Customer Reviews

Time of the Witches

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Gold Star Award Winner!

Drucilla is an orphan who longs for a family. When the Putnam's of Salem Village take her in, Dru thinks she's found the family she's dreamed of.

But Mistress Putnam's behavior is strange, and when young girls begin to fall ill without explanation, there's talk of witchcraft. Soon the accusations are flying and Dru even makes one of her own. Innocent lives hang in the balance, and Dru must find a way to stop the madness.

Myers does a fantastic job of bringing to life the events of the Salem Witch hunts and trials. Seamlessly weaving historical figures with fictional characters, TIME OF THE WITCHES draws the reader in and makes them feel like a participant in one of history's most tragic times.

I absolutely loved this book and have added it to my re-read pile. Dru's story grabbed hold of me and wouldn't let go as I discovered more and more about her life and times. Though I studied the Salem Witch trials in high school, I got more from this novel than I did from those weeks of study. Thanks to Myers, I better understand the reasoning behind these girls' accusations.

This book would be great for use in a classroom to introduce Salem's darkest times as it gives the reader not only historical information, but also the human connection lacking in the history books. Bravo, Anna Myers. Bravo.

Reviewed by: Joan Stradling

Drucilla and her best friend, Gabe, were born in the same house on the same cold, dark January night in Salem Village. Dru's mother died giving birth to her, and her father died soon after, leaving Dru to be raised by Gabe's parents. When Gabe's parents also die a few years later, the two children, who are as close as siblings, live together in various foster homes until the year they turn twelve, when they are separated for the first time. Dru goes to live in the home of Thomas and Ann Putman, while Gabe goes to live with Mary Putnam, Thomas's stepmother, whom Ann dislikes because she believes Thomas`s stepmother and half-brother cheated him out of some of his inheritance. Ann Putnam, Dru's new adoptive mother, is a very strange and moody woman who at times spreads viscous lies and other times weeps hysterically. However, Dru pities her because of Ann's great grief over the loss of several of her newborn babies.

Three years pass, in which Dru and Gabe remain friends despite the feud between their two households, and even begin to develop deeper feelings for each other. Despite Mistress Putnam's strangeness, and the coldness of the oldest Putnam child, also named Ann, Dru loves caring for the younger Putnam children and is mostly content with her life. But the year 1692 changes all that. Hysteria comes to Salem Village, and young Ann Putnam and other girls accuse many of the townspeople of being witches. Not wanting to turn her back on her adoptive family, Dru herself is drawn into the hysteria, but when she risks losing Gabe forever, she must find a way to end it all and bring order back to Salem Village.

Time of the Witches is an excellent young adult novel that brings to life the Salem Witch Trials through the eyes of a girl caught in the middle and torn between conflicting loyalties. Anna Myers does an excellent job of showing just how hysteria overcame reason for so many people during the trials, leading them to turn on their neighbors just on the word of a few children. Readers who enjoy young adult historical fiction or who have a particular interest in the Salem Witch Trials are sure to enjoy this novel.

Time of the Witches, by Anna Myers

"Mama, I want to charge Rose as a witch."

[...]

"That is ridiculous my dear," said her mother. "Rose cannot be a witch. The girl still owes us a year of service. Maybe next year (Time of the Witches, p. 162)."

Welcome to the absurdity of the Salem Witch trials, a dark period in America's history. Nineteen innocent men and women were killed as witches; killed without proof other than the flimsy accusations of a group of young girls. "Time of the Witches" is an attempt to consider the possible causes of the trials, and just how an entire town could have been caught up in a witch frenzy.

Drucilla, the protagonist of "Time of the Witches," is born as her mother dies. She is first fostered with another family, which includes her best friend, Gabe. The two were born at the same time, and were raised as brother and sister. But when Gabe's parents die as well, the two are orphans and live with other families in Salem Village. When they are twelve, the two are separated, and Dru goes to live with the Putnams. Ann Putnam's behavior is quite odd, as is her daughter's, but she accepts Dru as a member of the family and even has the girl call her "mother."

Ann Putnam's puzzling behavior (crying fits, suicide attempts, etc.) is attributed to the loss of several children. Early in Dru's time with the family the woman loses yet another baby, sending her spiraling into a deep depression, convinced that someone is murdering her babies. While Dru knows that the Putnam family is abnormal, she does her best to make Ann Putnam feel better - after all, the woman calls Dru her daughter. The relationship between the two sometimes made me say "enough already, I can't believe that Dru is falling for this," but then I also thought to myself that perhaps if Dru had had a better mother figure in her life she wouldn't have fallen for Ann's machinations.

Ann's behavior soon ratchets up quite a few notches when a new reverend moves into town. She is convinced that his servant, Tituba, can tell her who is behind the deaths of her babies. She sends her daughter and Dru to the reverend's house, among a group of girls who flock to the exotic servant who tells fortunes and stories of witches. But then the reverend's daughter, scared of the stories, falls into a stupor and the madness begins. Woman after woman is arrested, each accused of being a witch.

At the first trial, Dru sits with the girls, and is drawn into their antics, of feeling ghostly fingers pulling their hair and touching their necks. She isn't sure...did she feel something? Or didn't she? Almost unwittingly she agrees with the others and condemns a woman to death.

The cover is what drew me to "Time of the Witches," and for a while, I thought it was the best part of the book, due to the very slow start. I kept at it though, because I was curious what approach Myers would take to the Salem Witch Trials. She considers groupthink and mass hysteria as a possible explanation for what happened. The imagined character of Drucilla is caught between her conscience and the constrictions of threats - she could be the next witch if she spoke against what was happening.

