Deliverance "Liv" Trembley confides in her diary about her fears and dreams during the events of 1692 in Salem Village, Massachusetts, evoking a convincing character of her age for the period. The author has done well to portray what a girl of 12 years might be like, and what cultural influences affect her life (results of the French and Indian War, the community's reliance on religious guidance, her family changed by war and disease). It appears to be an accurate account of a number of the victims of the Salem Witch Trials, as well as some of their accusers. A quick read, though a little sparse on details, with believable characters, aimed at a young audience. ( )

"She who is falsely accused, and I merely watching it."

"I Walk in Dread: The Diary of Deliverance Trembley, Witness to the Salem Witch Trials" tells the story a young girl who is forced to see friends and neighbors be accused of something that they are not-witches. Deliverance writes in her diary of being an onlooker and seeing what is going on without the power to change anything.
The Salem Witch Trials was the most famous and notorious case of mass hysteria in America's history. It all started with a few teenage girls accusing others of witchcraft, that ended for some in excution. ( )

"She who is falsely accused, and I merely watching it."

"I Walk in Dread: The Diary of Deliverance Trembley, Witness to the Salem Witch Trials" tells the story a young girl who is forced to see friends and neighbors be accused of something that they are not-witches. Deliverance writes in her diary of being an onlooker and seeing what is going on without the power to change anything.
The Salem Witch Trials was the most famous and notorious case of mass hysteria in America's history. It all started with a few teenage girls accusing others of witchcraft, that ended for some in excution. ( )

The story unfolds through the eyes and voice of twelve year old Deliverance Trembley, an orphan in Salem Village, Massachusetts in 1691. Deliverance, or Liv as we come to know her, lives with her seventeen year old sister, Mem, in the house of her uncle who has left them to go on a whaling expedition with instructions that they are not to tell anyone in the village that he is away.

During his absence, Mem becomes ill and Liv must care for her as well as do all of the chores. The girls try to attend church when they can. One Sunday they learn that four girls from their church have become possessed and claim that some of the good ladies of Salem Village are witches and have cursed them and damned them to the devil. Liv is friends with one of the accused but doesn't believe the good Christian woman she knows could possibly be a witch nor does she believe in witches.

Soon, the town becomes privy to the fact the uncle has been away and threaten to take action for the orphans. Fortunately, their brother Benjamin, who has been in the militia returns and saves the girls from an uncertain future.

Meanwhile, the accused witches are tried and eventually convicted.

While Liv and her sister are fictional characters, most of the other characters are real and the events portrayed in the story are real and given to the best of the writers research and knowledge.

While, I hardly ever read children's books or young adult fiction, I loved this book! I read the whole thing in one night. Ms. Fraustino really did her homework and gave us an historical ride through the times and lives of the people during the Salem Witch Trials. I can't wait to read more of the books in her Dear America series!

Published in 2011 by Scholastic Books. ( )

This entire series is a wonderful way to learn history or teach it to adolescents. I find today's generations seem to recall more when they learn through other people (pop songs, celebrity gossip, etc.), so what better way to teach history than through someone else's perspective? Yes, "authentic" diaries would be "better", but would the language really hold the modern student's attention? Did the diary writer know what WOULD be important in the context of history? Probably not. ( )