The Sacrifice

My daughter and I read a lot together, she is in 4th grade and more than capable of reading alone, but this is time we enjoy together. What a great time when it is a book that I enjoy and look forward to as much as she does. This book is not a book about witchcraft as much as a book about the time and the persecution of innocents. It opened a lot of discussions for us.

I had to do a report on the Salem Witch Trials so my teacher recommended this book to help me. I enjoyed it and I learned alot about the Trials.

Although a fairly quick read, The Sacrifice is a nice addition to the wide variety of Salem witch trial stories out there. The Sacrifice follows the Faulkner family, in particular 10-year-old Abigail, as the witch hysteria hits their town of Andover. While you can guess at what will happen (it is a Salem witch trial story, after all), the author does a great job at portraying Abigail's inner turmoil as she struggles to come to terms with what's happening in her world. At first she's eager to learn about the "witches" in her society and quick to believe the judgments, until the witch hunt hits close to home, forcing her to re-evauluate what she believes about herself and her fellow townspeople. The ending of the book sort of reminded me of the ending of "Brokedown Palace" - there is a sacrifice made, and it's very powerful and heart-wrenching. As in that movie (which is extremely good, by the way), a character trades physical freedom for inner freedom, knowing that they righted a wrong situation. One neat sidenote also came at the ending, as the author comments that this book is based on her ancestors who lived during the Salem witch hunt period and actually went through the situations written about in her book. Highly recommended.

This captivating books truly brings the Salem witch hysteria to life. Based on research into her own family's experience with the witch trials, Duble succeeds in taking her reader through the agony of accusation, imprisonment, and trial.

It's 1692, and ten-year-old Abigail and her family are threatened by witchcraft fear in Salem. When the focus reaches Andover and her family, they find neighbor turns against neighbor and must choose their path during a reign of terror. Events in the author's own family history come to life through the eyes of Abigail in this realistic account.