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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
I was skeptical about what a graphic novel about the Salem Witch Trials would look like, but this pleasantly surprised me in a number of ways! I do think it suffered in some part from the sheer size of its cast of characters, but given the complexity of the situation in Salem in 1692, and the number of people involved, it felt like the author was doing her best with the material she had to condense down and make graphic novel-size. Nearly all of the dialogue was lifted directly from primary sources and minimally doctored so as to be readable to modern audiences, which impressed me a lot. Conjecture about what might really be going on here is kept to a minimum, and left ultimately up to the reader to determine for themselves--such as an imagined exchange between Ann Putnam Jr. and Mary Warren, where Mary alludes to the physical abuse she suffers at the hands of her employer John Proctor...only a few pages before accusing John of witchcraft. The art by M. Duffy cleverly conveys the paranoia, claustrophobia, and sheer terror of an eldritch, invisible world of monsters and the Devil that was part of the Puritains' cosmology. My only other quibble with this book is that the prose sections, which provide additional context that the artwork doesn't have room to convey, only alluded to certain things that I felt would have benefited from more of an exploration; but ultimately, a very well-done nonfiction graphic novel!
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
This was a really interesting take and representation of the Salem Witch Trials, the build up, events themselves, and the aftermath. The art of this also did a wondefucl job of alluding the horrors of what was taking place without being overt and gory about it. Great graphic novel representation of a terrible moment in history.
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
dark
informative
medium-paced
dark
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
The pacing was off, especially with the sections telling facts/history vs the graphic story parts. I expected to learn a bit more of the why or details versus it being a shallow overview.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Murder
challenging
slow-paced
I didn't care for the artwork and the text just sounded like it was going in circles.
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced