Sunday, June 6, 2004

Witch Child

Chicago Skyline

No, the picture has nothing to do with the topic.  I just popped it in for John Scalzi, since he's there this week-end, and since Paint Shop Pro is such fun to play with.

As long as we're on the topic of books, let me recommend Witch Child by Celia Rees, which I read yesterday as part of my search for appropriate summer reading for next year's 8th grade American History class -- a new challenge for me.  As a young adult novel, it's a quick read for an old fogie, and it's fascinating!  Having been raised by a woman she considers a grandmother and having seen her tortured and executed as a witch, our young heroine is provided passage to America with a group of Pilgrims in 1659.  Her fear of being exposed as a witch herself is ever with her as she endures a suffocating voyage to the New World and a new life bound by the rigid strictures of Puritan society.  Native Americans appear as knowledgeable friends and healers, scorned by the community whose very existence they preserve.  It's a great read, and there's a sequel!

Walked: 3 miles.

 

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love the picture and the book sounds great.  I'll have to tell Laura about it, it's right up her alley.

Anonymous said...

I don't get to read much lately but the book sounds interesting.
I get tons of free newspapers from the library and that keeps me well informed for sure!