I was excited about this book after reading the author's note about how it was a feminist take, meant to paralel current events, but unfortunately I was quickly disappointed.
The art, while not something I would place on my "favourites", fits the story and it would be just fine were it not in such a low quality -- I'm not sure if this is because I'm reading a galley or not, but I would not be happy to pay for something I can hardly read -- but what disappointed me the most was the writing; right away you're faced with showing *and* telling, and it continues on to become very unsubtle condemnations on racism or sexism, and while I don't mind a bit of handholding it can quickly become too much, and all it resulted in was frustration, not to mention the boredom overall.
However, I would like to mention that the amount of text per page, which can be overwhelming in comics sometimes, was just right; and there were also some interesting developments such as the friendship with the native american boy (I'm not very content with the word "Indian" being used here) and the exposition on his religion. Unfortunately the good, for me, doesn't outweight the bad and as such I wouldn't recomend this, for there's surely better things to do with your time.

This was an okay read. The best part about this story is the art! I thought it was unique and beautiful but the story lacked a bit for me.

This story didn't intrigue me. When I read the opening, I was very excited but halfway through, I felt like it read more like a children's book than anything. I can understand it being historical fiction but I feel like it is better suited to children than adults.

The illustrations were very creepy. I didn’t really care for the story. It made me uncomfortable. I don’t usually get uncomfortable about books.

"Rather than search for the devil within us…let’s hunt the one who looks foreign.” – Thomas Gilbert

I love everything Salem and witch related, so naturally I had to read this graphic novel. The Daughters of Salem How We Sent Our Children to Their Deaths: Part 1 by Thomas Gilbert was very vivid and intriguing.
(TW: animal cruelty & violence.)

The story follows a few young women and how their community turns on them. There is no actual witchcraft present, but it gives the feeling of ungodliness and injustice. The root of the story shows how these women come together in the darkest of times. If you’ve read about the Salem witch trails, you’ll know that the women prosecuted were the ones who didn’t fit into society. It wasn’t that they did something wrong, but more that they stood out.

The novel touches on some topics and circumstances which is still present today. People who are different are seen as wrong and often rejected by society. Of course this is changing, but there are still the close-minded communities trying to suppress people with different mindsets. In the novel, the women who don’t follow the rules are seen as going against God. It creates ends up creating a thin line between what is right and what is wrong.

I liked the underlying feminist vibes which gave a sense of sisterhood and defiance. I also liked the colorful pictures that managed to get quite a few emotions from me.
If you’ve read the play Vinegar Tom by Caryl Churchill you will most likely like this graphic novel and vice verse.

* Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review.

The story is interesting, but I did not expect it to include such graphic imagery. Some panels were too much for me personally... The art style and bleak colours contribute to the atmosphere of the story, but so far the story itself is pretty predictable.

Not a fan! At all. I do not care for this art style, it’s very choppy to me and grotesque. I also don’t care to see physical abuse or animal abuse in my graphic novels. I should have known this was going to be dark for me, so that’s my fault. Thank you for the chance to read this though!

Cool story in this graphic novel. The art style is simple but works well with the uneasiness of the plot. Worth a read.

I initially picked out this publication for my interest in the compelling art and to see how the author told the story about Salem differently than what rests in the American consciousness.

We follow the main character Abigail, as a chain of events in her town are set off by a male childhood friend handing her a statue. After the fated exchange, the reader is witness to heightened mass hysteria due to the town's sexism, xenophobia, and fear invoked by religious ideology. Abigail is witness to and reflects on the absurdity of punishing people based on an imagined spectre of sin that haunts the town's collective imagination. What frustrates and confuses Abigail is how she sees this imaginary spectre being created by the town's pastor and the town's men. This spectre is used to punish mostly women or people who are perceived as "other."

What made this retelling the most interesting was the visual representation of the relationship between the main character and one of the native boys from the nearby Native American tribe. I feel like growing up, this part of the story was not discussed, so to see it in this story was fascinating.

