Title: Wicked Girls: A Novel of the Salem Witch Trials
Author: Stephanie Hemphill
Release date: June 17, 2010
Publisher: Balzer & Bray
Pages: 408
Source: Publisher
Reading level: YA
Challenge(s): None
From Printz Honor winner and Your Own, Sylvia author Stephanie Hemphill comes this fictionalized account of the Salem Witch trials from three of the real young women living in Salem in 1692.
Ann Putnam Jr. is the queen bee. When her father suggests a spate of illnesses in the village is the result of witchcraft, she puts in motion a chain of events that will change Salem forever.
Mercy Lewis is the beautiful servant in Ann’s house who inspires adulation in some and envy in others. With her troubled past, she seizes her only chance at safety.
Margaret Walcott, Ann’s cousin, is desperately in love. She is torn between staying loyal to her friends and pursuing a life with her betrothed.
With new accusations mounting against the men and women of the community, the girls will have to decide: Is it too late to tell the truth?
Wicked Girls is a novel of the Salem Witch Trials told in verse. I’m relatively new to verse books and I have never read one set in a historical period so I was really intrigued by this one. Wicked Girls was a dark tale of mass hysteria and how it ruined the lives of many innocent people.
Wicked Girls is told from the point-of-views of three of the accusers, Margaret Walcott, Mercy Lewis, and Ann Putnam, Jr. I have read quite a few books on the Salem Witch Trials but never once have I read something that attempted to explain why the girls might have done it. While there are no concrete theories Stephanie Hemphill managed to portray the girls quite honestly and make their motives very plausible. At first I found it rather hard to connect with the girls but that did change. They did horrid things but I couldn’t help but feel for them. Sure there were times when I hated them but there were also times when I really sympathized with them and wanted them to have happy endings.
One of the best things about Wicked Girls is that most of the book was historically accurate and I adored that about it. I felt like I learned a lot about the Salem Witch Trials but it never once felt like a history lesson. Some of the names were switched around but Stephanie Hemphill stuck to the true story of the Salem Witch Trials, only adding embellishments when it came to the girls who did the accusing. There is also quite a bit of information at the end of the book that tells exactly what happened to the accusers and the accused as well as the story behind the book.
The story is told in verse and like I said, it is the first historical fiction book that I have ever read in verse. If there are any others out there like this one I will definitely be on the lookout for them now. Historical fiction sometimes can be rather slow paced and a little dull. Stephanie Hemphill kept Wicked Girls from falling into that category by writing the story in verse. It sped up the pace of the book and I couldn’t put it down. The writing was fabulous, the imagery sufficiently creepy, and I could practically picture Salem Village in my head.
Overall, Wicked Girls surpassed all my expectations and I adored it. Historical fiction fans will adore this and if you’ve found historical fiction to be a little too dull for you in the past, give this one a shot. It may just change your mind.
What others are saying about Wicked Girls:
The Book Scout’s review: “Overall, I recommend Wicked Girls to fans of historical fiction and those looking to find out more about the Salem Witch Trials.”
I really enjoyed this one, too. It was different and moved fast enough to keep me riveted! Another historical novel in verse that I really liked was THE WATCH THAT ENDS THE NIGHT by Allan Wolf. It’s about the Titanic, but the verse format makes the story feel fresh and new.
This one sounds super interesting. I remember actually enjoying reading The Crucible in high school. The Salem Witch Trials were such an interesting time in history.
Definitely looks interesting. I love Salem and have visited it a bunch of times and done the witch trials tours and whatnot. Goodreads has a lower rating of this book which is the only thing that makes me not want to read it immediately!
I read this one earlier this year and enjoyed it! I definitely agree that the verse format makes the history more interesting and less educational. If you’re looking for more like this, I’d recommend The Watch That Ends the Night by Allan Wolf, which is about the Titanic. I gave that one 5 stars. 🙂
I really liked this book too. I have Hideous Love at home right now and hope that one is just as good! Welcome to the land of novels in verse. It’s nice here.
Oh this sounds really good! Although I never thought of a historical type story written in verse, I’m happy this worked so well!
It’s interesting to see what really happened, behind the hysteria. There’s a really good TV mini series about the same topic starring Kirsty Allen that also examined the real reasons behind the trials and there was a lot of psychological analysis too in it. You might like it.