How to Hang a Witch

First Thoughts: When I first found this book I instantly fell in love with the book. The cover is fantastic and the title...I am pretty much sold when it comes to witches. After reading the blurb for the book I knew I had to give this a read. The Salem Witch Trials is probably my favorite thing to check out when it comes to history. Review: Samantha Mather's has moved to Salem, Massachusetts with her stepmother. Her father has been in a coma for 4 months and the medical bills have forced them to sell their home in New York and move into her fathers family home that was left to him when Samantha's grandmother died. Sam quickly finds out that Salem is not going to be a friendly place for her. Her ancestors had a big part in the Salem witch trials and they still hold a grudge. Things quickly spiral out of control as threats are thrown through her window and even a ghost decides to make his dislike of her known. What I found great about this book is that there is actual history mixed in with the entertainment. It made me want to research the Salem witch trials more, just to see what all from the book was inspired by true stories of the Salem events. Samantha Mather is such a fantastic lead character. She is stubborn and she stays that way through the entire book. She is strong to a fault. She doesn't want anyone to know what she is dealing with, which causes more stress and doubts then it actually helps. I felt like I could really connect to who Samantha was, being the new girl that no one liked. I could feel the emotions of being so alone and not being able to trust anyone. Of course, there is a little romance in the story, but not to the point where it overcomes or BECOMES the plot of the story. The story, in the end, is about a girl figuring out her history and trying to make right the things that had gone wrong so many years ago. The quote "The sin of the father" comes to mind, paying for sins (or wrongs) done by those before you. The End: WARNING! Their are spoilers in this section. Please skip to the "Final Thoughts" section if you do not want to read spoilers. I loved the relationship between Sam and Jaxon. I thought it was cute and it was great that Sam had a friend even when things were troublesome. But....I loved Elijah. I wanted Elijah to some how find a way to become human again and finish out a life that was ended too soon. Maybe Jaxon would have been with Sam the whole time had she told him what was really going on, but Elijah was there, through everything. It could also be that Elijah basically hated Sam at the beginning and then fell in love with her. I don't know, but I may have weeped a little when Elijah said goodbye. Final Thoughts: I have read a few reviews written about this book and I realize that it's not for everyone. I thought it was an amazing book. It was fast paced and full of action. Although, if you are not a fan of history, then maybe this book is not for you. The beginning of the book could possibly be a little slow, but I was hooked from the first chapter. There are so many questions hovering around Sam and her strange life, and everything is answered in the end. I would suggest this to friends, at least to give it a chance. There is a lot of hype around it at the moment, but I think the story was well worth the time. For more reviews, check out my blog at: awkwardheather.wordpress.com/

The book description says the book is the “Salem Witch Trials meets Mean Girls.” It’s one thing when friends or reviews describe a book as a mash-up, but when it’s in the book description itself, I get a little skeptical. But Mean Girls is a viciously funny movie (“Raise your hand if you have ever been personally victimized by Regina George?”), and I’ve been intrigued by the Salem Witch trials for most of my life. It comes with the territory when growing up less than an hour away from Salem. I’ve visited Salem several times, and I’ve both been in and directed the play The Crucible. But it was the added info that author Adriana Mather is a direct descendant of someone involved in the witch trials that made the prospect of reading the book even more intriguing. Would she make the book be all the things—funny, biting, satirical, and spooky—implied in that mash-up? Absolutely! The story starts with Samantha Mather—a direct descendant (like the author) of Cotton Mather, a minister who supported the witch trials—moving from New York to Salem with her stepmother while her father is hospitalized in a coma. She moves into the old house where her father grew up, a place where strange, ghostly things start happening. In school the next day, her last name alone attracts negative attention among other students, particularly a collection of four girls and a boy known as the Descendants. Their family trees include ancestors who were accused, tried, and hanged as witches back in 1692. No wonder they don’t like Samantha. She gets bullied, and as a teacher, I was slightly put off by how the school population (students and teachers) is somewhat complicit in the bullying. The school administration and her stepmother chalk it up to Sam’s somewhat troubled past. But this is fiction, and as the plot got more mysterious, spooky, gripping, and scathing, it bothered me less because there’s a really powerful and important message buried inside the intricate, twisty plot. But before I get to that message, I want to talk about the characters and plot. Sam is a great narrator. She’s smart, snarky, and stubborn. She lacks some self-confidence because of all that’s happened to her, but she’s also got a strong sense of what’s right and wrong. As her situation at school gets worse, and she is ultimately accused of being responsible for some freaky and dangerous things happening at the town, all she wants to do is help everyone by solving the problem—a curse on the descendants (including herself) of those involved in the witch trials. The supporting cast is also well-developed. I like that the Descendants have distinct voices and personalities, and Susannah—the first to reach out to Sam—was my favorite of that bunch. As in many YA books, there’s a kind of love triangle with Sam and two boys: sweet, noble neighbor Jaxon and proper, mysterious Elijah. I only loosely consider it a triangle, and it was never a distraction, but it was quite the contrary, as both relationships were different, unique, strong and necessary to the story. There are at least two big mysteries, and it was fun watching them converge and diverge throughout the plot. The stakes are clearly raised through the book, and though I sniffed out the ultimate villain, that villain’s true motivations surprised me. I didn’t want to put the book down when I had to, particularly through the climactic confrontation. What elevates this book toward best of 2016 status is the message. Sam is trying to stop a curse that has been repeating itself in Salem since the witch trials, but the unsubstantiated finger-pointing that occurred then has repeated far too many times in history. Whether it was the “Red Scare” of McCarthyism in the 1950s (the inspiration for Arthur Miller’s The Crucible) or the profiling of different ethnicities in many eras of history including the present, the hysteria is unnecessary. And it happens in high school also if one “popular” group of students socially banish others for no reason other than they’re different. Even without witchcraft, this happens, and hopefully well-written books like this can help point out why that’s dangerous while doing so with an enjoyable story too. This book exceeded my expectations, especially after reading a few books that didn’t. Maybe my reading dry spell was a curse, finally broken by How to Hang a Witch and its FIVE STAR rating.

