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The Shape of Mercy

by Susan Meissner (Goodreads Author)

3.95 · rating details · 1,006 ratings · 359 reviews

“We understand what we want to understand.”

Leaving a life of privilege to strike out on her own, Lauren Durough breaks with convention and her family’s expectations by choosing a state college over Stanford and earning her own income over accepting her ample monthly allowance. She takes a part-time job from 83-year-old librarian Abigail Boyles, who asks Lauren to transcr...more

Paperback, 320 pages

Published June 2nd 2010 by WaterBrook Press

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Best Christian Historical Fiction

27th out of 294 books — 223 voters

The Healer's Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson

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Community Reviews

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Apr 18, 2009

Angie rated it

I randomly picked this book up at the library and am so glad I did. The story is about a college student is hired to transcribe the diary of a girl accused of being a witch during the Salem witch trials. Of course, the diary is fictional, but the historical events surrounding it are real and factual, although presented in a way that is very real and moving. The author of the diary, the college student and the 80 year old woman who owns the diary are all interwined and learn a very important l...more

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Dec 19, 2008

Jill Williamson rated it

Lauren Durrough, the only daughter of a privileged family, is looking to find her own way in the world, at her own expense and without her father’s help. She takes a part-time job from Abigail, an eighty-three-year-old woman who needs the diary of her ancestor transcribed. The diary belonged to Mercy Hayworth, a victim of the Salem witch trials.

Lauren is captivated by Mercy, a sweet girl who lived alone with her father on a farm. Mercy’s mother and younger brother died when Mercy was...more

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Sep 22, 2010

Rachel rated it

Recommended to Rachel by: library

Shelves: 1600s, heroine, historical-fiction, library, mystery, read-2010, read-in-one-day, female-author, female-author-heroine, dual-timelines, bechdel-test-passed

This book could have been much better than it was. There were pretty interesting themes that the author tried to explore--of privilege, of parental expectations, of sacrifice, and others--and there was great potential in a diary written by a victim of the Salem witch trial, which could have been fascinating and tragic.

Unfortunately, it turned out to be very shallow. The diary was probably the worst; the writing was bad, uninteresting, unrealistic, and, worst of all, didn't touch me a...moreThis book could have been much better than it was. There were pretty interesting themes that the author tried to explore--of privilege, of parental expectations, of sacrifice, and others--and there was great potential in a diary written by a victim of the Salem witch trial, which could have been fascinating and tragic.

Unfortunately, it turned out to be very shallow. The diary was probably the worst; the writing was bad, uninteresting, unrealistic, and, worst of all, didn't touch me at all. I never cared about Mercy the way I would have liked to, the way Lauren and Abigail do, the way I would have if I'd read an actual diary (or a well written fake). It was predictable and a lot of what was written in it is not stuff that a girl would write about in her own personal diary; it was just there to further along the witch trial story. Then, when she was actually accused and arrested, the entries kept going, as if she could really write in her diary in jail. And even worse, the love story, which according to the characters is what the diary is about, was completely unmoving.

As for the modern day story, it was better written and more fleshed out, but not enough. Again, it was shallow. No growth or achievement that the characters accomplished was actually built, it just seemed to happen. Lauren's circumstances seem unlikely--she is a rich girl making a stand against her rich background by going to a state school and living in a dorm with the same roommate for two years...what kind of stand is that? All her relationships, with her roommate, her parents, her cousins, her employer, are awkward and hard to understand, and seem to change from day to day. The mistakes and assumptions that Lauren feels terrible about making are predictable and boring, and the mistakes and assumptions that she doesn't really address (or that the author tries to show she was right about) did a disservice to the character and to those around her, and left me with a bad taste. Her love story, like Mercy's was unmoving.

The problems in Abigail's life, including her own past love story, were more interesting than those of Mercy and Lauren, but the character was so unreachable and unlikeable that I didn't actually care. Moreover, the situation between Lauren and Abigail was bizarre and unlikely, so I found it hard to believe that any of this would be happening, or to care.

I could have done without the religious aspect of the book (there was an awful lot about religion in the modern day story that not only did I not care for but--more importantly--didn't ring true), but that was actually one of the least problematic areas of the book.

