Rating: Summary: Amazing book!! I cannot wait to read the sequel. Review: Reviers Note~:This book, "Witch Child" by Celcia Rees takes lace in the 1600's.Most people think "Witch Child" by Celia Rees is just another Witch of Blackbird Pond. It's not. It's a different story. Its a bit of a teenaged story. Also in "Witch Child" you learn more about things back then. For instance, most people think witches were only girls/women. Witches can be men too. "Witch Child" tells the story of Mary Newbury, a fourteen-year-old girl who lives in England. In the first part (there are no real chapters) you learn Mary lived with her grandmother. Her grandmother was killed because the people in her town thought Eliza (Mary's grandmother) was a witch. They also killed her grandmother's pets, saying they were animals of the devil. Then, you see Mary is left alone because she doesn't know who her parents are, and nobody is left for her to live with. A few chapters ahead, you find Mary befriending a around-19 years old girl named Rebekah. Rebekah is the daughter of John and Sarah, and they are very 'up there'; a respectable people in the community. You also meet Jonas and Tobias Morse. Jonas and his son Tobias are on a ship (along with Mary,etc). Tobias is nineteen.Tobias is a cartpenter. Much later in the book, probably near the end, Rebekah finds herself pregnant with Tobias's baby. At the same time, Reverand C.(i dont remember his name) wants Rebekah for his wife. The reverand KNOWS that Rebekah and Tobias are betrothed. Problems arise there. Also, Mary is accused of conjuring spirits and making girls sick. More problems arise. What will happen to Rebekah's baby? Will Mary be really discovered? You have to read this book to find out.
Rating: Summary: A GREAT READ!! Review: This book was amazing and an easy read, I was done with it in one day. The story starts out as Allison Ellman, a member of The Institute in Boston publishes a diary found in the folds of a quilt from the 1660s. The diary is about a young girl named Mary Newberry and her struggle to adjust to the Puritn way of life after her grandmother is hung for witchcraft in England. She sails to America with help from a friend, but it will not be easy. It becomes even worse for Mary when her actions and events in the town bring the call of "Witch!" her way. But will she get away? What will become of her? Read this book and the sequel "Sorcress" to learn Mary's story.
Rating: Summary: Promising, But Doesn't Deliver Review: It wasn't exactly the best book I've ever read, but I'm by no means ready to "burn it at the stake," either. Witch Child has an intriguing plot and a compelling focis. However, emotions hardly scratch the surface, and empathy is virtually impossible. Character emotions are arbitrary at best and you never feel as if any of these people are more than words on paper. You feel nothing for Mary's plight and I admit I found it contrived at times. None of the horror of the witch phenomonon, or, for that matter, its magnitude is discussed, and I found in reading a hole amidst a story with such magnificent promise. A good read, a quick one, too, written well and captures the imagination, but sadly misses becoming truely great.
Rating: Summary: This is worth the read! Review: This book is a very realistic and historical, it is based in the 1600's. A girl is accused as a witch, and from there she goes off on an journey of escape. But she encounters tough times, troubled by being suspected of a witch. Is she ever going to be safe from the blame that is put upon her? That is for you to find out. But it really is worth the read!
Rating: Summary: Better then I thought Review: Set in the 1600's the world is netering the witch stages. It opens with the hangin of a young witche's grandmother. This witch is Mary Newbury. Someone takes her to an inn and gives her things. This person tells her she will go to the new world, as a Puritan. Then she tells Mary the story she will tell if asked about her past. Onboard she is taken in by a lady named Martha. A father and son; Jonah and Tobias Morse. They run into some problems on board, a pregnancy and a hare is supposedly onbaord. Mary is being called into Elias Cornwell(the reverned onboard) to write what happens on the journey for him. Another unexpected thing id Mary and a salior named Jack spend most of the time together. They arrive in Salem later then expected and stay in town for awhile. Mary,Marta, Jonah, and Tobias have pretty muched merged and do everything together along with Rebekah Rivers. Soon they leave with 2 Indain guides to Beulah. The town developed by members of the congreation that went before them. Problems stir. Mary is often dressed as a boy wandering the woods and meets an Indain boy. Martha discovers what Mary is and tells her turn burn the papers. But Mary rarely does what she is told and sews them into a quilt.Rebekah is with child from Tobias but the Reverned Johnson has come asking for her hand. Girls from the boat realize what Mary is and threaten her. Soon after witchcraft is suspected in town. Will Mary be discovered? What will happen to Rebekah and her child? This was a really good book. The only reason I gave it 4 stars was that there is a forward in the book and it confused me into thinking that this was a real story found inside a quilt. SO good luck!
