WITCH CHILD
Celia Rees, Author, Rees, Author . Candlewick $15.99 (272p) ISBN 978-0-7636-1421-8
Though much of Rees's debut novel moves at a lackadaisical pace, its opening scenes are riveting: Mary, 14, watches as her grandmother—the only family she has ever known—is tortured, tried and finally hung as a witch. Afterward, a mysterious protector sends Mary away from England with a group of Puritans bound for a remote Massachusetts settlement—an odd haven indeed for a girl reputed to be a witch. The book unfolds through Mary's diary entries. She tries to be "the perfect little Puritan maid" during the voyage and, upon reaching America, travels with her fellow passengers to a new settlement. But there Mary is drawn to the forest and a Native American boy, Jaybird (grandson of an elder who is, of course, a wise healer), raising the suspicions of her neighbors. Crisis looms when Mary becomes the scapegoat of a witch trial centering on the hysterical behavior of a gaggle of privileged Puritan girls (shades of
Reviewed on: 06/25/2001
Release date: 07/01/2001
Genre: Children's
Downloadable Audio - 1 pages - 9780739367605
Hardcover - 303 pages - 9780786238965
Paperback - 261 pages - 9780763642280
Prebound-Glued - 261 pages - 9780606084666
Hardcover - 261 pages - 9780763614218