Another huge problem was the writing. I found nothing special or interesting about the prose, about any turn of phrase or any character's way of speaking. It was just uninteresting. Something that personally bothered me was how snippets that were supposed to be pieces of writing--the diary and e-mail messages--were written as if they were spoken. In the middle of an e-mail from Raul to Lauren is an uncapitalized and unpunctuated interruption from Cole, and then Raul continues his e-mail. What? It's not being transmitted instantaneously. In real life anyone would simply have deleted the interruption. Mercy, in her diary, explains why she has to stop writing, and then later wonders if she has enough ink. In writing. She wastes ink by writing down her worries about not having enough ink (which it's ridiculous for her to have brought with her in the first place). This really made it hard for me to take the story seriously.

Overall, I found this to be a big disappointment. It was a quick read and was somewhat entertaining, but it just wasn't deep or good.

(less)

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Apr 24, 2010

Jen rated it

This is more of a 3.5 for me; I randomly picked it up at the library one day and it was a quick read- but nothing I'd stay up all night reading. I thought the lead character was believable and relatable.
My only issue with the book was that I felt the author tried too hard to make a bigger issue out of things than what was really there. The moral of the story is not to judge people so quickly without knowing them, a lesson the main character learns several times throughout the book. How...more

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Jan 10, 2009

Michelle rated it

Shelves: christianfiction, forreview, forpleasure, blog-tour-book

About the book:

“We understand what we want to understand.”

Leaving a life of privilege to strike out on her own, Lauren Durough breaks with convention and her family’s expectations by choosing a state college over Stanford and earning her own income over accepting her ample monthly allowance. She takes a part-time job from 83-year-old librarian Abigail Boyles, who asks Lauren to transcribe the journal entries of her ancestor Mercy Hayworth, a victim of the S...more

About the book:

“We understand what we want to understand.”

Leaving a life of privilege to strike out on her own, Lauren Durough breaks with convention and her family’s expectations by choosing a state college over Stanford and earning her own income over accepting her ample monthly allowance. She takes a part-time job from 83-year-old librarian Abigail Boyles, who asks Lauren to transcribe the journal entries of her ancestor Mercy Hayworth, a victim of the Salem witch trials.

Almost immediately, Lauren finds herself drawn to this girl who lived and died four centuries ago. As the fervor around the witch accusations increases, Mercy becomes trapped in the worldview of the day, unable to fight the overwhelming influence of snap judgments and superstition, and Lauren realizes that the secrets of Mercy’s story extend beyond the pages of her diary, living on in the mysterious, embittered Abigail.

The strength of her affinity with Mercy forces Lauren to take a startling new look at her own life, including her relationships with Abigail, her college roommate, and a young man named Raul. But on the way to the truth, will Lauren find herself playing the helpless defendant or the misguided judge? Can she break free from her own perceptions and see who she really is?

My review:

The Shape of Mercy is the kind of book you want to read more than once. There is so much in it to ponder! I adore books that leave me with a sense that I received something deeper than just a story by the end of the book. I love books that make me feel connected to the characters, too. We all tend to judge things based on first impression and we all have biases as the result of our upbringing and family/culture we were raised in. It's interesting to see how much Lauren's self-perception is based on something that isn't even true, and the same goes for her perception of others and what motivates them.

It's not easy to write a story that is in the past and the present where both areas hold equal interest for me. In many books I have a preference for the historical portion and tolerate the contemporary part of the story for the sake of the novel. On occasion I even find myself tempted to just skip or skim the modern parts and read the historical portion by itself. In The Shape of Mercy both time periods held my interest. It was a very well-balanced book. The tender romances developing in both eras also warmed my heart. This is an unforgettable tale about love gained and lost, and of needless tragedy and wasted years. It's also a story of inner beauty and hope that will conquer guilt and regret if we let God work in our lives for our own benefit. Excellent story and one I'd highly recommend to anyone.

The Shape of Mercy was published by Waterbrook/Random House and released in Sept. 2008.(less)

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Mar 23, 2009

Kristen rated it

Shelves: young-adult, 2009

When I give a five star rating, it means not only that the book was well written, but that in some way it moved me, taught me something about myself, or spoke to the very essence of my spirit, the thing that makes me who I am.

