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hastings91's review against another edition
4.0
Enjoyed this a lot! The ending was a little lackluster but I loved the boarding school setting, the girls, the writing style and the social commentary on gender throughout.
shiloniz's review against another edition
4.0
Conversion was just as amazing as Katherine's previous two books. Not only is she a queen of historical fiction she is a master story teller and I would recommend this to anyone but especially those who having a gripping interest in what happened in the Salem Witch Trials and how it is related to the current time.
kcreed604's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book, although the format was a little confusing at first. It made for a great audio book, though, which I enjoyed. I wasn't expecting a few of the twists, which I also liked. Good for a book that doesn't require a lot of thinking.
meowzik's review against another edition
2.0
Ugh, I had such high hopes for this book, and they all fell through. Colleen may possibly be one of the most annoying protagonists I've had the pleasure of reading (and not even in a good way, like with some characters that you love to hate). Obviously YMMV, as evidenced by the mixed reviews, but it's not one I would personally recommend.
courtivydiane's review against another edition
4.0
I would not recommend reading this book if you have previously read The Crucible by Arthur Miller. t is practically the same thing but modern day.
disgracefullee's review against another edition
1.0
I'm not sure if authors know that having a massive bitch as the main character of your book can be a bit of a downer while reading, but I guess if they wanted to find out, they would just read Conversion.
Colleen is an incredibly irritating MC. She deserves to go to Harvard! If she doesn't, her life will be ruined. (Nevermind the fact that we never learn what she even wants to study.) And she's almost valedictorian- so she gets to treat everyone around her with disdain, because she's so much better than them.
Also: the ending of this book was gross. Spoilers ahead.
When the whole "Emma is a witch" thing came up, it literally ruined the point of the book, which was that excessive pressure on teenage girls can cause their bodies to freak out. (Which is still like. Iffy to me, but whatever.) But actually it wasn't the pressure that was the issue, it was that Emma was a witch! And the reason that everyone's gotten sick is because Emma, a SIXTEEN YEAR OLD GIRL, IS SAD BECAUSE HER TWENTY-THREE YEAR OLD BOYFRIEND HAS BROKEN UP WITH HER.
What the fuck? The book doesn't even portray the statutory rape as a bad thing. There is one comment (one) from a character we're not supposed to like mentioning that it's bad, but the text of the book appears to disagree entirely. All of the problems go away because Emma and her rapist get back together. Emma nearly kills him because she's so sad, and he eventually SITS ON TOP OF HER and calms her down from her panic attack (like an adult would with a literal child)(not that only children have panic attacks- my point is that Emma is a child and her "boyfriend" is an adult). Colleen and her (equally insufferable) boyfriend are just watching this go down with absolutely no issue. I repeat: What the fuck?
anyways this book sucked and fuck normalizing grooming and statutory rape.
Colleen is an incredibly irritating MC. She deserves to go to Harvard! If she doesn't, her life will be ruined. (Nevermind the fact that we never learn what she even wants to study.) And she's almost valedictorian- so she gets to treat everyone around her with disdain, because she's so much better than them.
Also: the ending of this book was gross. Spoilers ahead.
When the whole "Emma is a witch" thing came up, it literally ruined the point of the book, which was that excessive pressure on teenage girls can cause their bodies to freak out. (Which is still like. Iffy to me, but whatever.) But actually it wasn't the pressure that was the issue, it was that Emma was a witch! And the reason that everyone's gotten sick is because Emma, a SIXTEEN YEAR OLD GIRL, IS SAD BECAUSE HER TWENTY-THREE YEAR OLD BOYFRIEND HAS BROKEN UP WITH HER.
What the fuck? The book doesn't even portray the statutory rape as a bad thing. There is one comment (one) from a character we're not supposed to like mentioning that it's bad, but the text of the book appears to disagree entirely. All of the problems go away because Emma and her rapist get back together. Emma nearly kills him because she's so sad, and he eventually SITS ON TOP OF HER and calms her down from her panic attack (like an adult would with a literal child)(not that only children have panic attacks- my point is that Emma is a child and her "boyfriend" is an adult). Colleen and her (equally insufferable) boyfriend are just watching this go down with absolutely no issue. I repeat: What the fuck?
anyways this book sucked and fuck normalizing grooming and statutory rape.
typewriters87's review against another edition
2.0
I picked this up in the bargain section for several reasons. I love tying history to the present, what has been done will be done again, and usually I love that. Also the cover, I love the different 'o' and the colors of yellow and gray and the bird on a thorn branch. I found the premise of the chaos and hysteria of the Salem witch trials being brought back in modern times extremely interesting.
However, frustration quickly came to the fore. It should have been straightforward no 'magic/fantasy/something else/more' or it should have had way more of a fantastical element. Instead, you go through the book reading it that people both back in the day and now are given to hysterics, gossip and believing made up stories easier than admitting to lies. Extremely believable.
BUT THEN the author dabbles just enough in the fantastical. Did her friend have red eyes and make things happen or was she just under too much strain herself. AND THEN the author had the nerve to end on a fantastical note, like this other girl's mother was in on the whole 'witches might be real' thing. Either include fantasy or allude to the fact that we live in a world where people wished for the fantastical and magical and it doesn't happen, or give us the fantasy world. I absolutely despised the teeny tiny teasers after drudging through the historical bits. This is one I whole-heartedly urge you not to pick up unless you want to be extremely frustrated and upset with how the author chose to handle her world.
However, frustration quickly came to the fore. It should have been straightforward no 'magic/fantasy/something else/more' or it should have had way more of a fantastical element. Instead, you go through the book reading it that people both back in the day and now are given to hysterics, gossip and believing made up stories easier than admitting to lies. Extremely believable.
BUT THEN the author dabbles just enough in the fantastical. Did her friend have red eyes and make things happen or was she just under too much strain herself. AND THEN the author had the nerve to end on a fantastical note, like this other girl's mother was in on the whole 'witches might be real' thing. Either include fantasy or allude to the fact that we live in a world where people wished for the fantastical and magical and it doesn't happen, or give us the fantasy world. I absolutely despised the teeny tiny teasers after drudging through the historical bits. This is one I whole-heartedly urge you not to pick up unless you want to be extremely frustrated and upset with how the author chose to handle her world.