Web Book Report

Witch Child

By: Celia Rees

Introduction	Summary	Book Review
Characters & Setting	Jennifer – 27 November 12, 2004 Language Arts	Author Information

Introduction:

This book is about a young girl who was subjected to what many girls and women suffered during the 1660s. She was considered a witch. She has to survive without letting her companions know her history. Mary has to learn that she cannot do whatever she wants.

Summary:

This story is about a young girl named Mary. She lives in England with her grandmother in a small forest. The story is set in around 1660.

One day, neighbors come and take Mary’s grandmother. She is hanged for being a “witch.” A young woman rescues Mary. At the woman’s house, Mary is given food, clothing, and money. She is being sent to America with the Puritans.

The ship is small and dirty, the trip is long. There is sickness, a lack of food, and extremely dirty water. Finally, they reach Salem, Massachusetts. Once there, the hungry, bedraggled Puritans find that the first group has left and is going into the wilderness. Mary’s group is given the decision to stay in Salem or follow. Most decide to go.

After a long trip in the woods, they find a settlement with little extra food and an extremely arrogant minister. Mary is thrown into a world of suspicion at every turn. She is not allowed into the woods and she is accused of “conjuring spells” that make several girls “go crazy” and her best friend marry someone so she could be happy.

Mary likes going in the woods and she soon makes friends with two Indians. When Mary’s friend is sick, their remedies heal him.

Soon, suspicion catches her. The minister thinks she is a “witch” and he soon convinces most of the town. The diary ends here but someone else has continued it. This says that while her friend was giving birth, some men showed up to take and kill Mary. They search every room in the house except one. They are forbidden in the birthing room and Mary is there. Later she escapes and is free.

Characters:

Mary- she is a rather smart, kind, caring orphan. She is the main character and is sent to America.

Martha- she is a Puritan woman who finds young, lonely Mary. She takes Mary as her “daughter” and keeps and teaches her. Martha is slightly suspicious of Mary, thinking she might be a witch.

Reverend Johnson- the erratic, arrogant minister who thinks he is a prophet from God. He thinks that Mary has cast many spells, since several girls have “gone crazy” and Mary enjoys wandering through the woods.

Pictured below: Examples of how colonial people like

Mary, Martha, and Reverend Johnson may have looked.

Setting:

This story is set in approximately 1660. The groups of Puritans start out in England, and then they go to Salem, Massachusetts. After that they head into unknown wilderness and join another colony of Puritans.

The wilderness like the one the Puritans went through.

A ship like the one the Puritans traveled on.

About the Author:

Celia Rees was born in Solihull, England, in the Midlands. Her father was a principal and her mother was a housewife. She taught English for seventeen years. She went to the university in Warwick. When she was in college, she had to write a piece of work. The teacher told her to keep writing. She took his advice and started writing. She has now written at least twenty-five novels. She lives in Warwickshire, England, with her child and husband.

Other Books By The Author:

-The Sorceress

-Pirates!

-Point Horror: Blood Sinister

-The Supernatural Series

- City of Shadows, Book 1

- A Trap in Time, Book 2

- The Host Rides Out, Book 3

Book Review:

I enjoyed this book very much. It was suspenseful and I never wanted to put it down. The characters and setting were very well described. When the group was traveling on the ship or in the forests, it was easy to see how harsh it was, how the poor and rotten the food was, like when the story says, “our meat comes from the barrel green and stinking, and the oatmeal is musty and will not thicken…” I give this book seven out of ten stars.