The Shape of Mercy is a book like that. It is well written, but not difficult to read. For one character it is about a horrific period of time, yet shows her in those times dealing with her excrutiating situations with grace, forgiveness, and mercy. For other ch...more

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Feb 03, 2009

Corinne rated it

Lauren's a rich girl - but she's always taken pride in the fact that she didn't think like one. Instead of going to an ivy league school or letting her Daddy pay for a posh condo to live in, she chose a state school and lives in the dorms. She's out to prove that life hasn't been handed to her on a platter.

Except it has.

And despite her efforts to not judge or make assumptions about people, she does, and much of this book is Lauren working her way through her own thought p...more

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Dec 05, 2011

Nicki rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2010, salem-witch-trials, american, susan-meissner, alltimefavourites, audiobook, christian, christianaudio, diary, fiction, historical, for-review

This was absolutely brilliant. Its one of those books that you don't want to end. One that you get lost in completely. I really liked the fact that is set in the present, but has links to the past, with the diary of a girl living during the time of the Salem Witch Trials. The book switches easily between the two time periods and I just like Laura who is transcribing it, I also wanted to know what was going to happen. Then just when you think you’ve worked out the whole story there is another twi...more

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Sep 10, 2011

Melanie rated it

· review of another edition

I am a fan of historical fiction and when I came across this book, I knew that it was something that would interest me. However, the time around the Salem witch trials are a dark time in our countries history and I knew how things were going to end for Mercy. It is hard to imagine what those men and women went through at that time with the witch trials and it is even harder to imagine that anyone could believe the tales that were being told to implicate those accused. The story connects the l...more

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Mar 31, 2011

Heidi rated it

Shelves: fiction

I loved The Shape of Mercy through to the very end; in fact I couldn't put it down at the last. As Lauren transcribes the diary of Mercy Hayworth into readable language the character of Mercy comes alive both for Lauren and for the reader.

Toward the beginning of the book there is a hint of the paranormal that I assumed would be developed in the book. It wasn't, and I was slightly disappointed. If the reader knows going in that this angle won't be followed it will be a more comforta...more

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Mar 18, 2011

Bruce Judisch rated it

I’ve reviewed quite a few books over the past few years. Some I’ve had a lot of fun reviewing, some were more sober endeavors. But I haven’t actually feared reviewing any of them.

Until now.

Why fear? Well, because of the two things I think people fear most: the unknown and failure. I don’t know how to best approach representing this incredible story, and, regardless of the approach I choose, I’m certain I’ll fail to do the book justice.

So, you’re going to have ...moreI’ve reviewed quite a few books over the past few years. Some I’ve had a lot of fun reviewing, some were more sober endeavors. But I haven’t actually feared reviewing any of them.

Until now.

Why fear? Well, because of the two things I think people fear most: the unknown and failure. I don’t know how to best approach representing this incredible story, and, regardless of the approach I choose, I’m certain I’ll fail to do the book justice.

So, you’re going to have to work with me here. Please be patient.

The Story. Lauren Durough is a young well-to-do university student in covert rebellion against her heritage. Abigail Broyles is an elderly well-to-do retiree in covert rebellion against her legacy. Interposed between them is Mercy Hayworth, an innocent victim of the horrific 17th-century Salem witchcraft trials. Okay, so how does that work? At the marvelously skillful hand of author Susan Meissner, it works exceedingly well.

Abigail retains Lauren to transcribe Mercy’s diary, a precious family heirloom. Lauren is to approach her task wrapped in a cloak of ignorance; that is, she must promise not to research the events surrounding the trials until she’s completed the transcription. Mercy Hayworth must be allowed to speak for herself, unfettered by historiography. Also woven into this cloak, though, is the real reason Abigail has selected Lauren as the transcriptionist, as is the effect the words of a simple girl from a distant era will have on her own self-perception.

An intriguing cast of supporting characters push and pull at Lauren throughout the story, adding their own contemporary thematic hue to the faded brown ink of Mercy’s ancient journal. Through it all, Lauren will either mature into her future or collapse under her past. There’s no other option.

