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A review by typewriters87
Conversion by Katherine Howe
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.