2008-10-22

Book Review: The Shape of Mercy

Got this free book in the mail and passed it on to my mom. She quickly read it, but I forgot to post her review. Because I want the books to keep on coming, so please indulge this quick summary by my mother. Thanks mom.

The Shape of Mercy
by Susan Meissner

I thought this book was great. It began in a mysterious subtle way to capture this reader’s curiosity, which only made me want to keep reading. The story was captivating, enough so that I now want to read more about the events surrounding the Salem witch trials.
The story line certainly had the main character questioning her own life, character and personality, as well as the reader. Certainly left the question in my mind of “what would I have done?”
The book is an easy read, but left me wanting to learn and research more about this tragic time in Salem’s history.

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Reluctant heiress Lauren Durough takes a part-time job to prove to herself she is more than a rich girl who’s been handed everything. She becomes the literary assistant to Abigail Boyles, an 83-year-old retired librarian who tasks Lauren with transcribing a diary that had belonged to Abigail’s ancestor Mercy Hayworth, a victim of the Salem witch trials.
Lauren finds herself drawn to this girl who lived and died four centuries ago. As the fervor around the witch accusations increases, Mercy becomes trapped in the worldview of the day; unable to fight the overwhelming influence of snap judgments and superstition, and Lauren realizes that the secrets of Mercy’s story extend beyond the pages of her diary, living on in the mysterious, embittered Abigail.
The strength of her affinity with Mercy forces Lauren to take a startling new look at her own life, including her relationships with Abigail, her college roommate, and a young man named Raul. But on the way to the truth, will Lauren find herself playing the helpless defendant or the misguided judge? Can she break free from her own perceptions and see who she really is?

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