I was hooked on this book from the first chapter. Before that really. I read a sample of it on Amazon and had to buy this book, and I never buy Kindle books. How to Hang a Witch is a young adult historical fiction book with a mystery in the middle and some romance thrown in. Even with all of that, it has a good plot and a pretty good twist (even though I figured it out a bit before the main character, Samantha, does). It kept my interest and I wanted to follow the clues and figure everything out. I also really want to go to Salem. It's about a girl named Samantha Mather who moves to Salem, MA from New York City after her father falls into a coma and they are forced to sell their house and move into her father's childhood home. She gets picked on at school, has bad luck, and, to top things off, starts seeing a ghost in her house. Things get weirder and worse for her from there. She finds out about a centuries old curse involving the families from the witch trials. Now it's up to her and a clique of other kids, called the Descendants, to stop it before its too late. With the death toll rising, Sam accepts help from her neighbors and the ghost, Elijah, to stop a surprising enemy. I'd recommend this to fans of historical fiction and books about witches.

**Review originally posted on My Fangirl Chronicles** As you may or may not know, one of my current work-in-progress is an urban fantasy novel that involves witches, so when I heard about this book a few weeks before Adriana’s joint signing at Chevalier’s Bookstore with Charlotte Huang and my friend Julie Buxbaum, I already knew I had to read it. They were definitely not exaggerating when they marketed “How To Hang A Witch” as “the Salem Witch Trials meets Mean Girls” because that is exactly how I would describe the book. But it was also a lot creepier than I was expecting! There were several times where I got the chills while reading this book (and listening to the audio), but it was also just so fascinating! But probably the coolest and most unique thing about this book is that the author, Adriana Mather, is a direct descendant from one of the major figures in the Salem Witch trials! How insane is that!? I haven’t really read a historical fiction before (I have a slight aversion to anything related to history because I disliked that class in high school) but this book had a slight historical contemporary feel to it. Surprisingly, however, I really didn’t mind! In fact, I was enthralled with the rich history contained in this book. I have never been to Salem or have really considered going there until I met Adriana and read her book. The rich and creepy history of Salem that she displayed in her book really caught my interest, and the fact that witchcraft and magic isn’t as far-fetched over there as it is in here in California. While reading I really felt as if I were in Salem because I could picture everything so vividly. That kind of proved to be a problem when all the creepy stuff was happening… The main character is Samantha Mather and, like the author, is a direct descendant of Cotton Mather. I could relate to Sam in a lot of ways and often found myself sympathizing with her. Like Sam, I was bullied by a group of mean girls in school, felt/was alone in a new and unfamiliar school setting, and had trouble trusting people, particularly guys. Despite going through all this – in addition to her dad being in the hospital and having to deal with some scary witchcraft – Sam stays strong and focused on her goals. She’s tenacious, persistent, brave, and would do anything for loved ones. I also admired Sam’s sarcasm and sass. In short, she reminded me a lot of, well, me! In case you were wondering, yes, there is a love-triangle in this story. But before you go rolling your eyes and dismissing this book completely, I think you should give it a chance and read it first. Just because there’s a love-triangle doesn’t always mean the story isn’t worth a read. It’s not even the main conflict in this book, which I was very grateful for. I also actually really liked both guys, but of course, as with all love-triangles I’ve come across, I’ve chosen a side. Haha At times it did get a little cheesy but I found it sweet, adorable, and entertaining. The main antagonist was a bit predictable but the creepiness-factor and badassery of the showdown at the climax of the book made up for it. At that point in the story, I was on the edge of my seat and could not put it down until the end! But then it got past the climax and then I was just sad and my heart hurt for the characters. You’ll see why when you read it! I can’t wait for the next book, Haunting the Deep! It’s related to the Titanic and I have been obsessed with anything related to that since I was a little girl and I watched the movie. It releases October 3, 2017!

