Gallows Hill

September 1, 2023
Grades 7-10 Ruby takes a measured approach to the Salem witch trials in her novel, grounding it in thorough research and religion. The narrative unfolds from the alternating perspectives of young teens Patience Woodstock and Thomas Stillbrooke as witch hysteria finds its way into their respective homes. For Patience, a devout Puritan, her sister, Abigail, is among the girls afflicted. Thomas and his younger sister, on the other hand, are marked as outsiders due to being Quakers, and live with a surly old widow whom Abigail accuses of witchcraft. Ruby paints an interesting portrait of life during this turbulent time, pulling in historical figures and incorporating how strict religious beliefs shaped society. Patience and Thomas display a rational skepticism of the allegations, working together to save individuals from the gallows, but their stance also distances the reader from the fervor sweeping the village. Readers interested in the history of Salem will enjoy Ruby's faithful accounting, but those after courtroom drama will be better served by Stephanie Hemphill's Wicked Girls (2010). Appended with discussion questions and historical notes.

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August 1, 2023
Two teens come of age during the Salem witch trials. After losing their father on the ship from England, Thomas, a 15-year-old Quaker, has just arrived in Salem, Massachusetts, with Grace, his younger sister. It's February 1692, and they reach their new home just as girls exhibiting abnormal behavior are believed to be bewitched and community members are accused of practicing witchcraft. Struggling in a Puritan community that is not welcoming to Quakers, Thomas eventually finds work as a shoemaker's apprentice and locates housing with cantankerous Goodwidow Blevins. Meanwhile, 14-year-old Puritan Patience is alarmed when her younger sister, Abigail, succumbs to frightening fits. Abigail accuses Goodwidow Blevins of cursing her. In this story told in alternating points of view, Thomas' and Patience's paths cross and feelings begin to grow between them. Historical elements are deftly woven in, showing the impacts of the Salem witch trials, from the horrid conditions the accused faced while imprisoned to brutal hangings and the ways families were torn apart. The prejudice the Quakers faced both in England and the Colonies is portrayed sympathetically; there are also mentions of Christians' prejudice toward Indigenous communities and the abduction of a white girl by the Wabanaki. The author takes care to weave various different theories for the causes of the events into the storyline. All main characters are coded white. Effective historical fiction revisiting a fascinating and complicated time in American history. (discussion questions, author's note) (Historical fiction. 12-17)

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November 1, 2023

Gr 9 Up-Told in alternating points of view, Ruby's latest work is set during the witch trials in 17th-century Salem. Thomas Stillbrooke and his sister Grace arrive in Salem in the spring of 1692 after losing their mother in childbirth and their father to illness in search of land during the journey from London. They are both Quakers, a minority in Puritan Salem. After disembarking their ship, the pair quickly encounter Patience Woodstock, the fishmonger's daughter, who is a resident of Salem. Patience has witnessed firsthand the effects of the suspected witchcraft on the young girls of Salem and, in fact, one of the girls afflicted is her own younger sister, Abigail. The religious undertones between the Puritans and the Quakers combined with the escalating tensions involved in the trials makes for an engaging tale of friendship set against a turbulent historical period. Ruby powerfully showcases the terror, and the consequences, of a witchcraft accusation on the accused as well as the community as a whole in the era. Main characters present as white and heterosexual. VERDICT Recommended for larger collections, and for fans of Stephanie Hemphill's Wicked Girls: A Novel of the Salem Witch Trials and Adriana Mather's How to Hang a Witch.-Susan Catlett

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