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Jan 13, 2012

Bethany rated it:

Wicked Girls is a fictionalized account of the “afflicted” girls who were responsible for the Salem Witch Trials. The point of view of this novel in verse alternates between Ann Putnam, Jr. a twelve year old girl who has high social standing in Salem Village, seventeen year old Mercy Lewis who is an orphan and a servant in the Putnam household, and seventeen year old Margaret Walcott who is Ann’s cousin but of a lower social status than Ann. The book follows the girls from the beginnings of th More...

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Sep 09, 2010

Carrie rated it:

Stephanie Hemphill uses free verse and three different character perspectives to tell a fictionalized account of the Salem witch trials in Wicked Girls. It is a fascinating take on a piece of American history about which we know many facts but not the full story. The novel opens with Mercy Lewis, a 17-year-old servant in the Putnam’s house, as she gives the reader an idea of what life in Salem Village is like: cold, little to eat, lots of distrust of others. The reader soon meets the other ma More...

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Nov 30, 2010

Courtney rated it:

Told entirely in verse, this novel of the Salem witch trials is fantastic take on the events that took place in that legendary town. It's already a fascinating historical episode, with lots of questions and few solid answers. We know who the accusers were; we know how many hanged as a result. What we don't know is why any of it happened in the first place. Hemphill's novel attempts to shed light on the minds of the accusers. The narrative alternates between several of the accusers, each par More...

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Aug 26, 2010

Teri rated it:

I read Wicked Girls this morning, and I was really impressed by the idea, or impression that I got from the book.
The Salem Witch Trials and the concept that what they were going on with; the idea that these several teen girls were able to have afflictions and declare evil is wild. The fact that these children were impressing the idea of witchcraft onto people in the community is simply impressive, and the fact that the community persecuted people because of it.
The book sums it up in More...

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Aug 17, 2010

Tasha rated it:

Through gripping verse, the story of the Salem Witch Trials is told from the point of view of several of the accusers themselves. A fictionalized account, the book captures the lies and hysteria of Salem in 1692, embracing the theory that the girls were deliberately telling lies. There is Ann Putnam, Jr. who leads the group of girls despite the fact she is 12 and others in the group are 17. She is the daughter of a prominent man in Salem. Her servant, Mercy Lewis, is also an accuser. Beauti More...

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Apr 28, 2011

Monica rated it:

Told in verse, we are given possible insight into what the girls who accused people of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 may have been thinking. Is God really calling on them to right wrongs by people who are guilty of other crimes, if not witchcraft itself? How far is too far? What if one of them no longer wants to have any part in pointing a wicked finger at someone else? How will they get out of the tangled web they've woven themelves into? Do they even want to?

What More...

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Dec 06, 2010

Rosalia rated it:

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Nov 11, 2010

Jess rated it:

I must say I was rather impressed by this free verse novel. I enjoyed that she went with the idea that the "afflicted" girls merely made it all up. But even the time period and mistrust among the village of Salem the girls were able to have power that they would not normal have.

The story is told through three points of view. Ann Putnam Jr, 12, Mercy Lewis, 17 a servant in the Putnam household, and Margaret Walcott, 17, cousin to Ann. There is power struggles between the More...

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Sep 28, 2010

Angela rated it:

This is one of the few times I wish I could give half stars, because I really feel in the middle on this book.

On the one hand, I love the story. Hamphill does an excellent job with the theory that these girls kept accusing people because this was the only way they would ever have power. Powerful men were listening to the girls, servant girls were just as powerful as the merchant class. Some of Mercy's stories were almost physically painful as she described the joy of being looked at More...

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Dec 18, 2010

Val rated it:

Wicked Girls is a new topic in historical fiction. Rarely do you see young adult novels discussing issues such as The Salem Witch Trials. I was really excited to read this novel; the Salem Witch Trials is something I am slightly fascinated with. There are so many things that went wrong in that era, so many innocent lives that were lost. Something about this time frame intrigues me. Needless to say I jumped at the opportunity to review this novel.

This novel also stands out on the she More...

