Time of the Witches

November 1, 2009
Gr 5-9-Myers brings a time of mass hysteria to life. Drucilla and her best friend, Gabe, are both orphans, raised by villagers. When they are 12, they take positions as servants. Widow Mary Putnam offers Gabe a home, and Drucilla is thrilled when the woman's stepson offers her a position, but she soon realizes that a feud between the two households will keep her and Gabe apart. Thomas's wife Ann is outwardly beautiful and charming, and Drucilla thinks that rumors of her maliciousness are unfounded. But the longer she is in the household, the more Ann's disturbed personality emerges. Her daughter, nine-year-old Ann, shows her own signs of devious behavior. When a new reverend and his family move into the parsonage, young Ann and her friends encourage his slave, Tituba, to entertain them with stories of witchcraft and to tell their fortunes. Fearing punishment if the adults discover this ungodly pastime, the girls pretend that Tituba has bewitched them. Gabe, not realizing that Ann Putnam has threatened Drucilla if she changes her story, sees his friend's testimony as evidence that she sides with the unscrupulous family. As does Ann Rinaldi in "A Break with Charity" (Houghton, 2003), Myers draws heavily from the actual participants in the events. The fictional Drucilla is an engaging protagonist, and her fear of being falsely accused if she speaks out is believable. A solid piece of historical fiction."Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2010
Orphans Drucilla and Gabe were raised as siblings, then separated after being taken in by different families in colonial Salem. As hysteria over witchcraft builds, Dru joins her peers in making denouncements--until Gabe is accused, and Dru searches for a way to end the trials. Dru's character exhibits sensibilities too modern for 1692, but the setting is otherwise well realized.

(Copyright 2010 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)