The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

Summary: "Forced to leave her sunny Caribbean home for the bleak Connecticut Colony, Kit Tyler is filled with trepidation. As they sail up the river to Kit's new home, the teasing and moodiness of a young sailor named Nat doesn't help. Still, her unsinkable spirit soon bobs back up. What this spirited teenager doesn't count on, however, is how her aunt and uncle's stern Puritan community will view her. In the colonies of 1687, a girl who swims, wears silk and satin gowns, and talks back to her elders is not only headstrong, she is in grave danger of being regarded as a witch. When Kit befriends an old Quaker woman known as the Witch of Blackbird Pond, it is more than the ascetics can take: soon Kit is defending her life. Who can she count on as she confronts these angry and suspicious townspeople?"

Review: So it had been a while since I read this one, and I had forgotten a lot of it. And I'd forgotten how much I liked it.

So good! It's a great book about coming of age and kindness for others, and adjusting to the people around you while staying true to who you are.

And sure, there are a couple of stereotypes (for instance, Goodwife Cruff and Mercy don't have too much character development beyond Woman Who Is Mean To A Young Girl For No Apparent Reason and Crippled Saintly Sister, respectively), but there are also characters who overcome their initial stereotypes, like Kit's uncle Matthew, who comes through for Kit despite how much he looks down on her lack of a work ethic early in the story, and Dr. Bulkeley, who insists in treating Mercy's fever, despite strong political differences with Matthew (and also despite being SUPER pompous early in the book).

I also liked all of the romances portrayed; they were all pretty natural and realistic, despite the use of my least favorite plot device: "I LOVE him! I ALWAYS loved him! I just never realized it until now!" Ugh. Gag. (Not to say that it doesn't happen in real life, because it does, but not as often as it does in books and movies.)

Overall, it was great to read this one again.

Goodreads Shelves: addictive, bechdel-test, i-own-it, is-this-a-kissing-book, my-kind-of-woman, read, thought-provoking

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