Reviewed by Allison Fraclose for TeensReadToo.com
As the latest in a long line of Mohawk women gifted with Medicine Power, college student Agnes Herne knows better than to dismiss the vision. She'd been poised at her computer, debating whether or not to respond to the plea in the afterword of the book she'd just read - the account of Mary Newbury - when the vision hit. Suddenly, she was Mary, running for her life after being accused of witchcraft in seventeenth century America.
Although Agnes knows that her Aunt M., the keeper of the tribe's artifacts, would never allow outsiders access, Agnes tells her story to Alison Ellman, the researcher who has developed a near-obsession with Mary's story. As she is planning a follow-up publication to "The Mary Papers," Alison has collected information on nearly every player in the diaries of Mary Newbury...except Mary herself.
Can Agnes find a way to convince her aunt to let them examine the one crucial piece of evidence that may prove of Mary's survival after her harrowing escape from the settlement of Beulah? Or will Agnes find out firsthand how Mary fared through this strange connection she seems to have with the admitted witch?
I enjoyed discovering Mary Newbury's fate through this sequel, and felt that excellent attention had been paid by the author in being true to the socio-historical issues of Mary's time. However, I stepped away from the novel knowing very little of Agnes Herne or her story, and can't help but feel that the true heroine had been ignored somewhat.
As the latest in a long line of Mohawk women gifted with Medicine Power, college student Agnes Herne knows better than to dismiss the vision. She'd been poised at her computer, debating whether or not to respond to the plea in the afterword of the book she'd just read - the account of Mary Newbury - when the vision hit. Suddenly, she was Mary, running for her life after being accused of witchcraft in seventeenth century America.
Although Agnes knows that her Aunt M., the keeper of the tribe's artifacts, would never allow outsiders access, Agnes tells her story to Alison Ellman, the researcher who has developed a near-obsession with Mary's story. As she is planning a follow-up publication to "The Mary Papers," Alison has collected information on nearly every player in the diaries of Mary Newbury...except Mary herself.
Can Agnes find a way to convince her aunt to let them examine the one crucial piece of evidence that may prove of Mary's survival after her harrowing escape from the settlement of Beulah? Or will Agnes find out firsthand how Mary fared through this strange connection she seems to have with the admitted witch?
I enjoyed discovering Mary Newbury's fate through this sequel, and felt that excellent attention had been paid by the author in being true to the socio-historical issues of Mary's time. However, I stepped away from the novel knowing very little of Agnes Herne or her story, and can't help but feel that the true heroine had been ignored somewhat.
I read "Witch Child" by celia Rees, so I followed it up with "Sorceress" I really enjoyed both books. I was taken back to the 1600"s to get a very good idea what it was like for a young woman to come to a new land alone. Although Fiction, it was very real. I have read several books by Celia Rees, and love her style of writing.
This book held my interest from start to finish. The sequel to Witch Child, it will fascinate you and prove to be a very good reading choice.