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Did You Hear What Happened in Salem?: The Witch Trials of 1692
Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1692. When the first girl fell down screaming, the people of Salem Village thought it might just be silliness. Then a second girl started barking. A third and fourth began to shake uncontrollably. A doctor said “an evil hand” had come upon the girls, and everyone They were bewitched.
But who were the witches? Everyone knew that the unprotected residents of Salem—the poor, the elderly, the ones who were a little bit strange. Soon more girls were having fits and naming people as witches. The village erupted in accusations, suspicion, and fear. By the time the witch trials ended, dozens of lives had been ruined, and twenty people were dead.
And I saw it all.
With a snarky and surprising first-person narrator–a historical figure that played a major role in events–acclaimed writer Katie Kennedy offers a fresh new take on the greatest true-crime story in American history.
But who were the witches? Everyone knew that the unprotected residents of Salem—the poor, the elderly, the ones who were a little bit strange. Soon more girls were having fits and naming people as witches. The village erupted in accusations, suspicion, and fear. By the time the witch trials ended, dozens of lives had been ruined, and twenty people were dead.
And I saw it all.
With a snarky and surprising first-person narrator–a historical figure that played a major role in events–acclaimed writer Katie Kennedy offers a fresh new take on the greatest true-crime story in American history.
192 pages, Hardcover
Published September 2, 2025
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59 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 23, 2025
The conversational tone of this book about the Salem witch trials is what really stands out. The narrator has a way of exasperatingly asking, "how could this have happened?" while subtly leading the reader to question, "could this happen again?"
There are a lot of people to keep track of; a who's who list in the front does help with this, though I did find myself often asking, "who was that again?" Part of that is due to the speed and number of accusations flying.
Overall, this is an engaging middle grade nonfiction book with spirited illustrations which encourages readers to consult the evidence behind any accusation.
There are a lot of people to keep track of; a who's who list in the front does help with this, though I did find myself often asking, "who was that again?" Part of that is due to the speed and number of accusations flying.
Overall, this is an engaging middle grade nonfiction book with spirited illustrations which encourages readers to consult the evidence behind any accusation.
October 18, 2025
The greatest true crime story in American history.
🧙🏻♀️
Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1692 is where we meet several girls who begin randomly screaming, barking and shaking. This leads townspeople to believe they have been touched by an “evil hand” and thus, bewitched. The village erupts in fear, accusations, suspicion and rumors that lead to witch trials where twenty people died.
🧙🏻♀️
This is the kind of MG nonfiction I like to read! Told from first-person POV with a snarky and hilarious narrator we learn about the Salem witch trials in a way that will connect and hold our students’ attention. I need this to be a series!
CW: death, fire, imprisonment, mob mentality
🧙🏻♀️
Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1692 is where we meet several girls who begin randomly screaming, barking and shaking. This leads townspeople to believe they have been touched by an “evil hand” and thus, bewitched. The village erupts in fear, accusations, suspicion and rumors that lead to witch trials where twenty people died.
🧙🏻♀️
This is the kind of MG nonfiction I like to read! Told from first-person POV with a snarky and hilarious narrator we learn about the Salem witch trials in a way that will connect and hold our students’ attention. I need this to be a series!
CW: death, fire, imprisonment, mob mentality
December 28, 2025
Oops forgot to make that I finished this book lol. The sleeve of this book describes it as a history on the Salem witch trials with a podcast feel. That's not how I would describe this book. I originally started reading this with the kids and they gave up on me, so I think their feelings were similar to mine.
December 3, 2025
Obviously an interesting premise. Who doesn't have some curiosity around the witch trials?
This book, a middle grade nonfiction, was written from the perspective of the Hanging Tree (pretty obvious throughout, but isn't officially revealed until the end). It's not told as a narrative, though. It is told more like the transcript of a True Crime podcast or a really long newspaper article. Fact after fact after fact, with very little personality. The tree has a some sarcastic remarks scattered throughout the book, but on the whole, it just gives what happened without requiring any personal investment from the reader.
I got the point after 50% where I skimmed multiple chapters. 🤷♀️
I also got a bit mixed up (which was frustrating but also boring) because every other person was named Sarah, Ann, Mary, or John. The author can't help that the Puritans weren't very creative with their naming, but it was hard for me to keep track of who was whom.
All in all, it was very educational (I had no idea there were so many people accused, and that most of it happened in less than a year's time) but kinda bland.
Recommend if you're studying the trials or have a kid who is really fascinated by them. Otherwise, meh. 🫤
This book, a middle grade nonfiction, was written from the perspective of the Hanging Tree (pretty obvious throughout, but isn't officially revealed until the end). It's not told as a narrative, though. It is told more like the transcript of a True Crime podcast or a really long newspaper article. Fact after fact after fact, with very little personality. The tree has a some sarcastic remarks scattered throughout the book, but on the whole, it just gives what happened without requiring any personal investment from the reader.
I got the point after 50% where I skimmed multiple chapters. 🤷♀️
I also got a bit mixed up (which was frustrating but also boring) because every other person was named Sarah, Ann, Mary, or John. The author can't help that the Puritans weren't very creative with their naming, but it was hard for me to keep track of who was whom.
