How to Hang a Witch

July 4, 2016
When her father's illness forces 15-year-old Samantha "Sam" Mather and her stepmother to move to Salem, Mass., her family's connection to the witch trials makes Sam a target of the Descendants, girls whose ancestors were among the accused witches. After Sam befriends a charming young ghost named Elijah, she begins to piece together just how much of Salem's past continues to haunt its present; forming a tentative truce with the Descendants may be the only way to break a 300-year-old curse. Inspired by her own lineage to Cotton Mather, debut author Mather infuses the story with a rich history of real places and events to anchor its more fantastical elements, including a supernatural love triangle involving Elijah, secret rooms, and hidden compartments containing ancient writings. Witty repartee can seem too irreverent in passages where the teenage characters are facing (and sometimes succumbing to) death, but Mather crafts an entertaining story that draws intriguing parallels between the 17th-century trials and modern-day bullying, as well as the fears and mob mentalities behind both. Ages 12âup. Agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio.

May 1, 2016
When Cotton Mather's lineal descendant, several generations along, moves to modern-day Salem, Massachusetts, she triggers a curse that's been in effect since 1692.Bad luck has dogged those around 15-year-old Sam Mather all her life, and now her dad is in a mysterious coma that's strained finances so much that she and her stepmother have left New York to live in the ancestral manse, the home of Sam's late, estranged grandmother. In short order Sam earns the enmity of the Descendants, weird kids who wear black and claim to be descended from the infamous trials' accused witches. She also becomes acquainted with cute boy-next-door Jaxon, who seems determined to like her, and hot ghost Elijah, whose initial hostility modulates quickly to attraction. But bad stuff keeps happening, including deaths. Could there be a connection to the centuries-old trials? Duh. Author Mather, also a descendant, claims in an afterword to be trying to plumb the forces that lead to witch hunts, both historical and modern, but her book is far less nuanced than that intention suggests. Sam is drawn alternately to Jaxon and Elijah (the rules governing his corporeality are conveniently fluid), tries to earn the trust of the Descendants, and fights with her stepmother before the wildly confusing climax. Readers familiar with the real history are likely to gnash their teeth at the book's simplistic liberties.Pure contrivance--nothing more. (Paranormal romance. 12-16)

COPYRIGHT(2016) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

June 1, 2016

Gr 9 Up-Samantha Mather's life has been turned upside down after her father becomes ill and slips into an unexplained coma. Uprooted from New York, Sam's father is placed in a Boston medical facility while Sam and her stepmother move into her father's house in Salem, MA. As a direct descendant of the infamous Cotton Mather of the Salem witch trials, Sam is shunned by most of the town and becomes a target at school of the Descendants, a powerful clique of progeny of those murdered as a result of the trials. As strange and unexplainable events occur, the teen realizes that there are dark forces at work in Salem that are beyond her ability to fight. Help comes from the least likely of places-a disgruntled 324-year-old ghost named Elijah. Together they uncover clues about an evil curse plaguing the town and must join with the Descendants if they hope to stop the deadly cycle from continuing. Mather's brilliantly written novel is full of twists and turns, spine-tingling drama, and ghostly encounters. The vibrant characters leap off the page, and the narrative is incredibly deep-addressing issues such as acceptance, bullying, loyalty, hatred, revenge, and being true to yourself and destiny-all perfectly packaged without being simplistic or preachy. VERDICT A captivating and highly recommended read. Teens will not want this tale to end.-Donna Rosenblum, Floral Park Memorial High School, NY

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2016
Grades 8-11 When her father falls into a mysterious coma, native New Yorker Samantha Mather moves with her stepmother to Salem, hometown of her ancestors, only to be faced with a chilly reception. Sam is related to Cotton Mather, one of the men responsible for the Salem Witch Trials, and the descendants of some of those witches are less than pleased to have a Mather back in town. But the rift runs deeper than that: Sam's presence unlocks a generations-old curse, and she must join forces with a bitter ghost and a group of girls convinced she's the enemy if she has any chance at stopping it. The many plot threadsghost story, love story, historical updatecrowd the narrative, but debut author Mather adds depth thanks to intriguing personal experience: she is an actual descendant of Cotton Mather and witnessed Salem's prejudices toward the name firsthand. Witches, and the witch trials in particular, are a perennially high-interest topic, and this interpretation should snare an audience.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

October 3, 2016
When her father’s illness forces 15-year-old Samantha “Sam” Mather and her stepmother to move to Salem, Mass., her family’s connection to the witch trials makes Sam a target of the Descendants, girls whose ancestors were among the accused witches. After Sam befriends a charming young ghost named Elijah, she begins to piece together just how much of Salem’s past continues to haunt its present; forming a tentative truce with the Descendants may be the only way to break a 300-year-old curse. Mathers’s characters are strong and well-rounded, but her skill as an audiobook narrator pales in comparison. She carries the story along at a decent pace, but she never fully realizes the dramatic depth and nuances of her own material. When she comes alive is the very end of the book, in her the author’s note. There her personality shines through as she details her family history (including the fact that she is a descendant of the real Cotton Mather), how she came to write the book, and how she feels the witch trials are relevant today. The same enthusiasm and expressiveness would have raised this audiobook from serviceable to memorable. Ages 12–up. A Knopf hardcover.