Review - How We Sent Our Children to Their Deaths

How We Sent Our Children to Their Deaths (The Daughters of Salem #1)
by Thomas Gilbert
Date: 2019
Publisher: Europe Comics
Reading level: A
Book type: graphic novel
Pages: 106
Format: e-book
Source: NetGalley

Colonial Massachusets, early 1690's. When a young girl in a Puritan town rejects a farmer boy's gift and instead slips out into the forest to dance with a young man from the Abenaki tribe, it sets off a chain of events resulting in one of the worst cases of mass hysteria in U.S. history, as neighbor turns against neighbor and friends accuse friends of the most terrible things. A fictional re-imagining of the Salem Witch Trials, in which gender politics, religion, xenophobia, innocent games of fortunetelling, and one man's sinful indiscretion are all factors that lead to the deadly witch hunt.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

I didn't like this. I thought a fictionalized account of the Salem Witch Trials in a graphic novel format would be just my thing. But I found it to be a rather weak book all around.

For starters, some of the writing just doesn't ring true. At times, some characters use turns of phrase that sound like they're from the 21st century.

Second, I really disliked the artwork. Everyone is drawn to be haggard and ugly, and as a result, the whole village looks like it's populated by senior citizens. The main character is only supposed to be fourteen, but she looks more like she's forty. Because of this style that permeated everything, I also had a hard time telling the characters apart. The men and women sometimes look so similar that if you can't see their full bodies, you might not know who you're looking at.

Third, this is a graphic graphic novel. I mean, the scenes of violence are stomach-churningly awful. You see brains. You see entrails. You see a man with his face blown off. There are graphic animal killings as well, including a dog who gets his head bashed in. This book is not for anyone who can't stand seeing explicit violence. Reader discretion is definitely advised.

Like many graphic novels, we just start to get into the plot when the book ends. We haven't really seen much in the way of the familiar parts of the Salem Witch Trials story yet. But I'm afraid I don't have any interest in continuing with this series. It's too slow, too modern, and far too graphic for my taste.

Thank you to NetGalley and Europe Comics for providing a digital ARC.

Plot: 2/5
Characters: 1/5
Pace: 2/5
Writing & Editing: 1/5
Illustration: 1/5
Originality: 2/5

Enjoyment: 1/5

Overall Rating: 1.38 out of 5 ladybugs