Wednesday 8 April 2009

My Thoughts: Witch Child by Celia Rees


After saying my reading has slowed down I then realed of two books in two days. This is another YA read but of a very different kind to City of Embers.
Witch Child is a collection of diary entries by a girl girl called Mary, who states that she is a witch in the opening lines of the novel.
As the diary entries start Mary's grandmother has been hunted out as a witch, her powers were tested when she was thrown into a lake to see if she floated - the conformation that a woman was a witch, and then dreagged out for a public hanging.
As Mary's abilities are dubious with the locals Mary is sent across the Atlantic to the newly discovered Americas. Mary travels with Puritans and becomes one of the community, one who is always held on the outside of the community but allowed to join in and travel with them.
America was meant to be an escape, a chance to start again with a fresh slate yet it seems that the rumours are following Mary.

Challenges:
999 (YA)
2009 YA Challenge
What's in a Name? (Profession)

3 comments:

serendipity_viv said...

I read quite a lot of Celia Rees books and I wonder if you found the same thing as I did. I find that they build to a climax and then end really quickly, which I find a bit rushed and a bit disappointing. Did you find that?

katrina said...

It did seem to end quickly, I haven't read any of her others. I was thinking about reading the next book Sorceress at some point.

Anonymous said...

I wasn't too impressed when I read this one, but I did like the follow up. I feel this one was too similar to a lot of other books telling the same story and stole too much from The Crucible etc.