Part one of The Daughters of Salem was a great set up story for what is to come, however you have to wait to get to more plot. In this installment, we meet the main character and learn how things are changing in the town of Salem.

There is a lot to take in with this graphic novel - there is violence and gender issues, and a lot of religion and it is all more disturbing than anything. I am very interested in Salem and the Witch Trials and thought this would be an interesting fictional take, and it kind of was, but I found myself cringing more than enjoying reading it. And I know that that is how a lot of the history is too, but as a fictional piece I was thinking it would take it another route.

There was a lot of violence in this set up, people are brutally killed and the whole thing just made me anxious for what is to come. Overall, it is probably more accurate than I was hoping for, and if you are interesting in those true-feeling aspects, then this could be more for you.

Although I could see the potential in this text, I was not able to sustain my attention and finish the narrative.

read part 1.

I'm not sure how I feel about this one. I'm interested in the Salem Witch Trials, but I'm not an expert or anything. I enjoy the drawing style, even though it is a bit to bloody at times for my taste..

not horrible, not fantastic. 3 stars.

Wow okay. That wasn't great, but wasn't completely terrible, but it definitely wasn't what I expected. At all.

I will say from the beginning, this is a re-imagining of the Salem witch trials, which I do not know a great deal about so I did do some quick research to see if there was anything that I didn't know before starting this.

I found this graphic novel not to be feminist, but I found it to be more oppressive towards women in the setting, without adding anything worthy within the topics it addresses. I understand that one of the topics it wanted to address was the xenophobia of the time, but I did personally feel it was borderline racist to the native Indian community within the novel.

This graphic novel confused me a lot. I'm still not sure what audience this book is aimed at. The writing was geared towards a young adult audience, with simplistic writing, which makes sense learning about the main character Abigail. The novel is written from the point of view of Abigail, a 14 year old. However, the writing did not match the illustrations for me or add anything to the written story either. The images were quite graphic, and I did find them somewhat gruesome and horrific at certain points. In saying this, I did enjoy the illustrations early on for the first 2 chapters.

Thank you very much to Europe Comics for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I honestly was not expecting so exciting or enthralling a tale nor as graphic an intense scenes but this is not for the faint of heart. A very reality grounded, intense drama thriller with more than enough gore brought forth by the fearful and the ignorant. I eagerly await the next volume. All the characters resonate and propel the story forward with gusto and the whole of the community is encompassed in intrigue and scandal brought on by a simple gift and a girls affention for someone she is forbidden to associate with. The preacher is both intense, realistic, and ghastly in his fever pitched quest to use religion for power and person gain.

This was so gritty and dark and gruesome, there were some panels I struggled to read, but some of the art was also beautiful, and the story was gripping!

I don't know what, really, it was that I expected to find from <i>The Daughters of Salem</i> by Thomas Gilbert but it definitely didn't match what came. And I think this largely comes from the degree to which this graphic novel is, for lack of a better phrase, incredibly graphic. The disturbing images that manage to sneak in at various points were rather difficult to stomach and ultimately I found myself feeling increasingly nauseous at times; a particular moment with an innocent dog comes to mind immediately, though I wish I could burn that image from my brain. What this ultimately comes down to is the fact that I wasn't looking for a horror story when I picked this book up, but rather an honest account of the terrible persecution that women faced in this time period. It feels like a horror story is what I got. Which, honestly, is fine if that's what a reader wants to get out of this book.

I don't know if I feel as though the book really calls out how truly awful some of the oppression females faced back then actually was and is. The fact that the main character, upon turning thirteen, is shamed for accepting a gift from a boy who'd been her friend for many years was a deeply disturbing and uncomfortable moment, especially when paired with the illustrations that depict the moment. The religious folk were incredibly awful as people, but definitely seemed accurate as far as my knowledge of this time period goes.

