Beyond the Burning Time
Written by Kathryn Lasky
Reviewed by student in Ms. A's 6th Grade Class
This book is extremely detailed in expressing the feelings of the characters. Mary, an average kid, has a mother named Virgina and a brother named Caleb Chase. Her dad, Jacob, has passed away. A hired man named Gilly helps on their farm. In these days, the book explains, people were afraid of witches, lies and death.
People in the town said that some of the girls in the town had been afflicted by the devil and had become witches. The characters in this story don't know what to beleive when their mother is accused of being a witch. Do they believe their mother, or the church and the townspeople?
This book gave a lot of details about the people and the town. Most of the books I read are not this detailed. I felt like I was reading a book that was above my level, but I could still understand it. I recommend that people who are into novels, and who like rich detail should read this book. It sounds like a book that could have really happened in history. Finally, people will find this book interesting because the setting is so much different than today's world.