The instant I began reading How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather, I felt pulled into the story. What's not to love? The history of the Salem Witch Trials, clever characters and an interesting synopsis immediately piqued my curiosity! Told in Sam Mather's point of view as she moves to Salem, Massachusetts with her stepmother. The two of them reside in Sam's grandmother's house while Sam's father suffers in a coma that has lasted over three months already. Sam is a descendant of Cotton Mather, one of the men who hanged witches during the Salem Witch Trials. A group of students, known as the Descendants, because they are actual descendants of the victims of the Salem Witch Trials hangings, immediately dislike Sam because of her last name. Her neighbors, Jaxon and his mother, are friendly and they knew Sam's grandmother well and took care of her and her home when she couldn't anymore. Jaxon seems to be the only friendly person in the entire school, including the teachers. The relationship and banter between Jaxon and Sam makes me smile and when they find a hidden room in her house, the mystery begins. The author's beautiful descriptions bring the historical homes to life and portray the magnificence of a Massachusetts autumn. The mystery, suspense and the curse all grow in intensity and I am never quite sure who Sam can trust. Wonderful and creative writing, dynamic and complex characters and a plot that everyone can relate to make this an amazing book. The author's notes share what is historically accurate and what's fiction and her personal genealogy makes me think that she needs to write more historical fiction! 5 stars - perfect from beginning to end!

“I have to convince a group of people who hate me to help solve a curse that could be killing our families.” – p. 125 How to Hang a Witch (Knopf, 2016) is a YA paranormal novel written by Adriana Mather, an actual descendant of the Salem Witch Trials’ Cotton Mather. The protagonist in this story is Samantha Mather – a fictional descendant of Cotton’s – who has just moved from New York City into her late grandmother’s home in Salem, Massachusetts. Sam lives with her stepmother, Vivian, while her father remains in a coma for unknown reasons. As soon as Sam arrives to Salem, the town wants her out. Especially a group of goth girls at school, known as the Descendants, who are descendants of the persecuted Salem witches. It doesn’t help that strange and awful things keep occurring to everyone who comes into contact with Sam, almost as if she’s cursing them…when, in truth, it’s likely she’s the one who’s cursed. In quick succession, Sam meets two guys: the outgoing boy next door, Jaxon; and a seventeenth-century ghost who haunts her grandmother’s mansion, Elijah. Sam is the only one who can see Elijah, and while he wants her gone, he also begins to help her piece together Salem’s true history to uncover why she is cursed, and how to end the pattern of killings in town. I liked the love triangle created between Sam, Jaxon, and the spirit, Elijah. Something about Sam and Elijah’s relationship reminded me of Casper and Christina Ricci’s character in Casper (1995). This fast-paced YA occult suspense was an absolute delight to read. The chapters are short and punchy; Sam’s narration is to-the-point, sympathetic, and often humorous; and Mather’s supernatural vision of Salem, as well as her fascinating and approachable portrayal of its history, jumps off the e-pages. And we can’t forget the witches in the story – Susannah, Alice, Mary, and Lizzie – who are like something straight out of Mean Girls or The Craft. If you’re a fan of fun commercial YA with some solid, spooky witchcraft, a history-seeped mystery, and a good ol’-fashioned ghost story with a positive and powerful message, you need How to Hang a Witch in your life.