Rating: Summary: What an Age We Live In Review: There were times I debated on whether or not this was actually a true story. Regardless, it is a very powerful story and a wonderful read for teenagers and adults. Mary's conflicts with her society are conflicts still prevalent in the world at large today. While most people in the world don't have to fear execution for an affliction that doesn't exist, most have encountered "witch hunts" in one way or another and most of society can affected, if not poisoned by it. Most of these types of situations are caused by what psychologists would refer to as "personality disorders." The Vanes and Reverend Johnson displayed behaviors characteristic of Narcisstic and Antisocial Personality Disorders. With these disorders, the person is driven by jealousy and envy and has a constant, self-gratifying need to find a target unto which they reflect their own shortcomings. Mary, Martha and the native people could heal more than Johnson's prayers ever could. He recognized this and did everything in his power to eliminate all of them, another characteristic of these disorders. This is also why the natives were so often the target of hatred and malice even after their knowledge and abilities were discovered during the colonial period. We see this also when Deborah constantly reflected her jealousy onto both Mary and Rebekah. However, the White Eagle and Jaybird also suffered at the hands of another, the Powwaws. While culturally different in every way, these people also displayed the same kind of personality disorders. Their jealousy and envy drove them to eliminate the Pennacook and their wise ways, committing random acts of violence and taking over their territory. Intelligent people today are also at the mercy of people with these characterisitics. Unfortunately, many innocent people can be poisoned by this behavior simply because they are not aware that it is occuring, as Mary pointed out to Rebekah. The Vane children, in an act that is so typical of people with these kind of disorders, were able to evade accountability by deception and use of aliases (they knew they'd be protected by their uncle, a man with an excessive need to control others). Anyway, this book is wonderful. Provoked sadness and pleasure, a sign of a great storyteller. I hoped Mary found peace, perhaps met up with Jaybird and White Eagle, leading a long and prosperous life.
Rating: Summary: Been there done that....... Review: It was a decently written story - the characters were written well and the dialoge had a nice flow - but the end of the book was just a rehash of the Salem Witch trials - also the same scenes were played out in the movie Sleepy Hollow If you have never read anything about the Salem Witch trials or seen Sleepy Hollow then it is a good read, otherwise you will feel like you are reading a rerun! I am a avid fan of Fantasy but came away from this a bit disappointed!
Rating: Summary: Great Historical Fiction Review: Let me start by saying that this book is an awesome historical fiction read. The story unfolds as 14 year old Mary confesses to being a witch, and goes through the suffering of seeing her grandmother dying because she is also a witch. In this diary-book, Mary keeps track of her life. She tries hiding she's a witch and moves to America to live with the Puritans. Will anyone find out her TRUE identity? This book will keep you turning because you want to find out what happens to Mary, and the people around her. I highly recomend this book, not only because it gives you a good view of life back then, but for the suspence in it. I think any child/pre-teen/ or teen will defintely find this as an all-time favorite. Although it isn't my favorite book, it still is of high rank to me....have fun reading!
Rating: Summary: awesome Review: This is one of the best books I have ever read. I t has so much detail. It feels like you are standing with her you can picture how everything was. BUY IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rating: Summary: Greatest book Review: This book is totally awsome even better than Harry Potter! I had to finish it once I got started. it was very good and it really touched me and I can't wait for the next one to come out.
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