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 as a powerful person to be respected, rather than a pretty girl to be lusted after by the men of Salem Village. There are also some scary "mean girl" dynamics at work within the group of girls, showing just how strong peer pressure can be (of course, unlike most modern bullying cases, the bullies don't hold life-or-death accusations over the heads of their victims).

On the other hand, I'm rarely a fan of verse novels. I've found some contemporary verse novels that work well, but they never pan out well for me in historical fiction. There's just too many other things you need to describe for a contemporary reader that doesn't fit in poetry.