Book Review: How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather

Release Date: July 26th, 2016
Read: July 16th-19th, 2016
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Series: Standalone
Format: ARC, 368 pages
Source: BEA 2016

Description from GoodReads:

   Salem, Massachusetts is the site of the infamous witch trials and the new home of Samantha Mather. Recently transplanted from New York City, Sam and her stepmother are not exactly welcomed with open arms. Sam is the descendant of Cotton Mather, one of the men responsible for those trials and almost immediately, she becomes the enemy of a group of girls who call themselves The Descendants. And guess who their ancestors were?

   If dealing with that weren't enough, Sam also comes face to face with a real live (well technically dead) ghost. A handsome, angry ghost who wants Sam to stop touching his stuff. But soon Sam discovers she is at the center of a centuries old curse affecting anyone with ties to the trials. Sam must come to terms with the ghost and find a way to work with the Descendants to stop a deadly cycle that has been going on since the first accused witch was hanged. If any town should have learned its lesson, it's Salem. But history may be about to repeat itself.

Review:

   Names have power.
   I hadn't heard really anything about How to Hang a Witch until my sister had it on her gigantic list of books that she wanted me to pick up at BEA 2016. Then after grabbing a copy and heading home, I slowly started seeing mentions of it everywhere on Twitter. From the publisher, as well as other bloggers. After the book trailer was released, I knew I had to read it ASAP.
   No matter how many books I've read, I can never get tired of reading about witches. It was a new experience with How to Hang a Witch entirely, of course it had its made of moments with having ghosts and actual witches, but in a way I'd say that it was also a bit of a historical fiction. With the author being an actual descendant of Cotton Mather, the blame to the Salem Witch Trials, (You can read the authors note about it at the end of the book), she actually threw in a lot of historically accurate stuff. It was very interesting to see the mix of the real and the made up together.
   Adriana Mather's writing was past paced and easy to read through, making How to Hang a Witch the perfect book for anyone looking for a quick witchy read. Although her writing was that way, I still found her characters to be a little predictable and native. With that, I was constantly groaning at the characters actions, and was always irritated at them. Sometimes just reading on to get through particular parts.
   How to Hang a Witch was an intriguing yet sometimes predictable read, I would definitely recommend giving it a read for its historical accurateness if you're someone who can usually get past somewhat predictable plots.

P.S The banana, honey, and peanut butter sandwiches aren't that bad!

Rating:

Favourite Quote:

"A peaceful rest before thou wake."

Recommend to People Who Enjoy:

Young Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Paranormal, Mystery, Witches, Salem Witch Trials, Ghosts