Beyond the Burning Time

Beyond the Burning TimeBy: Lasky, KathrynReviewed By: R. GandhiPeriod: P.1It starts out in the village of Salem. Mary Chase and her widowed mother, Virginia Chase, tend a farm with the help of a friend named Gilly. Gilly is soon chased away because he was caught spying on Virginia Chase. Caleb is Mary's brother and works as an apprentice nearby at a shipyard. Soon rumor spreads around that witchcraft is going on in Salem. Innocent people are wrongly accused, taken away for a dehumanization exam, given a trial, and later hung. Mary Chases' family isn't affected until Virginia was accused. Caleb is frightened and takes Mary to Boston where Mary works in a tavern. However, Boston is where Gallows Hill is located. Also, the new governor wants to continue the witch trials. Therefore, Caleb and a new character, Captain Coatsworth chart a plan and save Virginia Chase before her hanging. Virginia gets her foot amputated and later marries a Captain in Jamaica.This book was very intoxicating! Since I am deeply interested in the supernatural world, I thought the book was great! The author was also descriptive. I could see a movie of the book in my head as I was reading. One great example is, "The girl's tongue lolled out, long as an eel. Her eyes widened. She began making the most piteous cries." Another great example is, "...dusk had settled thickly on the land. They moved quietly through the deepening shadows to the lilac bush. Inside the house they could see the glow of several candles and kerosene lamps."This book was not very dislikable. At times it got somewhat boring. However, you could read on without falling asleep. Also, directly after the tedious part came something that was quite interesting. One example is when Gilly came to his door and saw an underskirt that was blown to his door accidentally. This short part was a bit tedious. As the story goes on he spies on Virginia to see what her legs look like because he has never seen a woman's leg. This is how he was chased away.My favorite part was when Abigail Williams becomes afflicted. The author becomes more descriptive. Abigail Williams is described to do many unusual things. One unusual thing is listed above when her tongue lolled out like an eel's. One of the most disrespectful things I thought she did was saying her father's name. It was disrespectful because if you were afflicted and you said someone's name, it was like accusing them of being a witch. Her father is a Reverend and was saying a sermon at the time.

Haven taken an interest 1692 Salem, I will read anything and everything I can get my hands on that remotely has anything to do with it. My Reading teacher suggested that I read this book. It's truly an incredible book, being both interesting and at the same time historically accurate. Mary Chase, the main character, is likable, especially so at the end, when she becomes so determined to save her mother from the gallows that she held a knife to someone else's throat in order to find out where her mother was. If you're not used to authors that change perspectives, you might find this book a little confusing, but, also being a Mary Higgins Clark reader, it didn't bother me, personally. If you're familiar with "The Crucible" you should be able to find it interesting picking out the characters you're familiar with (oh yeah, the Mary Warren/Proctor thing-that's just funny). If my memory doesn't betray me, there's even part of Rev. Hale's spiel about his books ("Here are your wizards and witches that go by land, by sea, by air. You incubi and your succubi..."). Enjoy-you should.

Something is happening in Salem Village, and it is not good. In fact,it is pure evil. The townspeople are going witch-hunting crazy, and Mary Chase's, the main character of Kathryn Lasky's impressive book BeyondThe Burning Time, mother is a victim. Beyond The Burning Time is an excellent historical fiction novel. Ms.Lasky obviously did a great amount of research before writing it, but nonetheless managed to keep the story entertaining and the characters intriguing. Told from the view-point of a twelve year old girl, it effortlessly portrays the confusion and madness of the time. Although the amount ofcharacters can sometimes confuse the reader, they add many different perspectives on the events, as well as allowing Ms. Lasky to incorporate more history into the novel.Beyond The Burning Time is an excellent read for 6-8th graders.Mary Chase is about their age, and therefore her worries over being accepted are very easy to relate to. In addition, the book is fast-paced and interesting. However, Beyond The Burning Time does not lose the historical aspects of the 1692 witch burnings. Ms. Lasky has spun a capturing weave of lies, betrayal, and the human spirit. I recommend Beyond The Burning Time to anyone who is looking for a captivating read.

Beyond the Burning Time was a spellbinding novel about the Salem Witch Trials. It was an incredibly realistic and it's a real page-turner. This exciting book tells you what it was like back then. It seems as if you were really there. It was a story about a girl, her brother, and how they try to save their mother after she is accused of witchcraft. She told them to move to Boston before they become accused also, but they choose to come back and attempt to save her. This is an intriguing book, and if you like historical fiction that is extremely exciting, you will love this book.

This book displays the problems of the Salem which trials and hunt. It is quite confusing however. I did not get into it unitl the tenth chapter. It was boring in the beginning, but just keep reading!