Abigail Hobbes is a young woman in Salem Village whose happy childhood is taken away when she becomes 13 and made to behave as a woman of the village. A different look at the prejudices and fears that lead men to act as savages.

An interesting take of the Salem story. It is nicely done. The drawing is great and colour pallet sets off the sense of doom and gloom. The narrative is perfect and flows well throughout. It kept my attention going all the way through and I read it in one sitting. I look forward to part two.

I wasn't really a fan of this one. The artwork wasn't really my kind of thing and I wasn't a fan of the heavy religious element. Sure I had kind of expected it, it being the beginning of the Salem Witch Trials (at least, that's what I'm guessing, judging by the title (I have not read the synopsis)), but yeah it just didn't pique my interest that much...

I received this book in exchange for a honest review from NetGalley.

Wow... this graphic novel. I had really high hopes. The author claims that this is a gender and race based narrative on the Salem witch trials which I guess it is but there are many points where it fails to do this effectively. The writing is incredibly simplistic and lacks any kind of depth. All of its points are very blatantly made and the art is graphic, jarring, painful and in ways gratuitous. There are many times that the message is skewed and does not feel appropriately handled and feels more like gratuitous violence against women and racism. Overall I understand the points that the author was trying to make but it was definitely a ham-fisted attempt. All in all the book felt as if the author was trying to man-splain feminist and racism to me with the Salem witch trials as a backdrop.

An entertaining account of the dreadful events in Salem Town. The Salem Witch Trials is a topic that never stops reinventing itself, always changing and inspiring new versions of the same story, and this one in particular becomes crude enough, although the most interesting elements are all minimized and often kept at bay. The art is also a problem for me, for it exaggerates the scenes, making them too over dramatic most of the time. It keeps the core and feelings, but takes them too high for them to remain visibly real. There are several ideas that are yet to be explored and hope to see them in the second volume, but I doubt this series will keep my interest if things don't improve.

Full review to be published in my personal blog. Will post the link once published.

Simplistic writing style, dull and depressing story with the stereotypes of women's oppression. Or maybe I'm not right kind of reader for this. Art was graphic and simple too, but kind of fits the story (those gory and violent scenes were quite good, I felt uncomfortable looking at them - if that was intention, then good!).

This fictional re-imagining of the Salem Witch trails is really good. You can really see how other agendas take toll in this graphic novel. I am really excited to read the rest of the series. I think it will really get people interested especially in this day and age.

Definitely not what I was expecting.

The illustration style was not my cup of tea. I was hoping for a clear message of resilience but the story was just super depressing. Lots of graphic violence. I’m not sure who the audience is supposed to be for this book. I would not recommend.

I'm an easy mark for witchcraft-related stories - while this one isn't an especially new take on the witch trials, it's still very enjoyable historical fiction (and that's not something I say very often). The art is great, the plot is fast-moving, and I'm very much looking forward to another installment.

What I liked:
The artwork was interesting and suited the narrative.
The storyline was interesting, moved quickly, and seemed unique against other Salem-based stories.
I liked the response of the women at the end.

What I didn't like:
The ambiguity over Mikweh's age. It describes him as a man during the time when Abby is 13 and 15. This dislike is mainly based on a personal pet peeve of media romanticizing relationships between men and young girls, and since Mikweh's age is never described as being close to Abby's, it's a little creepy, even in historical context. In future volumes it would be great if it was revealed that he was close in age to her. I would like him a lot better as a character.

"The Daughters of Salem" is an enjoyable start to a graphic novel series about young ladies living in Salem right before the witch trials begin. We mostly follow Abigail, the 14 year old protagonist, who innocently gets herself into trouble by accepting a gift from a male childhood friend. The story also covers the racism and xenophobia that the residents of Salem displayed towards Natives, from physical violence to grotesque stories made up by the white people to scare their children.

I'm interested to see where the story goes from here.

I wasn't very fond of this story. Thomas Gilbert says in the introduction that this was not history but based on what actually happened. The writer wanted to focus on what the Salem citizens did to their daughters. I did notr anticipate that the plot would include making Abigail Williams a victim and that Native Americans would be portrayed as vehicles of the devil. I was not pleased.

