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“Dark times, heartwarming, and witchcraft.”
Reading age
10+
Genre
Historical fiction
Publisher
HarperCollins
Publication date
October 20, 1991
My brief summary of the book
Tituba and her husband John Indian, both slaves, must leave Bridgetown, Barbados because their mistress sold them to a new master named Samuel Parris. Shortly after they met their new master, they sailed to Boston, Massachusetts, for Mr. Parris’s hopes of finding a job to be a minister. The people of Salem Village offered a position to Mr. Parris as their minister. He accepted it. So, they all moved to Salem Village. Things were going well until Betty Parris (Mr. Parris’s daughter) and Abigail Williams (Mr. Parris’s orphan niece) started having fits. Will Tituba find out what causing their fits?
My thoughts
This historical fiction book is an excellent story about Tituba’s life and not so much about the Salem Witch Trials. However, I preferred this book more than “Beyond the Burning Time” (see my previous review). It made me look at Tituba differently; She was kindhearted and still cared about Betty and Abigail, her accusers of witchcraft.
My least favorite character was Abigail Williams; She sounded whiney, bratty, and bossy as well. The ending was swift, and I wanted to learn more about what happened to the later years of her life.
My rating
About the author
“Ann Petry was the acclaimed author of the adult novel The Street, a groundbreaking literary work about life in Harlem, which sold over a million copies. She also wrote several books for young readers, including Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad, the story of the courageous and heroic woman who struggled and fought for her people before and during the Civil War.” – Amazon.
More by Ann Petry
- The Street
- Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad. Please read my review.
