Witch Child

Book Title: Witch Child

Author: Celia Rees

Date Started: May 16th 2021

Date Completed: May 19th 2021

Genres: Historical

Quality Rating: Four Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Four Star

Final Rating: Four Stars

Review:

◆ Thanks to NetGalley for this eBook copy for review,

celebrating the 20th anniversary of Witch Child's publication ◆

Witch Child was one of those famous books everyone had read when I was a kid and one that I never felt particularly inclined to get around to for whatever reason. That being said, having read it as an adult I think I probably would've enjoyed it when I was younger - the set-of of a fictional historian discovering a quilt with diary pages of a girl accused of witchcraft was a stroke of genius, and my imagination would've totally latched onto that and run wild as a preteen.

Rees deals with the subject matter with surprising maturity and complexity for a book accessible for younger audiences. Of course, there isn't as much violence and horror as would likely have been the reality, but there's still a chilling realism to the attitudes and stupidity of the town and how far they'll take their beliefs. As with much fiction about the 'New World', you spend most of it despairing that literally anything can and was twisted to be incriminating if someone felt like it. Although, even with that, the climax was a little sudden and abrupt, presumably because it cut out all the really dark bits - not a problem for me, personally, if it makes the material more accessible.

Mary herself was a great protagonist. Her prose was articulate but didn't feel constructed; she had everyday worries as much as her overarching obstacles, and I really liked the fact that she was aware she would be considered a witch - and she possibly considered herself one too. It added a layer of conflict between self-preservation and self-acceptance. I enjoyed the general ambiguity over whether there was more afoot than hysteria, racism and misogyny.

Twenty (one) years on, and Witch Child seems to remain as interesting and celebrated a novel it was when I was a kid. It's well-suited to the 12-15 range (is that what it's aimed at?) but enjoyable for older readers too. A mature but accessible door into a very recognisable and important piece of American (and British) history.