giveaway: the heretic's daughter

Happy Halloween!! Thanks to Hachette, I have five copies of The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent to giveaway.

Here's the starred review from Publishers Weekly:
"A family's conflict becomes a battle for life and death in this gripping and original first novel based on family history from a descendant of a condemned Salem witch. After a bout of smallpox, 10-year-old Sarah Carrier resumes life with her mother on their family farm in Andover, Mass., dimly aware of a festering dispute between her mother, Martha, and her uncle about the plot of land where they live. The fight takes on a terrifying dimension when reports of supernatural activity in nearby Salem give way to mass hysteria, and Sarah's uncle is the first person to point the finger at Martha. Soon, neighbors struggling to eke out a living and a former indentured servant step forward to name Martha as the source of their woes. Sarah is forced to shoulder an even heavier burden as her mother and brothers are taken to prison to face a jury of young women who claim to have felt their bewitching presence. Sarah's front-row view of the trials and the mayhem that sweeps the close-knit community provides a fresh, bracing and unconventional take on a much-covered episode."

There's a Reading Group Guide for The Heretic's Daughter.

1. How was Sarah changed by living with her cousin Margaret? How was she changed by returning to her family?

2. What was it about Martha's character that seemed to antagonize so many neighbors?

3. What do you think was the most compelling reason that Martha was eventually brought to trial?

4. Discuss the various factors that lead to the witch hysteria.

5. Why did Martha choose to take a stand of innocence knowing that a refused confession meant death?

6. Why did Thomas, despite his size and capabilities, not seek to persuade or deter Martha from her course of action?

7. Why did the community of Salem, and the magistrates, so easily believe in and rely on "spectral evidence”?

8. How has reading the book changed your opinions about the men and women hanged as witches?

9. Are there modern day "witches”?

10. Can we, or should we, redefine the meaning of the word "witch"?

The rules: Enter by leaving a comment to this post with your email (if I can't contact you, you can't win). You can gain additional entries by leaving separate comments letting me know that you're a follower or have posted a link to the giveaway on your site. The deadline to enter is 11:59pm Pacific on November 21. Winners will be selected at random. Since this is from Hachette the winners must have mailing addresses in the US or Canada; no PO Boxes.