Customer Reviews

Sorceress (Witch Child)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Agnes, a Canadian Indian, is spending her time in college in Boston when she runs across a published diary of a girl that was an accused Salem witch. The Book is called Witch Child. Agnes can't get over the similarities from the book to one of her ancestors, a white woman that lived with the Indians. Combine that with the fact that she is beginning to have mysterious visions from the past, and Agnes realizes that something big is about to happen. She contacts the woman named Alison who is mentioned in the back of the book Witch child, a woman who is looking for information about Mary. Alison is eager to find info on Mary and will help Agnes in any way that she can. This sends Agnes away from school back home, where she is sent on a vision quest to find out what happened to Mary.

Although the books Witch Child, and Sorceress are fictional novels, Celia Rees makes you almost believe that every thing is real. It's thrilling to find out what happened to Mary for pretty much the rest of her life, and Agnes is a very strong and amiable character. Another great thing about this book is the appendixes in the back. It's filled with diary entries and letters written by the characters in Witch Child whom we don't unfortunately don't see anything of them in the book. Another thing that was great to see is the representations of Native Americans in not a negative light, but in a realistic one. If your a fan of great historical fiction, especially one that realistically shows Native Americans, I highly recommend this to you.

Agnes Herne is a Mohawk Indian living in Boston attending college when she begins to start getting visions from this girl named Mary. All she knows is that the visions are somehow connected to the girl she read about in the book "Witch Child"(Sorceress's prequel)named Mary Newbury. Agnes soon begin to suspect Mary is the woman in the legend of the white woman who joined the people and was a very skilled healer. Agnes decides to return to the Mohawk Indian reservation where she could get advice from her aunt, also a healer. Soon she goes on a powerful vision quest that will conclude Mary's story, the story of a girl who beat all odds and used her special powers to become a healer.

This was a fitting ending to Witch Child. Mary's ending wasn't exactly how I expected it to be but it was nice to find out about all the other people at Beluh and how the quilt where the original diary was found got to the museum. A definite must read for Witch Child fans!

The end of "Witch Child" left me dying for more. I was too pleased to discover "Sorceress," though bewildered by the cover portait. It came to understand, as I read, that the portrait depicts a girl named Agnes, a Native American college student, who finishes reading "Witch Child" and has a vision, sent from, it seems, Mary herself.
After contacting Allison Ellman, the ambitious young woman who has taken it upon herself to discover Mary's history and that of those she tells of in her diary, Agnes sets off to the Mohawk Reservation, seeking her aunt, a medicine woman who she thinks will try to help her solve the mystery of these visions, and of Mary.
It is at this point in the novel, with her aunt at her side, and Allison fervently researching in Canada, that Agnes begins her spiritual journey to uncover Mary's future and her own past, linking Mary, the Pennacook, the Mowhawks and even the French Canadian as both Agnes and Mary's stories evolve simultaneously.

I thought this book was just as superb as the first. I was startled at first by the rapid change in the cast of characters--where did Agnes and Allison come from? I thought. However, when Agnes' visions begin, I understood, and settled in to enjoy the novel.
It definitely did not disappoint me. I was thrilled at the turns Mary's life took, and engrossed in all the details about Native Americans. One of the most fun parts of the book were the encounters with characters like Rebekah Rivers, who had been prominent in the first novel, and faded into Mary's past in the second.
Overall, "Sorceress" was written as beautifully as "Witch Child", and the story was as fascinating, if not more so, being that there were two stories unfolding at once. I loved the end, with all the "notes" on the histories of the Riverses, Jack Gill and other notable characters, and was extremely satisfied with the culmination of Mary's story.
I most definitely reccomend this book to anyone, provided you've read "Witch Child" first, of course.

I loved Soceress, it read so quick and easy. In Witch Child i found myself getting bored and waiting for something exciting to happen. In sorceress I was never bored and I couldn't wait to find out what would happen next. This sequel is a great way to finish Mary's story.

The story of Mary Newbury has become famous due to the efforts of researcher Alison Ellman, but no one knows what happened to Mary once she was forced to flee the settlement of Beulah. It seemed as though it was a dead end to the research, but now Mary has made contact with a college student with medicine blood in her family. Agnes never wanted to contact Mary - but Mary wants her story told. The gripping conclusion to the story of Mary's ife as an American colonist and the power of the magic that flows through her.

The original book in this series fascinated me because it was amazing to find a teenagers book about a person persecuted as a witch - who was actually a witch. This book continued the promise of that earlier novel, it is written as if the events really happened and it is easy to get tied up in the story. The best part has been that even though I was forced to read the books months apart I was able to easily get back into the story - it also completes the gaps in the story of what happened to Mary.

Although I do not know a lot about Native American culture (being from New Zealand all I know is what I have read or seen on TV) I am pretty sure that the portrayal of Native American history and spiritual beliefs has been handled as accurately as possible. I really enjoyed this book and recommend it if you enjoyed the first book.

Like the previous novel Witch Child, this book was definitely a page-turner as well. At the end of each page, I would get more and more interested in the way that the Natives Americans would communicate with the sprits. The Native Americans also had to prepare for their spiritual encounter with Mary. I personally love fiction novels. Just knowing that the story that you are reading is based on a true story amazes me. It is said to be read by 5th graders, but I think the 6th, 7th, 8th grade would be the right age group because of its mature vocabulary and content. I love Celia Rees' way of writing. It adds suspense to a good story, and excitement to a boring one. Let me tell you, that while reading this book my mind wandered quite a few times. I would sometimes think what it would be like to be that character for that moment. It's fun to pretend you are in the story. I recommend this book to all experienced readers, because of the high vocabulary skills and mature content.

Sorceress is a continuation of Witch Child. The reader finally gets to find out what happened to Mary so many years ago. Only, Rees continues the story in such a unique fashion. Her research abilities come into practice again as the Reader gets an insight on the life and habits of Native Americans during the time of the French and Indian War.

Agnes is having strange dreams in which she sees her self as Mary, her apparent ancestor, after reading the book Witch Child. (How you like that?) She decides to email the author by using the web address found at the back of the book. She comes into contact with Alison, who is doing the research on Mary and was one of the scientist who discovered the diary in an ancient quilt. They get together to join their talents. Through Agnes' eyes, the reader gets to relive the days of Mary's escape, rescue, hardships, and life with her Indian family.

Wonderful read. I'm anxious to find out whatelse Rees has up her sleeve.

"Sorceress" was very, very disappointing. "Witch Child" was interesting, mystifying, and intriguing. This book held none of those qualities, and I just felt obligated to finish it. Author Celia Rees should have just made a sequel to the book, without using Agnes and Alison. Those two characters made the story stop and go, ruining any and all flow. The conclusion of Mary's life was mundane and boring - nothing at all like the rest of her life. What a letdown. I do not recommend.

about Agnes a Indian college student who reads the diary of Mary Newbury and believes its writer a relative from some of the stories she was told when she was little. She contacts the author and they set out to finish Mary's story. The way they finish the story by that Agnes becomes Mary in a vision quest.In the vision quest she finds out the fate of Jaybird Mary and many other characters.It tells the rest of Marys life. This story is just as good as the first and even better when you read the first. The characters are greatly developed and even if you didn't read the first one you probably would understand this one.

Sorceress is a great book! I got so involved in it that I've cried twice already! It's an amazing book filled with romance, suspence, action, and mystery. I think what makes it more interesting is that there is REAL evidence to the events in both books. You feel more connected with the book because it's nonfiction. Sorceress is a great book and I recommend it to everyone! (PS. I would love to see the remains of Mary's quilt and her journal!)