Review Detail

It is 1659 and Mary is a witch. After her grandmother is hanged for being a witch herself, Mary flees England to live in America. The catch is that Mary must pretend to be a Puritan.

The long ocean voyage is a tough one and the other settlers distrust Mary. Once they arrive, things become even harsher as they try to scrabble out a life in the wilds of a new country.

An older woman befriends Mary and takes her into her family. They help Mary hide her true nature and things seem to be looking up. Mary's healing skills, learned from her grandmother, are welcome in the village...at first.

But soon Mary and the family are caught up in a Puritanical witch hunt led by Reverend Elias Cornwall and given credibility by jealous teenage girls. Native Americans, also distrusted by the villagers, assist Mary and ultimately she escapes into the woods.

The story is told from the pages of Mary's journal, supposedly discovered years after her disappearance. This lends the story a sense of realism and poignancy. It would be a perfect companion book for history lessons on the Salem Witch Hunt, not least of all because it doesn't read at all like a history book. Mary is a very believable character and her story will fascinate any teen.