I Walk in Dread: The Diary of Deliverance Trembly, Witness to the Salem Witch Trials, Massachusetts Bay Colony 1691 (Dear America Series) [Hardcover]

Lisa Rowe Fraustino (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up

One of our final two Dear Americas, this is the compelling diary of a young girl who finds herself caught up in the turmoil and drama of the Salem Witch Trials.

Deliverance Trembley lives in Salem Village, where she must take care of her sickly sister, Mem, and where she does her daily chores in fear of her cruel uncle's angry temper. But when four young girls from the village accuse some of the local women of being witches, Deliverance finds herself caught up in the ensuing drama of the trials. And life in Salem is never the same.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6–These two entries in the popular series illuminate tragic events in American history. When local girls begin to act strangely and accuse others of being witches, Deliverance Trembley believes them. However, after a trusted neighbor is implicated, she begins to have doubts and struggles to make up her own mind about the people accused. The story shows how one person's view could evolve over time. However, it is sometimes difficult to keep the characters straight, especially who is an accuser and who is accused. In 1909, Angela Denoto, a 14-year-old garment-factory worker, lives with her parents in New York City. She works long days and gives all of her pay to her Italian immigrant family. When union organizers come on the scene, Angela joins in the excitement. Later, her sister barely escapes a fire at the Triangle Waist Company, where she works. This story is told with lively details, from the noise in the factory to the heat in the family's tenement apartment. The description of the fire is graphic, with girls jumping out of windows to their deaths. Both books contain sections on life in America during the time and photos and illustrations. Additional titles for fans of the series.–Kristen Oravec, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Strongsville, OH

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 206 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Inc. (October 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439249732
• ISBN-13: 978-0439249737
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #726,693 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The infamous Salem, September 22, 2004

By 

hiphopgirl_1000 - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Walk in Dread: The Diary of Deliverance Trembly, Witness to the Salem Witch Trials, Massachusetts Bay Colony 1691 (Dear America Series) (Hardcover)

Twelve-year-old Deliverance Trembley lives on a farm in a regular town called Salem Village in the state of Massachusettes. The year is 1691 and Deliverance is living alone with her sister Mem, a sicky seventeen-year-old. Their cruel uncle has left them to fend for themselves, even though he is suppose to be taking care of them since Deliverance's parents are dead and her brother is gone in the military. Deliverance worries constantly that the neighbors will be suspicious that her uncle is not home. However soon her worries are not that simple anymore. The landscape in Salem is changing and the events to follow will change the town forever. When some girls in Salem Village come down with a weird illness, some young girls beginning accusing other townspeople of witchcraft. Soon even Deliverance's friend Goody is accused. Deliverance beings to feel that something must be up and innocent people are being accused. Will this mass panic ever come to an end.

I was really looking forward to the Dear America book on the Salem Witch Trials. I have always been a big fan of the stories of that period. Everybody knows about the Salem Witch Trials. Granted, myths have popped up everywhere about it. If you enjoyed this diary, I recommend you reading Celia Ree's Witch Child, another book about witch hunting. The sequel to that book is also a nice read.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful new Dear America book., September 16, 2004

By 

Rebecca Herman (USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: I Walk in Dread: The Diary of Deliverance Trembly, Witness to the Salem Witch Trials, Massachusetts Bay Colony 1691 (Dear America Series) (Hardcover)

Deliverance Trembley, who is twelve years old, begins her diary in December 1691. She lives with her sickly seventeen-year-old sister, Mem, on a farm in Salem Village, Massachusetts. Their uncle, who is supposed to be caring for the girls now that they are orphans and their older brother is away with the militia, has gone to sea and ordered the girls to let no one know he has gone away. Deliverance worries the neighbors will find out the truth and hates to have to lie. But when girls in Salem Village begin to behave strangely, and are said to be bewitched, Deliverance has even bigger worries. Are there truly witches in Salem Village, doing the Devil's work? Or is the mass hysteria sweeping through the village leading to the accusations of innocent people?

I loved this new book in the Dear America series, and I highly recommend it to readers who are fans of the series, or who like historical fiction about the Salem Witch Trials. I'd been hoping for a while that there would be a book in the series about this topic, and I wasn't disappointed at all by this book. The author did a great job at bringing the events in Salem in 1692 to life.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Historical Fiction Novel, July 13, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: I Walk in Dread: The Diary of Deliverance Trembly, Witness to the Salem Witch Trials, Massachusetts Bay Colony 1691 (Dear America Series) (Hardcover)

I Walk in Dread is an excellent, skillfully written novel. It follows the story of Deliverance Trembley, a twelve-year-old Puritan girl living in Salem Village, Massachusetts, with her older sister Remembrance and their uncle. They live with their unlce because the rest of their family was killed or taken captive during an Indian raid in Maine, so they have moved to Massachusetts. One day their uncle leaves and tells Deliverance and Remembrance, nicknamed Liv and Mem, not to tell anyone he has left them unattended. But when the two girls are living alone without their uncle for many months, after he has seemingly abandoned them, strange events begin to happen. A small group of girls who were once tight friends soon become known as "the afflicted." The girls often succumb to paranormal symptoms, such as fits of seizures and flying about in crazy contortions and positions. The folk of Salem begin to whisper that it is the work of the Devil and his witches, and soon enough the girls name the witches attacking them.
After the examinations of the women accused takes place, Deliverance hates the women with a hot passion, but when the girls accuse a newfound dear frined of Deliverance's, she slowly starts to doubt the girls' truthfulness.
For many religious people, the subject of the Salem Witch Trials is touchy, mostly because it displays some of the faults of the Church. This book does not hesitate to give the straight facts of the incidents of Salem. The main character of this novel is extremely likable because she seems to be the sole person to have a connection with her brain in the entire village, for she is the only one that sees the glaring errors in the girls' accusations and stories. Deliverance is also very intelligent and observant, and my favorite quote from one of her diary entries is: "Common sense is not so common around here." This dearly speaks the truth of this entire event of colonial America, because I myself have always believed that the whole witch hunt was a just a bunch of bored girls who wanted to have a little fun. And then their child's play of... "jolly good fun" turned into a killing spree of innocent people.
Although many of Deliverance's entries are often repetitive, what with the girls just naming countless more witches, this novel is suspenseful and interesting nonetheless. I would definitely call it one of the better books in the Dear America series. So many things could have gone wrong with this book, and yet the author, Lisa Rowe Fraustino, held it together and did an excellent job.
This may just be the book that could get people hooked on the Dear America series!