The Heretic’s Daughter Kathleen Kent Published September 2, 2008 332 pages Historical FictionI received The Heretic’s Daughter as an ARC, but since I’m practically drowning in books to read (I’m just glad my husband never points out that I DON’T need more books)…wait…wait for it…I’ve got a picture to prove I AM drowning in books!
Mmm HM. I don’t know if you can tell but my tongue’s hanging out. Like it does when you’re dead. ‘Cause I’ve seen so many dead people. You didn’t know? Well now you know.
I’m not easily distracted. Not at all. How bouts we get back to the book?
I received The Heretic’s Daughter as an ARC, and had EVERY INTENTION of reading it right away, but alas, I didn’t (see picture above, please), and then Mary from Blog Stop Book Tours said she’d be touring the book, and I was all, Dude, I already have that book! So I jumped on the bookwagon and promised to read it.
Holy mother of Jehoshaphat, was this book good!
I’m going to try doing this review in a bunch of short sentences. Let’s see how this goes.
- Sarah’s family moves to Andover to live with her grandmother.
- Sarah is 10 years old.
- Sarah’s mom is very quiet but strong willed, who puts people in their places and doesn’t let people walk all over her, which, instead of garnering respect, breeds suspicion and dislike.
- Sarah’s brother gets small pox, which means Sarah has to go live with her aunt and uncle who live nearby, even though the families are not on speaking terms.
- Sarah loves her aunt and uncle, as they’re much more warm and open and lovey dovey than her family and she especially loves her cousin Margaret, but alas, the next time she sees Margaret will be in a jail cell.
- Sarah’s family buys this girl, Mercy, who’s like 16 and working to pay off some kind of debt, and Mercy tries to seduce Sarah’s oldest brother and then fakes a preganancy which Sarah’s mom knows is a lie so kicks her out.
- Rumors are spreading about the witch trials over in Salem but Sarah’s family doesn’t think it’ll affect them but it does when Sarah’s mom is accused of witchcraft.
- Sarah’s mom refuses to confess to witchcraft, insisting the judges need to see beyond the lies of the young girls making the accusations.
That, my friends, is the gist of the story, and now I’ll tell you why it’s so good.
The author hit so many things spot on.
Sarah is jealous of her cousin and aunt’s relationship, how much more touchy feely it is, but she eventually realizes the extent of both of her parents’ love for her, even if it’s not in ways she expected.
And the way the author described the jail cells! I could feel the dampness and darkness and thought I could even smell the odor that wafted from the jail. Er…that might have been the homeless guy sitting next to me on the bus, but whatever.
An excellent book about family, love, good and evil, courage, and standing up for what you believe in. The characters leapt off the page and I felt like I was watching a movie, not reading a book.
I challenge you to not be touched by this book.
Rating: 91 out of 100
The following are the blog stops for The Heretic’s Daughter:
September 1 – Devourer of Books
September 5 – Anything That Pays… A Freelance Writer’s Blog
September 8 – Literarily
September 10 – Writers, Witches and Words… Oh My!
September 12 – Book Room Reviews
September 15 – Something She Wrote
September 17 – She Reads Books
September 19 – Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin’?
September 22 – Presenting Lenore
September 26 – Sharp Words
September 29 – Write Now
Other reviews: Reader for Life, lit*chick, Library Queue.