The Writing. As writers, we’re encouraged to keep our readers on the edge, to force that next page turn, anything to breathe new life into the tired cliché “I couldn’t put it down.” There are techniques to do that, such as ending scenes and chapters with mini-cliffhangers, dangling questions that simply must be answered now. And gadgets like that have their place.

But then there’s writing like Ms. Meissner’s.

You know quality prose when you’re not sure you want to turn the next page, but find yourself compelled to do so—not because of a dangling question, but because the titanium thread binding the storyline blurs the distinction between pages, and so you go on. You have to. And you will.

Intense and honest, humorous and poignant; I’ve yet to read a book that I’d recommend more highly than "The Shape of Mercy."(less)

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Mar 17, 2011

Cathy rated it

The Shape of Mercy by Susan Meissner

College sophomore Lauren Durough is trying to escape a life of privilege by attending a state school and living in the dorm like a "normal' person. She decides to take a part-time job in order to prove that she can make it on her own. She accepts a job transcribing a 300 year old diary into today's language. The diary is of a teenage girl who lived during the Salem witch trials. Mercy Hayworth, the diary's author, had been accu...more

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Mar 08, 2011

Maria rated it

What I Can Tell You:

Wow! I could not put this book down. It was read from cover to cover in two days (with two kids, three blogs, social media responsibilities, house duties, and a baby sitting gig). It called to me and every time I closed it, I felt like I was leaving the characters.

Susan's fictional story of three generations of woman is beautiful woven. When wealthy college student, Lauren decides to strike out on her own and answers an ad for a literature transcripti...more

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Feb 21, 2011

Kathryn rated it

I think my main problem with this book is that I had a hard time relating to and liking the main character. I have to admit that I have never had the problem of that kind of wealth, but when she starts out the book claiming that we should feel sorry for her because of it, I just don't find myself that sympathetic. Also, she is always thinking about herself and thinking about everybody in terms of money and it doesn't make her particularly, likeable. I'm not saying I don't want characters to have...more

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Jan 25, 2011

Pattyrflg rated it

Lauren Durrough is the only child of wealthy parents. She wants to prove her family's wealth is not important to her and that she is different. She goes to the state university, lives in the dorm and does not want to totally depend on her father to pay for everything. Lauren decides to take a part-time job transcribing a diary for elderly Abigail Boyles. The diary was written by Mercy Hayworth, one of Abigail's ancestors, who is eventually tried for witchcraft during the time of the Salem witch ...more

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May 04, 2010

Carrie rated it

This is a great book! I give it 4 stars only b/c I swear I give almost everything 5! Four stars is still excellent. :) It is a quick and easy read. I loved that it had 42 chapters even though it's only 305 pages long. Made it even easier to read, for me.

This book is about choices, stigma, and preconceived notions. The reader gains to learn a lot about himself/ herself. There were three stories going on here, really. I loved that one of them was about the Salem witch trials. I ...more

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Aug 30, 2009

Janna rated it

A young woman in college answers an ad for a job that leads her to transcribing an old diary for a very old lady. The diary... from a young woman (Mercy) in the Salem Witch Trials in the 1690s. The old lady (Abigail)... a direct descendant of the diary writer. The young woman (Lauren)... drawn into this job and not willing to stop until it is finished.

An amazing story which I just loved, I have always been fascinated by the Salem Witch Trials and so I enjoyed digging deeper into that...more

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Aug 04, 2009

Anita rated it

This book is one of the Reader's Choice books at my library and it won a Christian Literary Award, I can see why on both accounts it is beautifully written.

Lauren Durrough is an heiress and is tired of doing what is expected of her. She decides to attend a public college and get a job instead of living off of her father's money. Lauren starts to work for Abigail an 80 something retired librarian who is also wealthy and is the last surviving relative of one of the victims of the Sal...more

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Jun 25, 2009

Jackie rated it

This was "a good read!" I have lots and lots of things swirling in my mind trying to come together in a coherent review. I loved Ms. Meissner's use of words - everything was so clear in my mind.

A couple of the characters bothered me - the roommate Clarissa for one. The author clearly wanted her to have an impact, with some important things to say. But she just wasn't quite right, at least for me.

