The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent

I never do this, but here is the summary of the book from the Salt Lake County Library website:


Martha Carrier was one of the first women to be accused, tried and hanged as a witch in Salem, Massachusetts. Like her mother, young Sarah Carrier is bright and willful, openly challenging the small, brutal world in which they live. Often at odds with one another, mother and daughter are forced to stand together against the escalating hysteria of the trials and the superstitious tyranny that led to the torture and imprisonment of more than 200 people accused of witchcraft. This is the story of Martha's courageous defiance and ultimate death, as told by the daughter who survived.


This doesn't really give away the story, because from the very first you know where the book is headed.

I found the book compelling. Perhaps because a couple of years ago we visited Salem, Massachusetts. We saw a very short play - really more of a sketch -  of one of the witch trials, then walked through a "restored" jail, or prison of the time. In my mind's eye, I could picture the situation as I was reading the book. It made it come to life for me.

In this day and age we wonder how those witch trials could ever even have taken place. I can't imagine how it would feel to live with the fear that the wrong word to the wrong person could bring you to trial.  Let us remember, and not let that happen again.