I wasn't overly fond of the way in which the novel was narrated, read as a sort of summary overlaying the events that happened in the story rather than really delving into the characters themselves, which I feel left us somewhat unable to get to know many of the characters better.

And finally, I just don't care for how the book ended. The majority of the novel was focused more on setting the scene for the time, the world, and the general thoughts of the people. There was never any mention of witches or even the witch trials, but rather it set up an understanding for how women were thought of at the time. And then it ended on a cliffhanger, with a known uneducated woman screaming up to god in the rain.

Overall, I felt that this was more of a horror story than a way of accounting the terrible events that happened during this time in Salem. I wouldn't say there was a whole lot wrong with the book, but rather that it wasn't my cup of tea.

<i>I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. </i>

Interesting concept, strengthened by good artwork, but weakened by poor writing. I don’t know that this was ultimately successful and I would have a hard time handselling this title. I’m not sure what the market for this title is.

There are what feels like thousands of retellings of the Salem trials, and this one, like many others, did not include any supernatural elements. Puritan life in New England is just creepy enough as it is, and its many horrific aspects can each be considered a trigger for that specific case of mass hysteria - this author chose a rather feminist point of view that thankfully did not exclude women as abusers and contributors to other womens' ordeals. Although I don't know how I feel about the (hopefully?) exaggerated presentation of girlhood/womanhood in this adaptation. The inclusion of Native American elements is not a new plot device for New England horror, but it worked okay here. The artwork - of course I was initially drawn in by the nice cover - has this messy visual appearance that ultimately worked well for the story, even though some panels' meaning isn't apparent right away. It did look great during the gory parts of it, that's for sure! When all is said and done, The Daughters of Salem is not a terribly unique retelling, but people with a special interest in Salem shouldn't miss it.

Nice to see some original thought and interpretation of Salem. The strong background of the community and it's characters define a new slant on a old story An interesting fictional account of political and religious upheaval very different from Miller's Crucible. .

I look forward to the next installment.

This comic does a tremendous job recapturing the mood of bigotry, mistrust and misoginy that dominated the Puritan settlers' harlem of Salem and ultimately led to the Salem witch hunt frenzy.

It is definitely not a comic for the faint of heart and is most definitely off limits for children and youngsters aged les than 15, but it will give you a vivid glimpse into a distant world whose dynamics, albeit reversed, we have seen in the recent #metoo hysteria. A very interesting read.

I received an advanced digital copy of this graphic novel from Netgalley.com and the publisher Europe comics. Thanks to both for the opportunity to read and review.

I'm not quite certain where to begin. Mr. Gilbert alludes to "the problem of femicide happening in Western societies claiming to uphold modern values and to denounce a society that has veered too far to the side of the patriarchy". He humbly likens his work to that of Arthur Miller's 'The Crucible'. A humble claim indeed.

And that's just in the letter to his readers. From there, it's poorly written and poorly illustrated nonsense pandering to the current poli-social climate. There's a very specific audience that Mr. Gilbert has written this for, and within that demographic it will probably become as referenced as Ms. Atwood's 'The Handmaid's Tale'.

I'm not certain which Western societies Mr. Gilbert is referring to, but I would suggest he learn the meaning of the word "femicide". Historically speaking, he should done more than glean a few historical names from Wikipedia. I am by no means an expert on the Salem Witch Trials, but even as a well read, armchair history buff on the subject, his artistic liberties with the stories and tragedies of real people were just too far fetched.

This was, in a word, terrible.

The Daughters of Salem is a first part in a retelling of the events that let up to the witch trials in Salem and focuses on the misogynistic atmosphere that was around in the puritan times. While this initially sounded like an interesting take on a well known story, it fell a bit flat for me.

The struggles of the women come across, but all of them seem overly done and I didn't care for any of the characters really. There was a part one easily might consider racist. The art was very modest, which fit the puritan themes but was not really my cup of tea either. I don't think I will be continuing this series, especially since I already know where it is heading.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Really enjoyed this despite the dark and depressing themes. The art style was wonderful! It really fitted the tone of the story and I was pleasantly surprised by how graphic it was at times. It made me feel uncomfortable but in the best way. It really reminded me of the comics by Fabien Vehlmann and Kerascoet. Looking forward to part 02!

