How to Hang a Witch
by Adriana Mather
Series: How to Hang a Witch #1
Series Rating:
Published by Knopf Books for Young Readers on July 26, 2016
Genres: YA Paranormal Mystery
Pages: 368
Format: Kindle
Goodreads
BookBub
Get Your Copy at: Amazon, Book Depository
Also in this series: Haunting the Deep
It's the Salem Witch Trials meets Mean Girls in a debut novel from one of the descendants of Cotton Mather, where the trials of high school start to feel like a modern day witch hunt for a teen with all the wrong connections to Salem’s past.
Salem, Massachusetts is the site of the infamous witch trials and the new home of Samantha Mather. Recently transplanted from New York City, Sam and her stepmother are not exactly welcomed with open arms. Sam is the descendant of Cotton Mather, one of the men responsible for those trials and almost immediately, she becomes the enemy of a group of girls who call themselves The Descendants. And guess who their ancestors were?
If dealing with that weren't enough, Sam also comes face to face with a real live (well technically dead) ghost. A handsome, angry ghost who wants Sam to stop touching his stuff. But soon Sam discovers she is at the center of a centuries old curse affecting anyone with ties to the trials. Sam must come to terms with the ghost and find a way to work with The Descendants to stop a deadly cycle that has been going on since the first accused witch was hanged. If any town should have learned its lesson, it's Salem. But history may be about to repeat itself.
How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather is about us not forgetting the past but about embracing it so it won’t happen again.
Can Sam, with the help of the Descendants, break the curse?
Sam Mather
Samantha “Sam” Mather has come back to Salem, Massachusetts, because of her dad’s medical bills becoming too much. I, first thing, feel the same things for Sam since I know how it feels to be starting a new school. Sam is a great kid that just has had the worst luck keeping anyone with her. There is a lot of things that I like about Sam, and one of them is that she embraces the weirdness that she has seen and is trying to deal with the fact that they might be cursed. This curse is around this group of people. She is a strong character, and I think that we probably would be friends if she were real.
The Descendants
The Descendants are a group of five kids that are descended from the accused party of the Trials. They are four girls and one boy. They dress in all black and only hang out together. Well, until Sam comes into town needing their help to break the curse. I like Susannah, Alice, and Mary the best. I like them the best, mostly because they give Sam the benefit of the doubt regarding what she says about evil. Lizzie and John, I didn’t care for. Until the book changed my mind about them. Sam might finally have found a group of friends.
Five Stars
How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather is a beautifully written book about how what happened back then could easily relate to something that is happening now. Sam is new to town, and it doesn’t help that she’s a Mather. Another thing that doesn’t help is the deadly cycle. That only happens when a big group of the descendants of the Witch Trials is in Salem. One of the many things that Ms. Mather does with this book is to teach us that high school bullying in a way is like being apart of the Witch Trials. Especially in here. I am giving this book five stars and recommending it.
Next Book in the Series
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather.
Until the next time,
Happy Reading!
About Adriana Mather
Adriana Mather is the New York Times bestselling author of How to Hang a Witch, with family roots that go back to Sleepy Hollow, the Salem Witch Trials, and the Titanic. She’s also an actor and producer best known for her role in the award-winning Honeyglue. She co-owns Zombot Pictures, a production company that makes feature films. Her first acting scene in a film ever was with Danny Glover, and she was terrified she would mess it up. In addition, her favorite food is pizza, she has too many cats and a deep abiding love for all things autumnal.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
Leave a Reply