Myers has an interesting idea, but the execution is a little off. The setup for the main event is far too long. Many of the interactions between Drucilla and Ann Putnam could have been condensed; the relationship between the two is established early on, and doesn't need to be continually thrust at the reader. But the relationship between Drucilla and Gabe, her childhood friend, is done very well, and is a great plot device to examine Dru's loyalties to her friend, and her adoptive family.

After I finished "Time of the Witches" I sat back for a while and thought about it. Although the book started slowly, as I've said, in the end I'm glad I stuck with it. It was worth it.

4/5.

There has been much speculation as to the mass panic that caused the Salem Witch Trials. TIME OF THE WITCHES takes fictional characters and adds them to historical figures to give readers another way of looking at this tragedy.

Dru's mother dies in childbirth and is raised by a family who gave birth to a son, named Gabe, the very same night. Tragedy strikes again when Gabe's parents died during a smallpox epidemic. For the first few years, the two are kept together. As the two mature, they are separated. Each is sent to a well-to-do family. Though close in distance, the two families are feuding. Gabe had the nicer of the two. Dru wasn't so lucky. Through her eyes, readers will see the buildup of the witch trials was built from greed with a dash of mental illness thrown in.

I had difficulty getting through this book. Like Gabe, I had little tolerance for the lies of Ann and her mother. Also, there was the dread of what was to happen to Gabe and Dru. During the story, they fell in love. Although the ending wasn't as bad as I imagined, I just couldn't see a happy ending coming out of this.

Drucilla has never really had a family of her own. Her mother died giving birth to her in the same room, at the same time, her best friend Gabriel was also being born. His family took her in as their own until they all died in a plague. After that they were inseparable. They bounced from foster home to foster home until, at the tender age of 12, they landed in opposing Putnam households in Salem, Massachusetts.

Dru was taken in by Ann and Thomas Putnam who already had three children of their own. Ann is a strange woman with mood swings that move faster than a flooded river. Dru goes along with whatever Ann says just so she can get along in the household, but she holds on strong to the bond between herself and Gabe.

When the new preacher's family moves to town, Ann forces Dru to spend time with the daughter and niece of the preacher. Too bad they spend a lot of time with their slave Tituba and her witch-based stories. Eventually all this leads to the mass hysteria of the 1692 Salem witch trials. Dru makes her decision to stand with the accusers, believing herself to be a victim as well. That is until Gabe is accused and Dru must decide what's actually real.

I'm a sucker for a good historical fiction. In this case, Anna Myers did plenty of research to make sure her story was authentic. While the book follows the timeline of the witch trials, it is also a touching story about true love and friendship that go beyond the surface. Dru and Gabe are incredible characters facing a heart-breaking reality. They are so easy to relate to and understand. Their actions are those of orphaned children looking to make their way through a tough world. There were no guarantees for anything during this time period and the only thing they could rely on was each other.

While I could get distracted by what was going on in the witch trails and lose track of what was going on with Dru and Gabe, the story always managed to make its way back around to their ordeal. The actions of all the characters were quite consistent with that of the time period and I was surprised by how easy it was to rationalize the hysterical girls' actions. A great read for history buffs or anyone wanting a little respite from modern timelines.

The author brought up a very interesting point as to why she wanted to research the subject. She believes that, had she been one of the girls in Salem, that she wouldn't have been able to withstand the hysteria because her mind is susceptible to suggestion. What do you think? Would you have been the one crying witch or would you have told the truth?

In the Time of the Witches, Anna Myers has taken the 1962-63 Salem Trials and built a story around it. The events in this book actually happened. When a new reverend comes to Salem village, his appointment is not unanimous. There are many people who are against him. Family feuds also play a major part in this.

Dru and Gabe are 2 orphans who have been shuffled between various families of the village since they were 4 years old. When they are 12, Dru and Gabe are separated and they are sent to live with 2 families that are related to each other but have been fighting over land and other things.

While Gabe gets a good house, Dru is sent to live with a mentally unstable Women with 3 kids. She has lost a lot of babies which makes her think there are people who are conspiring against her babies. When the new reverend comes to town, she finds a perfect way to get back at everyone.

In the beginning Dru goes along with her because she thinks she has finally found a family and a mother. But things start to get out of control when the Witch trials begin. Dru is pushed into a never ending nightmare with no way to get out.

I really liked this book. Anna Myers bought the Salem village to life. She also effectively conveyed the mass hysteria, the false accusations that followed. It's a book where fiction mixes seamlessly with the truth. I finished it in 2 days which is very rare these days since I seem to be having a very short attention span.

Since it's Young Adult, it's not too heavy. If you like YA or are just plain interested in the Salem Witch Trials, do read this book.

In a historical aspect, it suppose it was OK ---- I know things are very different now but I just couldn't grasp Dru being sucked in by the woman - it was quite frustrating to read of her blatant ignorance towards that awful household and that mother and daughter. I completed it because I don't ever put down an unfinished book (even if it takes forever). However, in my own defense, it grabbed my interest in the very beginning with the center being utterly annoying to a woman of this century. It was crazy when the trials began, it was this bunch of bored bratty girls that determined the life and death of people --- in the end it was OK - no revelations, no happy thoughts, no dark thoughts - sorry to say, I was just indifferent.