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Graphic Novel Review: The Westwood Witches by El Torres, art by Abel Garcia

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The Westwood Witches by El Torres, art by Abel Garcia

Amigo Comics, 2015

ISBN: 9788416074761

Available: print, comiXology ebook

The Westwood Witches opens with a man running for his life. His pursuers, a coven of witches, punish him for his lack of neighborly respect. After they are finished with him, they use his near-dead body as a means to summon Baphomet.

The perspective then changes to a man sitting at his laptop displeased at what he as just written. Jack Kurtzberg, a successful author of a witch romance bestseller, hates his work. He’s on contract to write a sequel to his first book, but his writer’s block is preventing him from continuing, and the bills are piling up. After the untimely death of his brother, Jack and his wife, Susan, move to Jack’s childhood New England town. He soon discovers there is more to his friendly neighbors than meets the eye. The wives are particularly interested in what he is writing, especially when it comes to the history and mythology of the witches. When Jack discovers the truth about Westwood, after a Witches’ Sabbath gone wrong, he also solves a mystery from his childhood that affects the entire town.

El Torres expertly weaves a story of a struggling writer coming to terms with the death of his brother, the unraveling of the neighborhood, belief, and how the witches connect with the rest of Jack’s story. Garcia’s art lends the appropriate macabre, dark atmosphere. This is a must for readers who like some edge to their witches. Highly recommended.

This volume reprints issues 1-4.

Contains: blood, gore, nudity, sexual content

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

 

 

Book Review: I Walk In Dread: The Diary of Deliverance Trembley, Witness to the Salem Witch Trials by Lisa Rowe Fraustino

I Walk in Dread: The Diary of Deliverance Trembley, Witness to the Salem Witch Trials, Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1691 (Dear America) by Lisa Rowe Fraustino

Scholastic, 2011

ISBN-13: 978-0545311656

Available: Used hardcover, Kindle edition

 

I Walk in Dread is part of the Dear America series, which consists of fictional first-person narratives in diary format by girls between ages 9-14,  in a variety of historical time periods. This particular book is the diary of Deliverance Trembley, an orphaned 12 year old girl living in Salem, Massachusetts in 1691, at the time of the Salem Witch Trials. Deliverance and her sickly older sister, Mem, are hiding a secret– their uncle, who is also their guardian, has left them on their own, with instructions to tell no one that he is gone. While Deliverance is definitely a girl of her time, she also, unlike most others, can read and write, both of which are considered tools of the Devil. Her dreams are disturbing, and her interactions with actual historical figures are varied. For instance, she worries that Sarah Goode, who she knows only by reputation, is a witch who has cursed her chickens, but still lets her and her daughter into the house during a cold night. She’s acquainted with many of the major players, but not intimate with them, with the exception of Martha Corey– an observer who is unsure what to think, and afraid of being found out.

Martha Corey is portrayed as an intelligent, kind, and God-fearing woman who keeps her own counsel. She is observant enough to notice that Deliverance and Mem are alone, and asks Deliverance to read aloud to her, allowing Deliverance to earn enough to feed herself and her sister. Martha’s wise conversation and good character are evident to Deliverance, and when Martha is accused, Deliverance becomes certain that the accusations of the afflicted girls are unjustified. Her behavior as the examinations progress even causes her sister to believe that Deliverance is a witch. It is a compelling story, as minor details like the ability to read and write, a fight with her sister that ends with a Bible sliding into the fire, strange dreams, and a refusal to attend the examinations all together take on an ominous cast as the story continues and the hysteria builds.

While some aspects of the story are implausible (it’s difficult to believe that in over three months, no one actually figured out that the girls were living at home without supervision), the author worked hard to develop a historically accurate representation of the time, place, and events of the witch trials, and I think she succeeded. The back matter includes a historical note, reproductions of primary source documents, an author’s note, and acknowledgments, all to create a more complete picture and provide historical background for young readers this is true for all books in the Dear America series). Fraustino does a good job of humanizing the accused, with her detailed character development of Martha Corey, and of expressing the confusion and conflicted feelings a young girl living in Salem but outside the main events of the story could be feeling about her peers, authority figures, and members of the community. For children, especially girls, who are not quite ready for a more graphic discussion, but are interested in the Salem Witch Trials, this is a good starting place.  Adults who like a compelling story may like it, too. Appropriate for grades 4 and up.

Reader’s advisory note:  Historical fiction readers looking for more might like The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare. A possible nonfiction follow-up for those interested in more detail is Witches! The Absolutely True Story of the Disaster in Salem. by Rosalyn Schanzer.

Or, for a list of books for varying ages (with varying levels of appropriateness) related to the Salem Witch Trials, check out this book list.


Book Review: The Thickety: The Whispering Trees by J. A. White

The Thickety: The Whispering Trees by J.A. White, illustrated by Andrea Offermann

Katherine Tegen Books, 2015

ISBN-13: 978-0062257291

Available:  Hardcover, Kindle edition

After the shocking conclusion of A Path Begins, the first book in The Thickety series, Kara Westfall has been forced to leave her village of De’Noran behind and flee with her brother into the darkness of the Thickety,

Although still full of dark events and violent situations, The Whispering Trees contains each of these elements on a lighter scale than the first book in the series. Readers are introduced to a world full of magical, fairytale-like creatures living in the Thickety, and Kara’s ability to connect with animals gives us a glimpse into the minds of the Thickety’s inhabitants, blighted by the dark magic of the Forest Demon Sordyr.

The encompassing theme of good vs. evil, and strength of character development, is still strong in The Whispering Trees. Kara and her brother Taff form an unlikely alliance with the witch Mary Kettle, introduced in A Path Begins as a murderer of children. The Whispering Trees is full of suspenseful situations and unpredictable turns of events as Kara learns that goodness and hope can prevail.

The Whispering Trees shows readers a growth in Kara’s understanding of her powers, and her discovery of the responsibility that comes with such power, She is forced to make difficult decisions that weigh her deep desire to protect and free the creatures of the Thickety against her need to occasionally put them in harm’s way, for the greater good of defeating Sordyr. Readers will also see growth in young Taff as he develops wisdom, and a keen ability to become a strong force in the challenges he and Kara face in the Thickety.

The illustrations of Andrea Offermann are again a perfect complement to the tone of the story. The cover pulls readers into the dark, ensnaring branches of the Thickety and the chapter illustrations provide a perfect visual introduction to the tone of each chapter.

While The Whispering Trees contains less human violence than the first book in the series, it still contains enough frightening imagery and violent events that younger readers should be cautioned. However, those who are looking for a YA series that doesn’t sugarcoat the darker side of a fantastic and wonderfully-told scary story won’t be disappointed. Recommended for ages 10 and older.

 

Contains: Violence, witchcraft

Reviewed by Heather Hurley