The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent

The Salem witch trials are a subject we've all heard about, read about, learned about but this story gives us a new twist. The Heretic's Daughter is the story of Sarah Carrier, a 10-year old growing up in Andover, Massachusetts before, and during the hysteria that became the Salem witch trials. After her brother comes down with smallpox, Sarah and her younger sister, Hannah, are shuttled off to her mother's sister in the hopes that they will avoid the disease. While there, Sarah and her cousin Margaret become best friends and Sarah hopes that she can stay with her aunt and uncle forever. But of course the day comes when she must be reunited with her family and once back, becomes aware of the dispute between her mother and her uncle about their land. The fight blossoms into something much more terrifying when the hysteria around the "supernatural" activity in Salem turns into mass chaos and her uncle claims her mother, Martha, is a witch. When Martha refuses to confess, her children, including young Sarah, are imprisoned with the hopes of breaking her. Sarah's narrative provides some much needed insight into these sham trials, forced confessions and ridiculous sentencing rules and restrictions. Overall, I enjoyed this book, although I will say that although I felt the sub-story about Sarah's father's history before coming to Massachusetts was a bit ridiculous, I still think it's worth a read. On a side note, the author's grand mother nine generations back, was hanged as a witch in 1692 which really emphasizes the point that history is something that happens to all of us.