A Break With Charity: A Story About The Salem Witch Trials Download Free (EPUB, PDF)
Susanna desperately wants to join the circle of girls who meet every week at the parsonage. What she doesn't realize is that the girls are about to set off a torrent of false accusations leading to the imprisonment and execution of countless innocent people. Susanna faces a painful choice. Should she keep quiet and let the witch-hunt panic continue, or should she "break charity" with the group--and risk having her own family members named as witches? Reader's guide included.
Series: Great Episodes
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers; 1 edition (July 1, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0152046828
ISBN-13: 978-0152046828
Product Dimensions: 4.5 x 0.8 x 7 inches
Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (151 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #54,410 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #16 in Books > Teens > Historical Fiction > United States > Colonial & Revolutionary Periods #49 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction > Historical Fiction > United States > Colonial
Age Range: 12 - 14 years
Grade Level: 7 and up
I am a 13 year old who read this book because I was very interested in the Salem Witch Trials. I am a very picky reader and I consider it one of the best books I have ever read. It had a lot of educational information about the trials but at the same time it was not at all boring. At no point in this book did I feel that it was dragging on. This book I could not put down and spent an entire day reading it. I encourage this book to all young adults. Ann Rinaldi is an excellent author and has a real talent for writing!
I consider "A Break with Charity" to be Ann Rinaldi at her best. She provides an insider's depiction of the Witch Trials using the perspective of a fourteen year old living in Salem, MA. The facts and characters are well-researched. Although the main character, Susanna English, is fictitious, she is a believable and sympathetic character. I heard alot about the witch trials as I grew up outside of Boston and was surprised to learn so much from Rinaldi's attentive detail. This book is intended for young adults and I, as a not so young adult, thoroughly enjoyed every word....it is a page turner that evokes many emotions.
Salem, Massachusetts, 1692. This was a terrible time for the families of those who were executed at the Salem Witch trials. If only one of them, one who had a family member in peril, even if done in private, had the power to prevent further tragedies...And that is what Susanna English does, or at least according to Ann Rinaldi's fascinating retelling of this historical occurrence. Her brother William is lost at sea, and she wants news about his return from any source. And that is what brings her to Tituba, a slave at Mr. Parris's parsonage. It has been rumored that Tituba deals with the black arts and is a fortune teller, and even though visiting with such person is a sin, Susanna is so desperate to hear about her brother that she throws propriety aside and pays her a visit. Little had she known the chains of events that would occur afterwards. She witnesses the members of the circle, including Ann Putnam, the youngest and most mean-spirited of them all, attending the parsonage while the reverend is gone. She knows all of the things that would make the girls' stories and accusations seem inconsistent, and yet she keeps quiet, for Ann Putnam has threatened to accuse her family of witchcraft if she says a word. But when her mother and father are taken anyway, it is time to take action...Rinaldi's version of the events is well written, well researched and well crafted -- except for the part about Susanna staying behind when her family flees to New York and she stays with Joseph Putnam. I find it hard to believe that her parents would simply leave her behind, even if it is with people they trust. I know this plot turn is necessary for the story, but still. Other than that, I very much enjoyed this insightful and wonderful historical novel. The Salem Witch trials have always fascinated me, and I have always wanted to read a fictional account on life as a Puritan. Were those people happy with the rules placed upon them? Rinaldi does a wonderful job giving her take on the subject. Historical novels, good and accurate ones, set in the middle to late seventeenth century America are few and far in between. I am so glad I found one by an author who knows her American history quite well.
The story is about a little girl named Susanna English who witnesses a circle of girls who are chanting what they want out of life, and acting like witches. A few days after she notices this because, the same girls cry out on people of the town of Salem. They accuse many of being witches and saying their spirits come and taunts them at night. This goes on for about two years, until Susanna comes forth and tells the people of Salem the truth about the girls. Over all, this book was not that bad. If you are looking for a fast read and something easy to understand, then this is your book. This is the first book I have read by Ann Rinaldi, and I hope it is not my last.
Ann Rinaldi has a bad habit of making Christians the villians. Supprisingly enough, her book is well ballanced,fabulously written, extreemly realistic, and over-all superb!! Although an avid Rinaldi fan, I was somewhat wary of this book because of the slant on most books concerning the Salem Witch trials. They make the Puritans out to be blood thirsty pompous fools instead of being, (for the most part,) good people trying to discern what was the truth and what was not. Ann Rinaldi avoided this slant remarkably!! Thank you Ms.Rinadi for an historically accurate book!! You have ANOTHER teenage fan!!
In my opinion this book makes you feel as if you are really there while all these trials are going on. Ann Rinaldi made me actually enjoy reading about history. Now I realise how difficult it was to live back then, how anything you do could make people suspect you as a witch. When reading this book I felt how most people did about the way people were dying and been noticed as a witch. I feel that the actions of the girls were just to protect them selves. Another book I suggest reading is A Wolf By Ears because you get the same feeling of devestation.
This is definetely one of the best books I have ever read. If you like reading historical fiction you will love this. The book is about a girl living in Salem during the Salem witch trials. She learns that the girls in the circle are lying. She wants to tell that they are lying but is being blackmailed. This is an awesome book.
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