I wonder what Cotton Mather would think if he found out that his great great great great great (you get the picture) granddaughter wrote one of the best YA books I've ever read...and it happened to be about the Salem Witch Trials. This book is absolute thrilling, spooky fun. It's not a short book, but it feels like it, such is the tightness and pace of the plotting. There's nary a wasted word. You'll find yourself, as I did, unable to put it down, pressing ever forward, hours be damned. This is truly a corn maze of a book. A corn maze on a blustery, chilly October night, that you stumble through while holding the hand of someone with whom you just fell in love, your heart pounding from suspense and infatuation. The autumnal atmosphere is so lovingly crafted, so vivid, so creepily quaint. You'll feel the ghosts of Salem tugging at your sleeves while you read. You'll feel the leaves crunching under your feet. The only thing more well-drawn than the atmosphere is the characters. They leap from the page--vibrant, flawed, vulnerable, achingly real and honest. You'll have no trouble rooting for them. This book contains the perfect amount of everything. Humor. Romance. Wit. The paranormal. Chills. Mystery. There's a twist in this book that will have you picking up your jaw. Oh, and the bonus? It's the most beautifully packaged YA book I've ever seen. The cover and typefaces are sublime. That may sound silly, but that's important to me. I predict that with all of the things that work perfectly in this book, it's going to be very big indeed. In recent years, YA publishing has shied away from publishing books with paranormal elements. I predict this book will break that trend (even as it creates a very high bar). And I predict that you have not heard the last of Adriana Mather.

Spooky. Paranormal. Angsty. I should have read this around Halloween but still read in 2 days (probably would have read in one if not Thanksgiving/family time). Samantha Mather moves to Salem from NYC due to her family's financial situation after her father goes into a mysterious coma. Weird, slightly sinister things seem to have been happening to people around Sam for as long as she remembers and just get worse in Salem. The mystery of the Mathers and the Descendants curse kept me turning the pages. There was the perfect mix of witches, ghosts, premonition, and history/folklore. I loved all the history and back stories that seemed to tie in at the end. I liked that an actual descendant of Cotton Mather actually wrote this book and I felt that she captured the feel of Salem perfectly. I felt like the love triangle didn't need to be there and Sam should have not shut people out/kept quiet about all the weird things happening to her especially at the beginning. Overall, I liked that the moral of the story for the witch trials and modern day bullying were connected at the end and made me think about causes of each and how to prevent both. I gave this 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.

➤ WARNING: This thing I wrote is in Inglalian (English + Italian). You must use a bit of imagination and fantasy to understand completely. Or maybe not. Enjoy the reading! In these times, books are not great. Especially, if you wanna read a good fantasy, now, you have to avoid some of the new publications because these ones, usually, are strange mix and bad copies of old best sellers like “The Lord of the Rings” and “Narnia”, or some books more new like “Harry Potter” and “Hunger Games”; these new authors – authors? No, they aren’t – wanna write a fantasy…without using their fantasy, but using the fantasy of someone else. Easy, uh?! Well, “How to Hang a Witch” is not one of these strange mix and bad copies of old best sellers; finally, the poor readers who love fantasy books can read something of – really – good. “How to Hang a Witch” is…cool; the plot is really interesting, the development of the story is not ordinary, but curious and intriguing – yes, intriguing! –, the characters are not the classics and stupid ‘Mary Sue’ and ‘Gary Stu’, and the protagonist – Samantha Mather – is not a ‘damsel in distress’, but a badass girl who can kick asses. Do you want more? Well, we have. “How to Hang a Witch” has its roots in the History, guys; this serves to make you understand that is not a simple fantasy book, this one, but something more. And then, we have an interesting – and sad – parallelism, in the story of “How to Hang a Witch”, between the originals Witch Trials and the bullying in the modern schools; at the end of the book, there’s a beautiful note of the authoress about this thing, that you – absolutely – have to read if you’ll buy this book. But “How to Hang a Witch” is not only witches and bullies – and ghosts –, there are more other themes like love, friendship, loss, hate, so… C’mon! You have to read it. And if I have not been so convincing… Well, watch the beautiful booktrailer of “How to Hang a Witch”, and then, I’m sure that you will want to read this book.

Livre en anglais, c'est une histoire sympa sur des sorcières. C'était pas mal.

I love this book. It is steeped in history yet skillfully dodges the stuffiness that can walk hand in hand with it. (Small pun incoming) The story never leaves you hanging, you are immersed from chapter 1 and the twists leave you wanting more. I would absolutely love to see the characters brought to life I'm a TV series which I am sure would leave me sobbing at the end, just like the book.

I found this book by way of a recommendation from a friend on facebook. The story of Sam a teenager who moves to Salem with her step mother after her father is taken ill. Her family are an old one with ancestors dating back to the Salem witch trials. Ioved this book. Brilliant read.

The mix of history and adventure was compelling, finished the book in an afternoon, wonderful twists and perfect for YA or those of us wanting and escape from mature reading. I saw an ad for this book which led me to make the purchase and at the time believed the book was more NA, or adult but was not disappointed by the book, it's an intricate story and a wonderful read.