This rating is an average of what I thought of the book after reading it at around age 9 and what I (more or less) remember thinking of it after reading it when I was older. When I was a kid, the whole thing captivated me -- the whole forbidden aspect of the magic, and I suppose wanting to believe that maybe the magic would turn out to be real. And the drama of the whole situation. I seem to remember not thinking it was all that great reading it later. It was -- well, just obviously a kids' story. There are some kids' books that hold up to an adult reading; others that probably don't, but you enjoy reading them again because they bring back fond memories. This one wasn't either of those, but someone between about 9 and 12 might really like it if they know little or nothing about the witch trials -- otherwise there'd be no suspense.

Tituba is a fascinating historical figure, and I never feel as if, in the stories of the witch trials, I ever really get to know her. This book helped change that. What happened to her is horrifying because, as a woman on the margins of society, she was an easy target for a group of girls and young women, themselves normally powerless, wielding the little bit of power all the attention gave them and pointing the finger at easy targets their society would be willing to persecute.

3.5 Stars.
Not the book about the Salem Witch trials that I read as a kid, but definitely an appropriate read for a child and a good introduction to this bit of American history.

I read this for two reasons, one I've been wanting to read Ann Petry for a while, [b:The Street|44087805|The Street|Ann Petry|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1575588033l/44087805._SY75_.jpg|968007] and [b:The Narrows|52623328|The Narrows|Ann Petry|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1584926447l/52623328._SY75_.jpg|1311202] were republished in 2020, so I'm looking forward to reading them, but the main reason I chose this title is because I'm an avid reader of [a:Maryse Condé|93912|Maryse Condé|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1220159791p2/93912.jpg], who wrote [b:I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem|89526|I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem|Maryse Condé|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1567697640l/89526._SY75_.jpg|86405] having been inspired by Ann Petry's book.

I've read nothing about the witch trials before, though I'd heard of them, but I'm glad that this was my introduction, to see this little segment of American history, through the eyes of an innocent black slave, Tituba and her husband John.

As the book opens and Tituba and John are in the kitchen of the Barbados home they live in, the scene is so evocative, you can't imagine how their lives are going to change so abruptly, having been so stable for so long - but then the harsh reality of them being commodities, sold like jewels, to pay a debt, their lives irrevocably changed, within 24 hours they are on a ship heading for the Bay Colony of Boston.

Petry's descriptions of the environment are so evocative, the contrast so great, from the warmth of the island to the damp, unwelcoming cold climate of Massachusetts.

Tituba is a wonderful character, depicted with compassion and understanding, put in a situation where young people are drawn towards her but unable to overcome their own inner hurts, exaggerate and invent scenarios, combining imagination and superstition creating drama that spirals out of control into very real consequences for those accused of "witching", until the farce that it is, becomes all too clear, though not without lives having been lost.

I had some difficulty getting into this story just because I knew a little about Tituba already and that a lot of bad things happen to her. Tituba was portrayed pretty consistently and relatably. Petry gives readers a good sense of how precarious Tituba's life was as an enslaved woman in Salem. I would have liked Petry to flesh out Tituba's relationship with her husband. Understandably, her relationships with her charges dominate the story, but I would have liked to see more of her life outside of the work she was forced to do. Ending was bittersweet.