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.