The Witch of Blackbird Pond

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Summary: The Witch of Blackbird Pond-One of the Greatest Books Ever!
Review: The Witch of Blackbird Pond, written by Elizabeth George Speare, is one of the greatest historical fiction novels ever written! The Witch of Blackbird Pond is the coming of age tale of sixteen-year-old Kathrine Tyler of Barbados as she comes to live in the late 1600 colony of Connecticut. Coming from luxurious Barbados, Kathrine, also known as Kit, has a lot of surprises awaiting her in the bleak colony of Connecticut. As Kit sees the bleak New England shoreline from the boat, she begins to wonder whether or not coming to New England is such a good idea after all. When she arrives in Connecticut, her Aunt Rachel, and her Uncle Matthew take her in. As she begins to live with her relatives, she starts to realize that living in New England is no easy task, for she must work all day carding wool, weeding vegetables, and doing other hard and time consuming tasks. Coming from a rich home in Barbados, this isn't at all what she had expected! Kit also attracts the attention of fellow townsfolk by revealing that she can swim, read well, and that she wears silk and satin dresses. Little does she know that many of her considered to be odd behaviors by the fellow townsfolk may end up getting her suspected of being a witch! After befriending an old Quaker, and suspected witch, it is only a matter of time before the townsfolk accuse her of being a witch! As the story progresses, it becomes intense and suspenseful. Aiding to the suspense is a witch-hunt, a government dispute, and many other intense scenes. I have only read the book once, but I can still tell that Elizabeth George Speare spent put tons and tons of effort into writing this book. Throughout the book, I noticed that she was very descriptive with the style of clothing, colonial architect, food, religion, customs, and scenery. Her description of the setting was so realistic that it felt like I was actually in the story, not just reading it. To be descriptive as she was, it must of token her hours upon hours of time just to do the research alone for her book. Her vivid descriptions of her characters and their actions and feelings really make you wonder how you would act and feel if you were in their position. Even though action is absent throughout much of the book, I still found it incredibly interesting and almost impossible to put down. Where the story lacks in action, it abounds in a detailed plot that is guaranteed to keep any reader hooked. And when you do get to the action in the book, it is literally impossible to put down! Why you might walk right of a cliff and still continue to read it without noticing anything! It's that good! I give this book a ten plus out of five for it's creativity and it's ability to grip any reader's attention. For these reasons, I would highly recommend this extremely good book to anyone, especially historical fiction fans.

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Summary: My Review for W.O.B.P
Review: In my opinion The Witch Of Blackbird Pond was a very interesting and suspensful novel. By the end of reading the novel I not only has a full understanding of the withcraft and the witch trials in the 1690's but of the culture, way of life, people and government of this time period.

Spears did a marvelous job on the setting. I love the way she explained with detail every setting as it changed. For example, when the setting changed from the boat to Weithersfield, she explained what the setting was like as Kit's opinion about this place. She described it as having flat, square houses and nothing like Barbadoes, where she used to live. Another example is when the setting changed during the witch hunt for Kit's friend, Hannah, an old, sweet lady who is accused of being a witch. She described very well the mob of people and the burning of Hannah's house. She Also described very well the house of her cousins, The Woods. Not only did she describe the setting well but characters and their feelings, like how hard the chores were to Kit and how Mercy and John loved each other so much.

This novel is an excellent one and anyone who has the opportunity to read it should.

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Summary: The Witch of Blackbird Pond
Review: This book was horrible.I had to read it but in my own opinion this book really had nothing to do with witches.They only mentioned a few things about withches.For example ,when the main character{Kit}jumped in the water to save the little girl's doll,they just mentioned she could get in trouble for swimming.Another example of this would be how Kit was put on trail.They just said she was but it would have made the story a lot more interesting by adding the twist that she was found guilty. The story was actually about how dating worked back in colonial times.The author mentioned that in order to go out with someone that the male had to ask the father's permission in order to call on the female.An example of this would be when an admirer of Kit{William Ashby} asked Kit's uncle if he could call her out.He did this by sucking up to him then asking him his permission.In conclusion, my once again is that this book has nothing to do with witches or witch craft.

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Summary: The Witch of Blackbird Pond (Crystal B)
Review: I think this was an interesting story but could have been better. One thing I liked was how you could feel how Kit felt in coming to a new land. When she was showing the dresses off to Mercy and Judith, Matthew got really mad and Kit was probably confused. You could feel what it would be like in that situation. Also making the story in her point of view was a great idea because then people would know how she was not a witch and sometimes feel how she is feeling. They would think the people weren't thinking correctly, but if it were from another view, like Goodwife's, it would just tell how she is a witch and not how she isn't. Something they could do is to make Kit more adventurous, like if she went on the boat to escape with Nat, people might go after her and she wouldn't be at the trial to see if she's a witch. I think Kit is a little boring, and she always seems to follow the rules, at least most of the time. Also I wonder what would happen if she went back to Barbados and maybe Kit would be more confident after she went back after all this. That is why I think Kit is sort of a boring person and she could use some personality.

