WICKED GIRLS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Hemphill, Stephanie. 2010. WICKED GIRLS: A NOVEL OF THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS. NewYork: HarperCollins Children’s Books. ISBN 978-0-06-185328-9 

I first reviewed this title as an audio book for my Literature in Children and Young Adults class at Texas Woman's University. You can read the review here. I fell in love with it and have recommended the print version to many of my middle schoolers. But something strange happened--most readers, usually girls, returned it within a day or two. It was getting abandoned, and quickly. Why?

I decided to review this title again, but this time in the print version. I need to experience the difference between the two, so that I can understand why this book, which I love, is getting abandoned.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

WICKED GIRLS is an historical fiction verse novel by Stephanie Hemphill. The novel takes the reader through the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, albeit from the perspective of the original mean girls who launched the accusations. There are three character voices in this novel: Ann (12 years old), Mercy Lewis (17) and Margaret Walcott (17).

Each poem is told by a different girl and is titled with a clever hint, sometimes ominously, of what is to follow. For instance, MINE FOR THE TAKING by Mercy Lewis, 17. In this poem, Mercy asserts her social authority over Margaret by gaining the attention of a young man, Isaac. Mercy doesn't really like Isaac, but still wants his attention. This shows Margaret who is really in charge of their social grouping:

Margaret be turned over.

I could melt her to nothing.

Hemphill does a fabulous job of capturing the time period via language, which I realized is the likely culprit of the abandoned book phenomena. My students are urban, Title One middle schoolers. Reading is a struggle, although our campus is making explicit decisions to build reading identities in our building. Over time, I believe reading levels will improve, but we're not there yet. One thing our staff universally agrees upon is that background knowledge and vocabulary prevent our students from accessing language.

Take a look at this stanza:

“Go on, stand ye by the Reverend,

And tell all what thou hast seen.”

Mister Putnam’s voice disavows

Hesitant feet. Ann scurries forth.

  Page 79   

For my students, the words YE and THOU would definitely cause them to lose track of meaning. To access this title, I need to provide a prep for them as part of my reader's advisory, or a more detailed book talk to a class. Using a document camera, I could reflect the image of the endpapers, which includes an author's note to build student background knowledge, plus the actual historical accounts of the figures involved. My kids need this information up front, so they are ready to read the fictionalized version. Inside the front cover, I can tape a quick-reference translation guide of common Elizabethan terms. For future editions of WICKED GIRLS, this might be a reference piece which could be added to improve the readability for struggling readers.

It was a different experience reading the book, as opposed to listening to it. For one, on the audiotape, different actresses read the parts. I realized, as I was reading the print version, that I had to flip back to the poem's title to sometimes remember who was narrating the poem. This is not an issue on the audiotape. The voice identifies the narrator clearly. This is another instructional opportunity for me to take with kids who want to read this title, i.e. explain that sometimes it will be important to refer back to the title of the poem to remember which girl is speaking the specific poem they are reading, and that THIS IS OKAY. My readers need to know that referring back, especially to keep track of characters, is something GOOD READERS DO! I did it (and I already knew the story!), and they should, too.

I will continue to recommend this title, in both print and audiobook. But, I will prepare my print readers differently now. I understand the pieces of the book which are likely bumping them out of the story. They are easily resolved with some instructional support prior to their reading the book. Now that I know this piece, I am confident it will be checked out and read, not abandoned. I love this book. It was breaking my heart to see it abandoned and I'm so glad I took the opportunity to explore it again from a strictly print perspective.

SPOTLIGHT POEM AND LESSON

This lesson is definitely for 8th grade and up. I only book talk or recommend this title to 8th graders, particularly girls. There are snippets of the poem MARGARET IN THE HOUSE which perfectly demonstrate the essential brattiness of these girls, so it illustrates precisely why they are wicked. I would read this excerpt to the kids:

MARGARET IN THE HOUSE

Mercy Lewis, 17

(excerpt only)

Ann grumps, "Margaret lights tapers 

so my room smells

of wax and burn. I hate it!

Why did she have to come?"

I shrug. "I think she was made to."

Ann throws down her brush.

"I might have to sleep in here with you."

"That would not please your mother."

"My mother will have to learn

to do as I wish, or perhaps

I shall call her a witch?"

Ann's voice is more question 

than statement.

Teens love to talk, especially about anything controversial. After reading it through once, I would allow the kids to  engage in a Turn and Talk with this focus question: "What do you think of Ann?" After a minute, I would take some responses and let them have a bit of fun tossing out their thoughts to the group. After our discussion, I would invite the kids to read it through with me, emphasizing the menacing nature of Ann's question in the last stanza.