Imagine coming from the "shimmering turquoise water of Barbados" to the "bleak shore line" of Connecticut. Katherine, a young girl, had to go through this tremendous experience in The Witch of Blackbird Pond. The author, Elizabeth George Speare, tells this stimulating story about a girl who tries to fit into the obstinate town of Wethers-field. The whole town, from the moment she first set foot on shore, had an evil eye on her, because rumors had spread that she could swim, a sign of witchcraft. Speare blends historic 1600's and the Puritan revolt into a thrilling novel.

The setting of this tiny town is what I enjoyed the most. Speare's descriptive passages gave me a vivid picture of the town, "The shore was muffled in thick scarves of drifting mist." The bleak gray setting of the river that engulfed their town gave a mood to the story of the laborious life that settlers had to endure. The setting seemed to hold together this delightful tale as yarn holds together a rug.

Elizabeth Speare wrote one of the best historic fiction stories I have ever read. It won my approval because its wonderful descriptions of water kept me interested. .