I enjoyed the thought processes that Lauren went through, sor...more

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Jun 20, 2009

Carla Stewart rated it

The Shape of Mercy is set on opposite shores of America—California for the main character, college student Lauren Durough, and a village near Salem, Massachusetts for Mercy Hayworth, a young woman convicted in the Salem witch trials.

Two plots intertwine more than 300 years apart. I couldn’t imagine how Susan would accomplish this feat without having a character travel back in time. She did it, though, and both Lauren’s world and Mercy’s pulsed with urgency. I slipped easily from one wo...moreThe Shape of Mercy is set on opposite shores of America—California for the main character, college student Lauren Durough, and a village near Salem, Massachusetts for Mercy Hayworth, a young woman convicted in the Salem witch trials.

Two plots intertwine more than 300 years apart. I couldn’t imagine how Susan would accomplish this feat without having a character travel back in time. She did it, though, and both Lauren’s world and Mercy’s pulsed with urgency. I slipped easily from one world to the next because of Susan’s meticulous writing.

What worked for me and kept me turning the pages:

• The contrast of Lauren’s privileged modern day existence and that of Mercy’s meager colonial days. Mercy’s story unfolds from the pages of her diary, which is described as “the color of toast in some places and in others, the color of wet ashes. The ink . . . was so faint it looked as if I could blow it away if I leaned over it and merely exhaled.” The pages are described as whispers, too delicate to bear the weight of my (Lauren’s) fingers. In one short paragraph, the reader knows that whatever is found in this diary is hallowed. You can’t help but long to know what those words are and what Mercy’s story is.

• Mercy’s words. Her plain, everyday language with specific details of life in the Village, her dying father, and the increasing hysteria about witches in their midst, pull you in by their simplicity. Mercy’s words are set off by italics to signal the reader that you are once again in Mercy’s world. Details are minimal, but the tension grows with each entry as you fear what is coming.

• Lauren transcribes the diary in the library of Abigail, her employer – a daunting woman who lives a life of solitude in a massive Tudor home on the west coast. Lauren’s first visit to the library gives a clear picture not only of the room, but also what her relationship with the older woman will be like. The shelves are lined with books, but others are stacked throughout the library. In Susan’s words, “The rest were loose, unfettered, as if poised to attack. . . towers of pages stacked like scaffolding . . . I minded my ankles as if the books closest to me might nip at my feet.” This visual planted me firmly in Lauren’s world as she did her work.
• Contrasting the two worlds physically is only part of what I liked about this book. As Mercy finds herself accused in the late 1600s, Lauren examines her own life, and finds her twenty-first century values shaken. Her own journey unfolds with that of Mercy, and she finds in Abigail, not only a job opportunity, but an avenue of change that will affect both their lives.

The Shape of Mercy satisfies in so many ways – the rich writing, the storytelling, a hint of romance, and giving pause for reflection.(less)

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Apr 29, 2009

Sara rated it

The Shape of Mercy’s, Lauren, is the quiet introvert as in she doesn’t have any friends that she isn’t related to. She is forever trying to make up for the fact that she isn’t the son her father wanted. So she does everything her family does not expect in an attempt to forge her own path in life. A literature major in college, Lauren is near obsessed with proving that she isn’t a rich snob, so she takes an odd job—transcribing a diary of an accused Salem witch. While earning her spending mon...more

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Mar 27, 2011

Penny rated it

This book brought out some excellent points about love, mercy, and judgement. I especially liked the diary parts about the salem witch trials although it is so heartwrenching and frustratingly baffling how the behavior of good people can take such a seemingly sudden turn in the wrong direction. The author did a good job of transporting the reader back in time via the sweet and noble character of Mercy and giving the reader an opportunity to think about how terrifying it must have been to have pe...more

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Mar 11, 2011

Lynn rated it

Shelves: christian-historical, christian-fiction, christian-novels, historical-fiction

The Shape Of Mercy
Susan Meissner
Waterbrook Press
4 Stars

“The Shape Of Mercy” is the fictional story of three women, women who all lived in a different time span but each shared something in common. Lauren Durough born into a family of power and money strikes out on her own, a small college, dorm living and taking on a job, something she did not need to do. When eighty-three year old Abigail Boyles a former librarian posted a notice at the college, this was something ...more

