Witch Child

This book was engrossing and heart-renching as you followed Mary through her life's experiences of grief, pain, fear and judgement.

The story gripped me from the very start to the very last page. From witnessing her grandmother's hanging, aswell as torture, Mary is left distraught and lost as her life is turned upside down by prejudice, judgement and untrue rumours. But suddenly, Mary is whisked by an unknown figure out of the gossiping and glaring crowd into a life of adventure and hiding.

Mary keeps a diary stitched up in a quilt, knowing that if it was found - certain death would await. Her diary entries give you an insight into what real tragedy is and are sure to keep your eyes glued to the very last word - craving more.

Although the sequel wasn't as good and quite confusing, you simply have to read it to discover what happened after mary's abruptly ended, last diary entry.

'Witch child' is an amazing story - one that you definitely won't forget.

Reader reviewed by Misty (Book Rat)

Witch Child takes the form of a
diary written by Mary Nuttal (claiming to be Mary Newbury). After her
grandmother is killed for supposedly being a witch, Mary is sent to
America to assume a new identity and sever all ties with her past, ties
which may get her killed. She takes up with a colony of Puritans
traveling to the New World, and soon finds a place among them. But she
also finds herself the center of jealousies and scandals that will
raise the question of witchcraft again, making her safety in the new
world as questionable as it was in the old.

I was caught up in
this story from the very beginning. Setting aside the "convenient"
aspects of the story (the fact that the dialogue is fairly modern,
which is explained away, and the fact that she always just happens to
have access to her diary and recalls events w/ complete clarity, etc),
Mary's voice was always engaging, and she was completely relatable and
her story captivating. This is very readable. The language is simple
and flows well. Mary is an admirable girl, raised to be strong and
self-reliant, which is a dangerous thing to be as an English woman in
the mid 1600s. She is smart and self-assured, a great role model for
modern girls, but because independent women were seen as a threat, she
lives in fear of the day that her world will crumble and the people
around her turn on her.

This really brought home to me what
freaks me out about humans. The witch trials have always fascinated me,
and the truth is, Puritans freak me out. Seriously. Witch Child really
demonstrated why this is. The idea of basically condemning people to
death (in horrible, horrible ways) because of petty jealousies or to
make them fall in line is terrifying to me. They
turn on each other so quickly over everything, and it just snowballs.
That mob mentality, which is always violent and always deadly, Freaks.
Me. Out.
[Of course, this is partly because I am fairly convinced
that I would have died -- I struggle to keep my big mouth shut. Or, I
guess the problem is that I don't struggle enough.]
But
Mary is a good person, and she helps where she can. She is strong and
so, so young. But this will mean nothing if she angers the wrong
person. The sense of danger is always present, and there is a tautness
and tension to the story as a result.

There was an ambiguity to
the story that I really liked as well. Mary herself believes that she
is a witch. She never does any sort of conjuring or casts any spells,
she never actively does anything to earn the label witch. But raised in
the woods by her talented and independent grandmother, who she believes
must have had some powers, Mary believes that she, too, must have
powers in turn. Strange things do happen on occasion, but because Mary
is not some cloak-wearing, midnight-forest-traveling, familiar-petting
"witch", there is a nice ambiguity to the story where you can view Mary
how you wish. Does Mary really have some kind of power? Or is she just
a smart, capable and intuitive young girl?
There is also ambiguity
in the way the story ends, and though I was a little irritated at my
copy for having an excerpt of the sequel, Sorceress, because that ruined some of the ambiguity of the ending, it was still kind of nice to know that I can continue Mary's story.

My
advice? Pick up a copy of Witch Child and a mug of tea. This is the
perfect story for the fall season, especially if you want something more on
the human side, and less on the gore-fest side.

Reader reviewed by mollz

i think this book is really good but on the journey too america i found that part of the story quite boring apart from that i am really enjoying it so far. i am reading it with the rest of my class at the moment and i have not yet finished it. i just think the book is so adventurous for mary but i am glad that i am not mary.

Reader reviewed by Saba

Her grandmother has just been burnt at the stake, and Mary, rescued by a mysterious, rich lady, is sent off in a ship to America before the Witch-Hunters will hunt her down too.

But all is not well, and after a perilous journey at sea, she and the rest of the ship's inhabitants are brought onto a tough, windy terrain that would kill them just as easily. But not all danger lies in the land - there are those whose over pious beliefs are driving them to forget that witches are not all evil...

Written in diary format, this lengthy, detailed record is written like non-fiction. Thrilling, exciting and intriguing, this book is hard to be put down...

Reader reviewed by skyler smith

ummmm well this was not the best books i have read but its not the worst. the beginning it great but after that it seems like its never gonna end and it keeps goin on and on without a point to it! i wouldent recomend this book because simply it just doesent have a point to it!

Reader reviewed by Grace

Fourteen-year-old Mary Newbury has just witnessed the hanging of her grandmother, accused of being a witch. Mary knows they will turn to her now, so with the help of someone who appears as a stranger at first, she goes onboard a ship heading to the New World. But even there, danger lurks everywhere. Mary is afraid that someone will find out her past and she will end up like her grandmother. But is she a witch or not?

This is a very realistic and well-written historical fiction novel by Celia Rees. I really enjoyed it, being fascinated by history. I am currently reading the sequel, Sorceress, and will get back to you on that. ;)

Everyone who loves a good story about colonial America and witches will enjoy this book too.

Reader reviewed by Jessie

Witch child is a book that amazed me!!! A girl who can do amazing things and has helped so many people. She is a kind-hearted orphan who leaves to America hoping to be free from her past. A past of a witch. But is America any different from the rest of the countries? Will she fit in and blend in with the rest? but the most important queation is:is she really a witch?

I SO SO SO SO VERY much recommend the book....dont let the fact that its a histoical book scare u off. To me its a mixture of everything. In no way is it a social studies teacher in words!! ITS THE BEST BOOK!!!

Reader reviewed by iki

A slow starting book that ends up being really great. It gets into the mind of the main characters through her diary. It shows the way she lives while she is moving to the new world.

Reader reviewed by lookwaticando08

This book was okay. It was really hard to get started with it for some reason. Then it got really good. It was dissapointing in a way because it just really never talked about her doing magic, when she was a witch. I wouldn't recommend it to everyone.

Reader reviewed by Alli

THis book was defintly not one of the best books I have read. The begining was pretty good but then it was all down hill from there. It started to get extremely slow and felt as though you would never get to the end. I do not recomend this book to any one who like good books.