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Nov 03, 2011

Jackie rated it:

The fictionalized account of three real young women living in Salem, MA in 1692...these seers named and accused many of the people that were tried, convicted, and hung for witchcraft. Wicked Girls: A Novel of the Salem Witch Trials tells the story of the interaction of servant girl Mercy Lewis, priviledged Ann Putnam, Jr., and Margaret Walcott, a betrothed young woman.

I really, REALLY wanted to like this book...but, I am not fond of novels in verse and now I know that I am not fond More...

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Sep 24, 2010

Katie rated it:

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Apr 10, 2011

Michelle rated it:

In looking for additional books written in free verse I stumbled upon this title. A historical fiction story which tells the stories of the girls who accused others of being witches. Stephanie Hemphill does an amazing job of weaving this story. It is told from 7 different character's points of view. Stephanie uses language which depicts the language of the time. As I found my self recalling these events in history I am amazed at the power of a few young ladies in a village that suffered from out More...

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Nov 22, 2011

Reading rated it:

Review Written by Andrea @ Reading Lark
http://readinglark.blogspot.com/2011/11/...

The Salem Witch Trials have always been an event that I found to be both tragic and intriguing. What could possibly cause young women to act in such a way that nineteen people were hanged for the crime of witchcraft? The mass hysteria of this time period boggles the mind and really makes one stop to consider the selfishness of human nature. How can people be so dark inside their souls? Stephanie He More...

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Oct 12, 2011

Ofilia rated it:

While the poetry in this book is beautiful, I don't think it quite works for this story. Hemphill takes her time in creating these voices and with so many characters, it is very hard to follow who is who. I found myself constantly flipping to the beginning of the book that lists the characters to figure out whose point of view I was reading. She also takes many liberties surmising that these teens faked their fits in order to maintain their newfound powerful position in this restrictive society. More...

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Sep 07, 2010

Erin rated it:

Same story, new format and voices for the characters.

I didn't think I'd like it although I typically enjoy historical fiction (don't care for verse, and felt like this would be the same old story). The verse wasn't as off-putting as I thought, and while the story is much the same, there is always something so intriguing about this episode in history (much like the Holocaust - so much horror and so many possible stories). The story was told through the voices of three of the girls w More...

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Mar 23, 2011

Kaitlin rated it:

Wicked Girls is great book for people who love history but hate reading borning textbooks to learn about it. Wicked Girls, which is written in poem form, is about girls who acuse people of being witches. This book is set in Salem during the famous Salem Witch Trials. The main characters of this book, Margeret, Mercy, Ann, ELizabeth, and Abigail all start seeing the "underworld" and they begin to acuse innocent people. The girls begin to have secert meetings to plan out who is the next More...

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Mar 23, 2011

Christina rated it:

Wicked Girls a novel of the Salem witch trials by Stephanie Hemphill is an amazing book. It is a perfect book for anyone who loves to read about teenage drama and a good story about a struggle for power and control. Wicked Girls is told from the perspective of three girls Margaret, Ann, and Mercy. Each girl has their own moment where they are the main character, and in control of the group. These girls are “afflicted” by the witches in the community, and soon started calling out names of these More...

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Mar 23, 2011

Kelsey rated it:

Wicked Girls by Stephanie Hemphill is the perfect book for the person who wants to learn about history without the feeling of a typical, boring, fact after fact, history lesson. The book is about the Salem Witch Trials and is set in Salem Village and is in the point of view of the girls who started the accusations. It's written in poem form and mainly told by Mercy, Margaret, and Ann, who are three of the girls in the main group of accusers. The main group of girls also includes Abigail and Eliz More...

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Sep 21, 2010

Bunny rated it:

This book pleasantly surprised me. The premise sounded great, but, well, I judge books by their covers, and this one looked extremely disappointing.

I didn't really care for the format of the chapters. It made for fast reading, which was nice, but the almost sonnet-esque style wasn't easy on my eyes. I loved that the story was told from the different girls' points of view. That was nice.

I have a serious love for all things Salem Witch Trial. This book was pretty awesome. More...