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Summary: Some things I liked and disliked.By Adela
Review: Oct.20, 2000

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

I found the book by Elizabeth George Speare interesting and entertaining. I really think she did a good job on many aspects of the book. First off, I think she did a good job on the attitudes of the people in the book. She made the characters and made them their own, unique personality. And even though in the beginning you think all the towns' people are the same, in the end (and especially at the trial for Kit), you see that they are all different. She followed each of them throughout the book and always had a reason for their actions. For example, when Kit was sitting in the barn waiting for William to come, and William never did, she had William explain why he never did. That definitely stressed his character and entertained the reader. Also when Hannah put her foot down and wouldn't go with Nat on the ship until she had her cat, it made the reader think: is this Hannah in this kind of situation? And the answer is yes; because her cat was the only thing she had left, since they burned down her house and her husband's dead. That also brings out Nats' character and shows that he really cares about Hannah. That's why I think that Elizabeth George Speare really succeeded on the characters of the book. One thing I think that the author did not accomplish well is the priorities in the book. By the title and the first couple of chapters, you'd think that the whole book is going to be about witches, but it's not and in that way, it can be very misleading. Maybe she meant to do that, but the book isn't really about witches until the very end again. In the middle of the book, it's just focusing, on her life with Aunt Rachel and family. Also, Hannah is mentioned to be a witch, but a big deal is not really made out of it. They just mention it as the reason why nobody really likes her. That is something that I disagree with the author on the book, The Witch of Blackbird Pond.

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Summary: Mood and Character Review
Review: I think the character, Mathew Wood, which Spear created was the most believable in the entire book. He was the one character in "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" that, when Kit came unexpectedly, was not the least bit pleased, nor was he ashamed to express it. I think that Spear did a tremendous job showing Mathew's personality and true character. One of the events which I thought best represented Mathew was in the beginning of the book, he looked Kit right in the eye and "Laid down the laws" about her wearing such horrendous clothing. On the other hand, there were a couple of events which changed my perspective on Mathew Woods' character. One includes, when Mathew decided not to go on the witch hunt. I thought thought that it was an interesting change of events. Over all, if I were to rate the character of Mathew Wood on a scale from 1-10 I would give him an 8. There were many moods which created "The Witch of Blackbird Pond". My favorite of all of the moods through out the book had to be the intensity. If you think back to the book, you will recall many, very intense moments. One of them includes, when Kit was on trial for being a witch, which had to have been my personal favorite. I hear my heart beating while reading that part. Another very intense moment was when the witch hunt was going on. My eyes were glued to the pages during the section of the book. I think that the way Spear creates the mood in this story best represents her a writer. I would give the mood of the story a 10 if I were to rate it on a scale from 1-10.

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Summary: The Witch of Blackbird Pond Profiles
Review: There were many good aspects to the story. One good aspect is the setting of Blackbird Pond because that type of setting seems to be a good place for a witch to live in. Another good aspect to the story is the characters, because each one has his or her own special ability and personality. Good aspect is the date and century it took place because witches were mostly feared at that time.

There were also many bad aspects to the story. One bad aspect is that the author was telling more about Kit's adaptation to her new home instead of telling more about the whole point of the story, which is the witch. Another bad aspect to the story is that there were just too many conflicts in the story. Another bad aspect to the story is that the mood is mostly depresing because of Kit's hard time adapting to her new home. In conclusion, those are the good and bad aspects to the story.

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Summary: The Witch of Blackbird Pond Profiles
Review: I believe that the author really out done himself with this fabulous book!The characters are great and unique in every way because each one has his or her own special ability a personality , and the setting is the best.Another great thing about this is that the time period was excellent, especially because witches mostly feared at that time.

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Summary: The Witch Of Blackbird Pond Book Review
Review: I think that the author didn't do a good job with helping Kitlearn more about slaves. I think this because in the beginning of thebook the author mentioned a few things about slaves. For example shesaid that in Wheathersfield they had to do work unlike in Barbadoeswhere they had slaves there. Also I think that Kit should have learnedsome more information about slaves such as the pain they went through,their daily life, why they were such a big part in people's lives. Idon't think that Kit really had a good understanding of slaves sincethere was not much information in the novel. This Is why I think theauthor didn't do that great of a job with explaining more about slavesto Kit.

I think that throughout the novel Kit went through a lot ofchanges. One major change Kit experienced was when she arrived inWeathersfield she realized that there were no slaves there and she hadto work quite hard. Another change occured when she met Hannah, shestarted to belive and practice witchcraft. Also Kit thought a littlebit more about boys than when she lived in Barbadoes. I think that KItbecame more responsible because she was able to handle working andteaching kids. Also she was caring. For instance when she helpedHannah fix her roof and when she taught some kids how to write andread. These are a few changes that Kit experienced.

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Summary: A book all should read
Review: The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Spears was a great novel. I think it was very heart touching and reflects many peoples lives today. It has life morals and teaches about friendship, courage and love. The book also shows how people lived in Colonial times.

Spears did a wonderful job bringing her characters to life. They each had there own personalities and feelings. For instance, Kit was very wise but stubborn throughout the book. She came to America to live with her Aunt and Uncle and was at first rich. She had many fine clothes and could swim. A very different character from Kit would be Matthew Wood. He was very serious about everything and doesn't believe in nonsense such as witches or Hallows Eve. He was also very fierce and political man. He fights and tries to get everyone to do or believe what he does. He sticks to what he believes in and does not give up until he has proved everyone else wrong. For example, he will never change his religion and people against are forbidden from the house.

Spears also had a good plot and kept the novel full of suspense and action. It was also very adventurous. In one event, a plague gets the village people angry, causing chaos and a witch-hunt. They go and finding the witch not there burn down her house. Where was the so-called witch? Was she really a nice old lady like Kit made her seem? Who saved her from the village and brought her to a safe place? Read the book and you will know the answers to these suspenseful questions. Another great event was in the courtroom. While burning the house a lady finds a hornbook belonging to Kit with her daughter's name, Prudence on it! In the courtroom, they decide the punishment and if Kit is really a witch. Does her Uncle stick up for her? Will Prudence come help Kit? Did Kit really write the name?

I hope that after reading my review on The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Spear you will read the novel. It taught me lessons on friendship, and bravery. It was filled with happiness, sorrow, and love shared by all of the characters and the reader. Thus, read the novel and prepare to be taken into the novel yourself!