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Jan 26, 2011

Erin rated it

Recommends it for: all my girlfriends

This week, I'm on a steady diet of Susan Meissner novels. This is #3. It doesn't feel like an overdose; it feels nourishing, strengthening, enlightening. In addressing timeless questions, Ms. Meissner creates characters who feel like real people. She juxtaposes the past with the present in a context of faith and shows us that there is much to learn from history, that our lives and relationships have meaning, and that our choices matter. All this couched in an enjoyable storyline that leaves the ...more

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Jan 31, 2012

Sarah rated it

Shelves: audiobooks

I am going to give this book 5 stars because it was quite entertaining. it was a bit weird that i happened to read two books in a row that were about salem witches- but i did. This one was better, I think. It has romance and adventure, well at least it kept me on the edge of my seat. It had a sad ending- an ending tat you could see coming as soon as that boy fell for her and kept coming to visit Mercy- even when propriety said he shouldn't. It is sad that there is probably a lot of truth to...more

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Mar 02, 2011

Heidi rated it

Shelves: big-people-books

I looked at the description of this book, The Shape of Mercy by Susan Meissner, and thought it sounded pretty good. Then I saw the author and that settled the matter. I really enjoyed Lady in Waiting, so I was excited to try this one.

The story is about a young college student that is trying to make a place for herself outside of the shadow of her family name and fortune. She takes a job transcribing the diary of a girl accused of witchcraft in Salem 1692. As she works on it she begin...more

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Feb 28, 2011

Dailycheapreads rated it

The Shape of Mercy is a rare and enjoyable combination: a book that is both warmly familiar and enticingly fresh. It is one of my new favorites.
*
The story begins with Lauren Durough, who has left a life of privilege to attend a state school and live in campus housing. Lauren answers a job post to help elderly librarian Abigail Boyles transcribe a family treasure – a 300-year-old diary written by Mercy Hayworth, a victim of the Salem witch trials.
*
The book intertwines the cont...more

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Feb 04, 2011

Sheree rated it

Recommended to Sheree by: Rachel

Shelves: audiobooks

After listening to this book on CD, I came to the conclusion that I probably would not have enjoyed it as much had I read the hard copy rather than listened to the audio. I say that to first of all point out, the narrator of this book was EXCELLENT! Her name is Tavia Gilbert in case you were wondering. She read the emotions of each character so well, you could almost hear them talking or thinking themselves. The book is a little heavy and so reading the hard copy may not have drawn me in as well...more

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Apr 15, 2010

Jessica rated it

Every since I learned about the Salem Witch Trials and visited Salem Mass I have been fascinated by the subject. This book was so personal, I felt like I was a witness to how the trials could have affected an average girl of the time. Not only did Meissner weave a compelling tale about Mercy but she weaves in the stories of Laruen and Abigail that I couldn't chose which character I was most interested in although Mercy did hold the other two together. I wasn't expecting the book to be a love ...more

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Feb 14, 2010

Scooter Birdwell rated it

I bumped this to a four in a large part because it is EXACTLY the kind of book I would have adored in middle school, that might have swayed me towards being interesting and efficacious rather then neurotic and preoccupied with leg warmers.

My favorite thing is the narrative voice -- not many writers I've read lately pull off first person successfully, which is to say, employ it in characterization in a non-obtrusive way. I also love that the protagonist is apparently a Christian, but...more

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About Susan Meissner

Susan Meissner was born in San Diego, California, the second of three. She spent her childhood in just two houses.
Her first writings are a laughable collection of oddly worded poems and predictable stories she wrote when she was eight.

She attended Point Loma College in San Diego, and married her husband, Bob, who is now an associate pastor and a chaplain in the Air Force Reserves...more

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Quotes from The Shape of Mercy

“I used to think mercy meant showing kindness to someone who didn't deserve it, as if only the recipient defined the act. The girl in between has learned that mercy is defined by its giver. Our flaws are obvious, yet we are loved and able t love, if we choose, because there is that bit of the divine still smoldering in us.” — 9 people liked it

“When you only do what is expected of you, you never learn what you would've done had you chosen for yourself.” — 7 people liked it

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