What I enjoyed most was the visuals, despite how graphic they were in depicting violence against women and indigenous people. This violence continues today - the horrific part was not only in seeing those images, but realizing that the story is not so far from how women and indigenous people are still treated by society. I's just that now, violence takes a different form.

A very intriging story with peculiar characters , I travelled to Salem while reading it . The graphics are amazing and they really fit with the story . But the thing is ; Sometimes I was lost between the characters and the events and the fact that this novel was short did not do well . I still recommend it to every person who is looking for a spooky/ atmospheric read .... Because it was surely one !

3.5 stars!
This graphic novel was interesting!! The characters were also interesting. I was a little disappointed but if you love the history of Salem you will love this book.
Thanks to Netgalley for this e-arc in exchanges of my honest review.

I found this graphic novel part 1 on NetGalley and had to give it a try if only to just see what it had to say about the witch trials or what it chooses to portray.  I was really interested when I saw that in the brief description, it said that this graphic novel gives a slightly different view of what happened and what started the crisis.  Alternative histories, especially ones that deal with topics like gender and sexuality, are always something interesting to read or view, especially in the current political and social climate of the United States. 

I have never read a graphic novel that was steeped in historical events and ideas.  I think its really neat to combine historical facts with possibly fictional retellings or recreations of those historical figures.  While it may be fictional, it helps to highlight the mass hysteria that occurred and enlighten readers to the absurdities that occurred at the time and how easy the "hive mentality and hysteria" can take over and ruin a town or community, as well as families and lives.   

I enjoyed the illustration style for this graphic novel.  The panels weren't the prettiest or perfect, but I do think that it was done on purpose and works perfectly for this graphic novel.  It helps build the atmosphere of the subject and just lends a gritty, rough, and dark feeling to the piece overall.  It is the perfect atmosphere creator for this graphic novel.  With the overall feeling of the art panels, what is portrayed is also quite dark and violent.  There are multiple pieces death-scenes or murders that are grisly and graphic as well as some panels that are just violent in general.  The art perfectly matches the grim and bleak setting where fear and hysteria dwelled. 

For me, the best part was the complete lack of supernatural elements as scapegoats or ways of explanation.  It ultimately strips the story down to being a problem of humanity and elements that go into that such as sexuality and religion.  It also helps to show how quickly things can escalate when an air of fear permeates everything.  It's an interesting way of looking at the world and cultures, and perhaps understanding shortcomings of culture throughout history.      

I also LOVED the image of the female in this one and how the storyline shows that the problem was mainly based in fear, especially when related to women in the community and what they were doing in their spare time.  This graphic novel gives a new view of key figures of the Salem Witch Trial period -- Abigail Hobbs and her family, Elisabeth Parris and her father Reverend Parris, Tituba, Sarah Good, and Bridget Bishop and her mother.  In most of the examples of characters, they are pictured as destitute, sad, and not capable of much.  This is juxtaposed with the meeting of all the women, early on in the graphic novel, and the conclusion that the women in this text are not as stricken down or weak as they appear.  The ending of this graphic novel is curious, as some important plot changes happen and we end with Bridget's mother and her pleas to a god.      

On Goodreads, I gave this one four stars because of its storytelling and the way the art directly enhances the plot.  I love when graphic novels don't rely on one or the two elements (art and writing) more than the other; for me, they should exist in a symbiotic relationship.  This graphic novel did this perfectly in my opinion.  I am so curious to see what happens in part two of this series, especially with where this one ended.

*I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free book.*

Abigail is 14 and lives in Salem, Massachusets, in the 1690s. After a happy childhood, Abigail has to realise that her transformation into a woman makes her prone to sexual harassment and that she isn't safe any longer. When she meets a young man from the Abenaki tribe in the forest, things change...

This re-telling of the Salem Witch Trials take on issues like gender politics, xenophobia and religion.

I enjoyed this re-telling and also thought that the love story between Abigail and Mkweh is very sweet. Looking forward to #2 as the story isn't finished yet...

