Witch Child

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 MAryann PInto

I won this book in a contest from this site and I really enjoyed. Its about a teen ager in the 1600s who's grandmother is hung for being a witch. She tries to escapte by going to America but suspicion follows her. Even in the new world there are rumors that she is a witch. In the story Mary (the main character) makes friend with an Indian boy which is an interested twist. And even though she helps her towns people in many ways, they still make up lies and rumours about her. Although this story takes place in the past, you will find a connection with Mary when you see how the snobby girls treat her, just like the snobs today! THe only reason I wouldn't give this story a 5 is because the ending was a little abrupt. I would have liked to see it go on a little more. Hopefully there will be a sequel because it really leaves you hanging.