This is a peculiar book. It has taken the Salem witch trials, and put in more hatred and death and destruction, and weird things when the main story was weird enough as it was.

It is all very confusing, and there are Native Americans thrown in for good measure, that are attacking the town, and becoming friends with one of the girls of the town.

The art is weird and grotesque, but so is the story.

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It could all be a translation thing. I didn't get what was going on half the time, and when I did, it was very disturbing. Perhaps this is not the best book for me. Your milage may vary.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

Embarrassingly and gratuitously grotesque and sensationalized. Subverts the feminist ideologies that it's desperately trying to convey. Reinforces the stereotypes it's attempting to pinion. And the art is...nothing special.

Disappointing.

A retelling of the Salem witch trials, the story begins from the point of view of a young girl, Abigail, who proclaims that it all began with a simple gift that she had taken. The fact that this particular statement doesn't come around full circle to complete the arc makes the story feel like it is incomplete. Still, the story evokes themes of misogyny, rigid puritanism, xenophobia and hints at how , what was a peaceful seeming town to Abigail became a hell to live in.

The simple choice of having a young teen girl as its protagonist means you get to see her eyes open to the harsh realities of living in a world where she is seen as a thing, where her freedoms are curtailed, where her actions are viewed as an invitation to scorn or lust, depending on the onlooker, and her finding that the lies told by her village's fiery pastor are much more than just impassioned speeches. The atmosphere of hate, fear and distrust that permeates after her being recognized as of age by the other woman of the town, as well as the betrayal she feels by them, are juxtaposed against the freedom and joy she feels when she meets a Native American boy, who meets her on the nearby forest trails along with her friend.

The story also doesn't shy away from displaying the cruelty of these so called 'civilized men of god', though it could have done with some reserve - there are multiple scenes of brutal killings, one animal and two human - as it does feel superfluous. Additionally, the story as a whole only feels like it has begun, without providing resolution for even one thing in this first volume. Obviously, there is more to come, but this one spends too much time setting up the characters, and driving home some points to feel like a complete book. The artwork is okay, having some well-drawn scenes and a loose style that fits the simplicity of the lifestyle.

Overall, though, it doesn't feel like a complete story arc.

I picked up Thomas Gilbert’s The Daughters of Salem: How We Sent Our Children to their Deaths on a whim. I was casually interested in the subject matter and I’ve grown to love the innovation and creativity of graphic novels so I felt the odds were in my favor.

Abigail Hobbs is a historic figure, as is Elisabeth Parris, but the friendship they share is wholly fictional and Gilbert uses their association to explore intolerance, the patriarchal structure of colonial America, and femicide in Western culture.

The artwork of this particular piece is simple but interesting. Gilbert incorporates some graphic imagery, but the material felt appropriate to his themes and I didn’t feel gratuitous by any means. That said, the characters were a little thin for my tastes and I wish there’d been more complexity in the narration.

An interesting comic. Really enjoyed reading about the character and see how the story would turn out. I am actually interested to see how the rest of the series would turn out.
Pretty graphic scenes at times. However, altogether I did enjoy the story.

This graphic novel seemed really appealing at first. I love stories about witches and this Salem Witch trials retelling seemed to have a lot of potential, unfortunately it fell short for me.

The artwork was nice, especially the landscapes and the way nature was drawn, but it was also very graphic at times. I am used to graphic novels being quite graphic but something bothered me in these drawings. Some scenes were really triggering.

I believe the plot could have a lot of potential but the way it was told felt like a mere succession of awful incidents and I didn't really manage to care for the characters. I was expecting a more hopeful message from this book and more bonding sisterhood moments.

This book just wasn't what I had expected.