I read Beyond The Burning Time by Kathryn Lasky. It is a time of lies, witches, and death. It sets off in 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. The main character, Mary Chase is a twelve year old girl. She has a brother named Caleb and her mother's name is Virginia. Her father died a couple years earlier so they hired Gilly Beales to help with some of the labor on their farm. Over time Gilly became like family. He had a round and crinkled face that seemed to fold in on itself, no teeth, a mouth that sunk in between a chin that swooped up and a nose that hooked down, a low forehead, and one eye.

Strange things were happening to some of the young girls in Salem Village. They claimed to be possessed. They would bend their bodies in strange ways and scream the name of the witch who had possessed them. At first it was just a joke or a game, but things got out of hand when the ones claimed to be witches were sent to jail, trialed ( as though they were guilty until proven innocent), and hung. Then Virginia Chase was said to be a witch and things toke a turn for the worst.

Virginia had chains on her hands and feet and even though her feet were swelling she still remained committed to god. I know this because she said, "I shall not sell my soul to save my feet." All Mary and Caleb wanted was to save their mother. They came up with a plan, found their mother, and set sail. Even though Virginia had to amputate her foot from the swelling I was happy for them because they got what they all wanted, to be together as a family.