4 Stars.

Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Salem holds a strong place in the American psyche. In part, this is due to making students read Arthur Miller’s the Crucible. Perhaps it is the stories that surround the town of Salem itself. The story itself has been examined a variety of ways. Thomas Gilbert’s feminist take is not the first such.
Though it might be the best fictional take.
Gilbert’s story focuses on the young girls in the town of Salem, in particular Abagail, and how the women are controlled by the male dominated society. He also works in the culture clash between the Native Americans and the European colonizers.
It is a harsh story, but the way Gilbert tells it, it becomes a more powerful story. It tackles the issues of how a society views those who are different. The focus on the fear of the other as well as a woman’s ability to reproduce make this story and graphic novel timely.
It should be noted that some of the artwork and content material is graphic. The artwork is a perfect match to the story.

It's okay. The author's intent is good, but it's a bit too obvious: "let's hunt the devil outside instead of within..."
It's a bit too wordy, too. I was hoping for more.

The Daughters of Salem was a uniquely interesting graphic novel to read. I have never picked up a historical fiction GN before--never really realized that it was a genre, to be honest--but it was neat! The novel combines fiction and fact about main character Abigail Hobbes. Her once safe and amorous hometown becomes a place of prejudice and fear towards nearly everything--sexuality, filth, religion, outsiders (especially Native Americans). These scenes are violent at times and difficult to read and wrap your mind around because of their nature, but history just is that way sometimes.

The story itself, I felt, is a little sporadic because in the beginning it really is about Abigail and her setting up the story and in the town. She is a girl and a local boy gives her a small, hand-carved gift. To the women of Salem, this means entering womanhood. After this sequence, her eyes are opened to the hysteria of the adults. The world is broadened and this is where I feel the story line is broadened and Abigail is no longer the consistent story teller. I still liked the uniqueness of the novel and the time period, but it did feel too broad to me. It felt like it left off too suddenly, but I will keep an eye out for the next installment. I am eager to see where the series goes.

I was looking forward to reading this new graphic novel. However, it didn't quite deliver for me. I thought the storyline was great and kept my attention throughout. Unfortunately I didn't care enough about characters to spend longer enjoying the story and I found the art style almost distracting. Despite this, I will be keeping an eye out for the next instalment!

WOW...I was reading some reviews for this book and see a lot of negative feedback. Let me tell you this book deserves all the positive feedback it can get. It is so great.

The Salem Witch Trials everyone has heard of, or has read the history.
The Daughters of Salem gets pretty graphic in the loose history of the Witch Trials of Salem. From rape, murder, persecution all wrapped up in a sketchy illustrated style. I really loved this book. It set in the victims point of view mostly, so you get to see some really bad stuff. I really enjoyed the book.

Totally buy it.

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Okay so let me start by putting a list of Trigger Warnings since the author and everyone who worked on this book clearly don't know how to do that.
- A lot of grapphic images of violence, deaths, blood and cruelty
- Sexual assaults
- Racism (Even though given the time period the book is set in you can kind of expect it ? But it doesn't make it less violent)
-Violent acts of misogyny

Now, with all of that, it really didn't help me enjoy this book. At all. I had to pause my reading several time because I felt too trigger. But guess what, all of that could have been avoided if someone had just put trigger warnings !

Also the art style wasn't doing it for me and the overall plot didn't peak my interest very much.

First I want to thank the publisher for letting me advance read this little gem.
I’m a huge comic fan, wether it’s new ideas,retellings, historical, you name it I love reading them. The art work for me in this one was a bit strange, was kinda scratch art/borderline realistic/old school. So I didn’t love the art, colors were good and made sense. Storyline however was where it excelled. You’re sent to a tale of old Salem back where the “witches” were started though it’s not massively discussed yet it’s left open for the next installment to dwell more into it. I wish it went just a smidge more into the characters it was set up and everything to discuss and get that storyline developed but som thing paused it and it took a left turn on the reader. I believe it did quite a bit of character swapping and I hope we see a bit more of Abigail and the man to figure out how that will end or if it’s to end tragically. Either way it was intriguing. End was abruptly on and the religious aspects were definitely leading into the next being that bad omens are happening.