All in all, it was very educational (I had no idea there were so many people accused, and that most of it happened in less than a year's time) but kinda bland.
Recommend if you're studying the trials or have a kid who is really fascinated by them. Otherwise, meh. 🫤
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November 30, 2025“The Salem Witch Trials may be the greatest true crime story in history”
The publisher reached out to me to ask if I’d be interested in receiving this book and I said, a book about witches? Heck yea! It’s a kids book; aimed for ages 8 and up. I’m a teacher so I love discovering new books to bring into the classroom.
This story is told in the first-person narrator and she is fiery! She’s someone who played a major role during the Salem witch trials, and the tone of this book is what I really liked. I also liked the illustrations.
The book provides a “Who’s Who” list at the beginning, listing all the accusers and accused involved in the trials. The book has a chapter that talks about a traditional method used back then in England, and that was the use of a “witch cake” which was fed to dogs and it was supposed to somehow indicate who was a witch, and at the end of the book, the author gives us the recipe for this witch cake but I don’t think I’ll be making it 😂
Overall, I think this is a great book for middle-grade kids. I consider myself a witch and a lot of people get uncomfortable when I say that and I think society has a misconception of what it really means to be a witch. I think it’s important to teach children that being a witch isn't evil. It’s okay to feel connected to the earth and to the moon. Every time you make a wish and blow out your birthday candle; guess what? That’s witchcraft! There are so many commonly shared practices we all do, we just call them different names but the words “witch” and “witchcraft” just seem scarier to people. I could go on and on about this so I’ll just stop here.
I think this book is great for kids because it encourages them to not assume and accuse without actual evidence and to ask questions about something they don’t understand rather than assuming the worst, and to be more accepting and understanding.
Witches are the best ❤️
The publisher reached out to me to ask if I’d be interested in receiving this book and I said, a book about witches? Heck yea! It’s a kids book; aimed for ages 8 and up. I’m a teacher so I love discovering new books to bring into the classroom.
This story is told in the first-person narrator and she is fiery! She’s someone who played a major role during the Salem witch trials, and the tone of this book is what I really liked. I also liked the illustrations.
The book provides a “Who’s Who” list at the beginning, listing all the accusers and accused involved in the trials. The book has a chapter that talks about a traditional method used back then in England, and that was the use of a “witch cake” which was fed to dogs and it was supposed to somehow indicate who was a witch, and at the end of the book, the author gives us the recipe for this witch cake but I don’t think I’ll be making it 😂
Overall, I think this is a great book for middle-grade kids. I consider myself a witch and a lot of people get uncomfortable when I say that and I think society has a misconception of what it really means to be a witch. I think it’s important to teach children that being a witch isn't evil. It’s okay to feel connected to the earth and to the moon. Every time you make a wish and blow out your birthday candle; guess what? That’s witchcraft! There are so many commonly shared practices we all do, we just call them different names but the words “witch” and “witchcraft” just seem scarier to people. I could go on and on about this so I’ll just stop here.
I think this book is great for kids because it encourages them to not assume and accuse without actual evidence and to ask questions about something they don’t understand rather than assuming the worst, and to be more accepting and understanding.
Witches are the best ❤️
October 24, 2025
“Did You Hear What Happened in Salem? The Witch Trials of 1692” by Katie Kennedy is a new middle-grade true crime book chock full of interesting facts and narrative about that dark time in U.S. history. It was stunning to read on how such flimsy evidence from absurdly bad actors (the afflicted girls) that people were hanged for witchcraft. For a group of people so against witchcraft, the Puritans sure seemed to be experts on familiars, shapeshifting and witch identification techniques.
It truly seems that land feuds, vendettas (especially the Putnams), superstitions and boredom drove the carnage. I learned Salem Village and Salem Town were two distinct, but connected, areas in colonial Massachusetts. Salem Town being a prosperous, coastal port and Salem Village being a rural farming community provided some great context on the dynamics.
Famously, the touch test was employed to demonstrate a witch’s touch could stop the hysterical fits of a person they had bewitched. Same as how a person’s specter could float around torturing people, and how only the accusers could see it. (Convenient, right)? I’d never heard of the Venus glass but it seems this form of fortune-telling Betty Parris and Abigail Williams engaged in could have motivated their subsequent behavior. And until the colony got a new charter (that May) the “trials” were really pretrial examinations with people’s fates in limbo.
As an aside, I thought it was interesting that at the time of the trials Maine was part of Massachusetts. Who knew?
The story is told by an unnamed narrator whose identity really surprised me, yet it made sense. The reveal was toward the end. This may be my favorite paragraph in the entire book, which I found exceedingly well-written, “Hathorne visited Tituba in jail four times on March 2, 3, 5, and 7 to ask more questions. Tituba cheerfully spun off further details — vibrantly colored birds, fantastical beasts, and meetings of witches flying on sticks through the night. She created a remarkably vivid world, in contrast with slushy late-winter Salem with its leaden skies and the rough gray bark of the Hanging Tree.”
