Her True Nature, Or Else Face Terrible Danger Once Again.

now That The Pages Of Mary's Journal Have Come To Light, Discovered In Their Centuries-old Hiding Place Between The Patches Of A Quilt, Listeners Can Experience What It Was Like Living In A Society Where Differences Were Feared And Defiance Was Deadly.


from The Compact Disc Edition.

kliatt

the Puritans Were Obsessed With Witches, It Seems, And It Didn't Start In Salem, Massachusetts. Rees Begins Her Narrative In England, With The Torture And Execution Of Mary's Grandmother. A Strange Woman Comes To Rescue Mary And Sees To Her Removal With A Group Of Puritans Going To The New World. Mary Starts Her Journal With The Provocative Statement, I Am A Witch. Or So Some Would Call Me. Mary Is An Unusual Young Woman, Wise, Skilled In Herbal Remedies Taught To Her By Her Grandmother. She And The Older Woman Martha, A Midwife And Healer, Chose To Continue Into The Wilderness Once They Disembark In Boston In 1689. They Settle In A New Town North Of Boston On The Merrimack River, Accompanied By A Man, Jonah, Who Studies Plants And Their Remedies; And So The Three Together Are Healers. These Arts Clash With Some Of The Puritan Beliefs, Which Are Mostly Cast In The Worldview That A Just God And A Wily Devil Are In Constant Struggle For The Hearts And Minds Of Each Individual. The Devil And Evil Spirits Are Everywhere And Witches Are The Instruments Of The Devil. The Small Community Is Filled With Strict Rules, Which Are Revealed As Mary Tells Her Story In Her Journal. Mary Likes To Decide For Herself What Is Good And What Is Evil. She Is Fascinated By The Vast Forest That Surrounds The Community And She Sneaks Away, Changing Into Boy's Clothes, Meeting A Native American Boy And His Grandfather, Who Help Her Find And Identify Plants That Can Be Used In Healing. She Is A Person Who Wants To Think For Herself, Which Puts Her Into Danger, Real Danger, In A Puritan Community. It Is Just A Matter Of Time Before She Is Named A Witch. Ya Literature Has Other Novels And Nonfiction About Theplight Of Witches In Puritan Society—in Fact One Of The Early Ya Novels Is the Witch Of Blackbird Pond. Rees's Journal Format Is Effectively Dramatic. She Successfully Conveys Mary's Own Confusion As To What Is Witchcraft And What Is Not, Reflecting The Historical Reality Of What A Young Woman Would Think Raised Among Puritans. The Cover Art Is Magnetic, The Face Of An Intense Young Woman With Wisdom Mixed With Sorrow In Her Eyes. Kliatt Codes: Js—recommended For Junior And Senior High School Students. Reviewer: Claire Rosser; September 2001 (vol. 35 No. 5)