BOOK REVIEW: Witch Child by Celia Rees

"She was locked in the keep for more than a week. First they walked her up and down, up and down between them, for a day and a night until she could no longer hobble, her feet all bloody and swollen. She would not confess. So they set about to prove she was a witch..."

Mary's grandmother is executed for witchcraft, and Mary is forced to leave her home to avoid the same fate. At first she flees to the English countryside, but when the atmosphere of superstition and suspicion becomes all consuming she leaves on a boat for America in the hope that she can start over and forget her past. But during the journey, she realises that the past is not so easy to escape.

Witch Child is a complex, absorbing novel, told in the form of pages from a journal found loosely sewn into an old quilt many years later. From the moment the story begins, the tension is tangible, and the reader is drawn into a world of mistrust and uncertainty that shakes to the core. All this is cleverly conveyed through the eyes of Mary, whose first sense of wide-eyed wonder gradually develops a mature understanding of her situation, drawing the reader in to a dark and dangerous world where the tiniest slip could mean death. – goodreads.

This was an interesting book. I picked it up during a United Way book sale for $1. And truth be told I picked it up based on the cover alone; it had such a haunting feeling to it. I had no idea what it was about. I don’t even think I looked at the title. But cover won out.

I am glad I gave it a shot though. It was written in a journal style, by Mary.  It follows her through the capture of her grandmother, to her fleeing to the New World in 1659. On her journey she ‘joins’ a family of Puritans- all of whom are outcasts for one reason or another; none as detrimental as being a witch mind you- but they become friends. In their new village, things start happening. And of course back in the 1600s if you couldn’t explain it- it must be witchcraft!

I wish there was more witch craft involved. I mean, the title of the book is called Witch Child, and I was just waiting for Mary to perform some spells, do some incantations, something. All we got was that she was friendly with the Natives, people looked at her weird and got a sense that something was up. But really, there was no circumstantial evidence. And people who knew she was a witch only knew because they were witches themselves!

It was a short, easy read. I give it 3 stars because it didn’t blow me away, but it did keep me entertained. The way it was written also made you think if it is actually fiction or not.