It truly seems that land feuds, vendettas (especially the Putnams), superstitions and boredom drove the carnage. I learned Salem Village and Salem Town were two distinct, but connected, areas in colonial Massachusetts. Salem Town being a prosperous, coastal port and Salem Village being a rural farming community provided some great context on the dynamics.
Famously, the touch test was employed to demonstrate a witch’s touch could stop the hysterical fits of a person they had bewitched. Same as how a person’s specter could float around torturing people, and how only the accusers could see it. (Convenient, right)? I’d never heard of the Venus glass but it seems this form of fortune-telling Betty Parris and Abigail Williams engaged in could have motivated their subsequent behavior. And until the colony got a new charter (that May) the “trials” were really pretrial examinations with people’s fates in limbo.
As an aside, I thought it was interesting that at the time of the trials Maine was part of Massachusetts. Who knew?
The story is told by an unnamed narrator whose identity really surprised me, yet it made sense. The reveal was toward the end. This may be my favorite paragraph in the entire book, which I found exceedingly well-written, “Hathorne visited Tituba in jail four times on March 2, 3, 5, and 7 to ask more questions. Tituba cheerfully spun off further details — vibrantly colored birds, fantastical beasts, and meetings of witches flying on sticks through the night. She created a remarkably vivid world, in contrast with slushy late-winter Salem with its leaden skies and the rough gray bark of the Hanging Tree.”
October 17, 2025
You Hear What Happened in Salem? The Witch Trials of 1692 by Katie Kennedy is a captivating tale that is essentially the original true crime story, and it’s totally addictive.
This middle-grade nonfiction account of the infamous witch trials in colonial America is filled with pure chaos and paranoia. It walks you through the first accusation to the ending, where 19 people are found guilty and tragically hanged for the crime of witchcraft.
What I Liked: The book opens with a Who’s Who list, giving background on both the Accusers and the Accused to help readers understand the characters. Black and white illustrations set the spooky tone for each chapter. The chapters themselves are short, but packed with riveting information including what a "witch cake" is and how people actually used it to try and sniff out a witch! It’s clear the book was heavily researched, and as a bonus, the author includes a list of additional books so you can keep learning.
Did You Hear What Happened in Salem? is a book that history lovers as well as true crime junkies will enjoy.
This review first appeared on YA Books Central and can be found here: https://yabookscentral.com/did-you-he...
This middle-grade nonfiction account of the infamous witch trials in colonial America is filled with pure chaos and paranoia. It walks you through the first accusation to the ending, where 19 people are found guilty and tragically hanged for the crime of witchcraft.
What I Liked: The book opens with a Who’s Who list, giving background on both the Accusers and the Accused to help readers understand the characters. Black and white illustrations set the spooky tone for each chapter. The chapters themselves are short, but packed with riveting information including what a "witch cake" is and how people actually used it to try and sniff out a witch! It’s clear the book was heavily researched, and as a bonus, the author includes a list of additional books so you can keep learning.
Did You Hear What Happened in Salem? is a book that history lovers as well as true crime junkies will enjoy.
This review first appeared on YA Books Central and can be found here: https://yabookscentral.com/did-you-he...
September 25, 2025
This is a rather detailed introduction of Salem Witch Hunt and Trials, and I love the beginning two chapters as it draws the readers with illustrative ideas. Yet the further is actually more like a retelling for each event.
I have to say it's more didactic than I imagined. I know it is a good lesson for readers to build critical thinking, but maybe it's for me, I think some of the murmur or self-talks are obvious and intentional.
The mixture of using the character's real name or "Goody" sometimes got me confused, but due to the number of cases the author intended to convey, it may be inevitable.
This is a hard book to write -- too many relations and too many speculations need to be considered.
If any middle-schoolers and up would like to learn more about Salem and the trials, it is a good start.
But if you would go further and learn more, I'd say Peabody Essex Museum's online guide is marvelous, that would be a great resource as well: https://www.pem.org/pemcast/pemcast-1...
I have to say it's more didactic than I imagined. I know it is a good lesson for readers to build critical thinking, but maybe it's for me, I think some of the murmur or self-talks are obvious and intentional.
The mixture of using the character's real name or "Goody" sometimes got me confused, but due to the number of cases the author intended to convey, it may be inevitable.
This is a hard book to write -- too many relations and too many speculations need to be considered.
If any middle-schoolers and up would like to learn more about Salem and the trials, it is a good start.
But if you would go further and learn more, I'd say Peabody Essex Museum's online guide is marvelous, that would be a great resource as well: https://www.pem.org/pemcast/pemcast-1...
November 10, 2025
This would work well if taught alongside The Crucible… but I’d rather just teach The Crucible. Don’t get it twisted; there’s good parts about this book: I like the illustrations, and it’s a serviceable way of delivering information about the Salem witch trials, I just didn’t like the narrator and the tone of this very much. It’s not for me (because I'm not a middle-grade reader nor a big fan of true crime), but I can see it functioning well as a companion text.
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November 11, 2025i appreciate the further reading list, but what are the sources for the historical information in the book?
December 27, 2025
Great hear overview for a younger audience. I enjoyed the perspective of the narrative as well as the support provided throughout.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews