Martha Carrier was one of the first women to be accused, tried and hanged as a witch in Salem, Massachusetts. Like her mother, young Sarah Carrier is bright and willful, openly challenging the small, brutal world in which they live. Often at odds with one another, mother and daughter are forced to stand together against the escalating hysteria of the trials and the superstitious tyranny that led to the torture and imprisonment of more than 200 people accused of witchcraft. This is the story of Martha's courageous defiance and ultimate death, as told by the daughter who survived. Kathleen Kent is a tenth generation descendent of Martha Carrier. She paints a haunting portrait, not just of Puritan New England, but also of one family's deep and abiding love in the face of fear and persecution.
I thought this was an interesting way to tell the story of the Salem witch trials. You see everything through the eyes of Martha Carrier's oldest daughter. But unfortunately, I think the story also suffers from this point of view. The focus is a lot more on the family's life and their hardships until suddenly they're caught up in the midst of the hysteria. They combat this somewhat with the use of court transcripts, but I don't think it goes far enough.
Also, there was one piece of the story that pulled me out every time. It's the youngest daughter, Hannah. I guess I'm a big ol' softy now that I have a toddler, but every time Hannah is mentioned it's to say how she's clinging to her sister or how dirty she is or how they have to tie her to a stake in the yard to keep her from getting lost while they're working and it broke my heart EVERY SINGLE TIME. I kept hoping there would be some sort of payoff by the end of the book, some sort of reason for this toddler to be in the story, but there really wasn't. It just felt like useless emotional torture, and it really affected my enjoyment of the story.
So if you can't handle stories containing children that are being neglected and emotionally damaged, skip this one.