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Aug 24, 2010

Gmr rated it:

One of my first YA where the book was written in prose, I have to say....I'm not a huge fan of the style, though it worked well enough for this tale. This is a fictionalization of the events that were historically documented so long ago in Salem. The fiction aspect is used to fill in the blanks so to speak on their daily lives and seemingly insignificant happenings, though as you read, you begin to understand that everything they did had a greater meaning than at first glance. What starts out More...

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Oct 12, 2010

Melissa rated it:

The use of verse is very effective in cutting through time and distance. You find yourself inside the thoughts of the young female accusers of the Salem Witch trial. The entries are short and have the immediacy of diary entries. The story is full of contemporary concerns about female cliques and thoughtfully explores the power grabbing nature of bad behavior. Hemphill gives the girls understandable motives for their behavior, jealousy, revenge, the desire for attention and power as well as the More...

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Jul 29, 2010

Katelyn rated it:

I'm not normally a historical fiction enthusiast and not that Wicked Girls is supposed to be an accurate capturing of this period in history per say, but there was something about the cover and description of this book that had me really wanting to get my hands on it. I will admit that while I still don't consider myself to be a big fan of historical texts, I was glad I gave this book a chance.

Stephanie Hemphill took me by surprise by writing the entire book in verse (which had me a More...

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 13, 2011

Sarah rated it:

Based on real people and events that took place during the Salem Witch Trials, this book is told from the point of view of three girls, ranging in age from twelve to seventeen; these are the girls that made the accusations of witchcraft. Told in free verse format, readers learn about the motivations behind the girls' "afflictions"--which led to 19 innocent people being hanged.

This book received starred reviews across the board (Booklist, School Library Journal, Publisher's More...

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Apr 07, 2011

Jenny rated it:

I like how this book really focused on the girls' story of the witch trials. It's a good re-creation of the time period--the passionate faith and critical nature of the Puritans. I especially liked the way she dealt with social class structure. The author did a beautiful job of capturing the complex emotional responses of these young girls. They were afraid, vengeful, guilty, and thrilled. I had some trouble keeping track of which character was which--I went back to the list of characters a More...

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Apr 10, 2011

Kathleen rated it:

This is a novel in verse, which is not usually my thing (so I can't really judge the quality of the verse), but I did read the whole thing and liked it.

I read a number of books in my youth about the Salem witch trials, and (besides the verse) this is rather different. Other books I've read tended to stick to the story as written by the historians, and didn't delve further into motivations or try to make the characters real people. Hemphill didn't do a particularly outstanding job of th More...

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Feb 24, 2011

Sonam rated it:

A very interesting of witches and trials. The account of the Salem Witch trials are given in the accounts of the three main players in the court. Each one of these girls(Ann, Mercy, Margaret) struggle for power within their group of "afflicted" girls, each other girl falls victim to the others selfish and power hungry ways. In the end though, each girl is given their just rewards.
The book was slow, but it still had a rhythm to it. Though the book was at times tedious and depressin More...

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Nov 13, 2011

Ronni rated it:

Perfect pairing excerpts for The Crucible, and I imagine Social Studies teachers could make use of it as a "hook."

Hemphill includes snippet about the "real" accusers and the "real" accused at the end, and explains how she incorporated multiple perspectives on the cause of the crisis into her book. I especially like how this could help young readers and writers make more sense of the relationship between historical research and creative writing, the natu More...

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Apr 23, 2011

Jane rated it:

A novel in verse. A novel of the Salem witch trials. There were some things that I didn’t like about this book. Some of their thought processing was off (with the time-line of inventions). They wouldn’t have eaten chocolates yet (as candy solid milk chocolate). At this point in history, cocoa beans were being traded like money or ground up and drank. Not melted into delicious candy as we now know and love today. Also, this was back in time and women wouldn’t have been doing so much independ More...

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Jan 01, 2011

Sandra rated it:

This account of the Salem witch trials tells the story from the point of view of the girls most involved in "calling out" the purported witches, with their motivations (fictionalized). The book is written in verse and well told, based on good research. However, one of the girls does become sexually active, and the account tells a bit of graphic detail, though somewhat softened. The author explains her additions to the historical account, as well as traces what happens to the girls, u More...

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