Drucilla and Gabe are orphans. Both sets of their parents died when they were young, but they've been together since birth and so far, have managed to stay together.
But when the woman they've been living with for the past number of years dies, it seems they won't be together anymore.
But they won't be far from each other either. Gabe isn't too far away from where Druc will be living with Ann and Joseph Putnam.
Druc misses Gabe terribly, but life with the Putnams isn't so bad. The daughter Ann (named after her mother) doesn't like Druc, but Mistress Putnam and everyone else has been very kind. Druc likes Mistress Putnam quite a bit. Druc feels sorry for what the woman has been through and she almost feels like a mother to Druc. And that's all Druc has ever wanted a mother; a family. She seemingly has it, but Druc finds out that Mistress Putnam isn't as nice as she seems.
I've read a few historical fiction books about the Salem Witch Trials. The other two books contained characters that weren't directly involved with the trials, but still suffered due to the madness. This book, however, takes you right into the heart of the Witch Trials madness. Drucilla is living with Joseph and Ann Putman (also known as Mistress Putnam) and Mistress Putnam, along with her daughter Ann, are more than to accuse who they see fit of witchcraft. While Drucilla is a fictional character, Mistress Putnam and her daughter Ann are not. They were very much involved with the Witch Trials, Ann being one of the afflicted girls and Mistress Putnam being very involved with anything concerning the Trials.
The author did a good job with presenting historical fact and mixing fiction along in with it. The fictional characters she created were good, relatable and likeable. Even if Drucilla made some bad choices, she wasn't not a bad person. She wanted to please Mistress Putnam and many times went against her own beliefs, opinions and feelings to please this woman. I really liked Drucilla. She was a very good character.
One thing I've found with historical fictional books about the Salem Witch Trials is that Tituba is always described as African. Tituba was actually Indian. And this author didn't say that Tituba was African. Only described her as a slave woman, which I thought was good since most books aren't accurate about her.
Overall, very good book.
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