I wasn't overly fond of the art but It did fit well with the time period so overall that was a great choice.

Europe Comics delivers yet another telling graphic novel from the experiences of others and their historical tradition. One story from the early settlement of Puritans in America was the account of what turned a community upon itself in the township of Salem.
It is good that the author has used this background of intense religious fervour and fear of the Devil in their midst to set his story. In his introduction Thomas Gilbert says he was drawn to the breakdown of a society grapling with indians and forging an existence from farming in difficult soil and inclement weather. Where they might except God's blessing and provision but when things get hard and hunger bites, they fragment and pick on the weaker members of the community to scapegoat and blame for all their ills and label them as responsible for the devil's curse.
It is a harsh time and women were less than equals in the family, viewed has chattels but lusted after once entering puberty. The church preaches sin and hell's fires, but the labourers rely more on their own strength at times and resent the money given to the minister and the church when crops still fail and life remains hard.
In making the female characters the most empathetic and compassionate the author raises the issues and places the women in the story at risk. But in showing their wisdom and simple faith he presents an innocence amid the clouds that duly arise from suspicion and ignorance. So when things go wrong it pays not to be different; demonstrate love where the majority have mistrust and fear in their hearts. In this society the weak can be targeted; the crowd can behave without thought, distruction and death can quickly follow on.
The story is creatively told, Abigail Hobbs is a spirited young girl living at a time when women were misunderstood, and not to be valued outside the kitchen and bedroom. Abigail's courage and love of life are at odds with this time and those she is drawn to and cares about leave her vulnerable.
The story is just the beginning; to be continued in future episodes. There is enough here to allow the reader to reflect and consider the lot of women still in the 21st century. A comic book that is dark, a fiction based on a brutal, extreme time, but with a message that should reverberate through every society where people remain marginalised whether due to gender, faith or background and continued to be blamed for problems. Refugees, migration, homeless and the unemployed. Extremism is prevelent still today; intolerance bubbles under a PC facade and mobs are now driven by political dogma as much as radical beliefs.
A worthwhile message is conveyed in these pages.
If we can but see and learn.

Trigger warnings for some images of gore, killings, and some involving animals.

I love reading anything having to do with witches, especially the Salem Witch Trials. It’s terrible what happened, but the faith and beliefs of many went way overboard.

This graphic novel introduces our main character, Abigail, who explains what events changed the Salem she lived in and the domino effect that occurred afterwards. The difference in this telling of the witches of Salem is that Abigail has a secret forbidden love interest.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel! I believe the art wasn’t the greatest, however, for the particular story, it seemed to fit well. Some of the art had a great creepy factor which I absolutely love. The story overall was good and I would be curious to read more. I’d recommend this to any who enjoy graphic novels and reading about the horrors of the Salem Witch Trials.

Thank you so much to the author, publishers, and Netgalley for the oppressed to read an advance copy of The Daughters of Salem!

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect with this title, but was intrigued. The art style isn't my favorite, but it was fitting for the setting, if a little simplistic. I thought that the spin on the story of the Salem Witch Trials was interesting and would like to see how the story continues. It does paint some common themes that certainly fueled or contributed to the witch trials, but then gave them a twist, or provided different motivation to the characters. It will be interesting to see where this story will go, but it's probably not my favorite interpretation.

This wasn't what I expected, and honestly I didn't really like it. The writing was very simple, the art was very graphic, and the story line was dull. I don't really see how this could be considered "feminist", but it does show a little how women were/are portrayed, but not with much depth on either side of the story.

I didn't realise this was a comic style book, I've never seen or read a graphic novel before and wasn't sure what to expect.

The storyline was what grabbed my attention as it sounds like a fascinating, feminist take on events in history.

Sadly the speech bubbles and illustrations put me off reading it and I found I couldn't concentrate on it at all. This will probably be great for anyone who likes reading comics, but I have found a graphic novel is not for me at all and I couldn't finish it so am unable to comment on the story.

The illustrations don't really appeal much to me either, the faces are ugly and the pictures rather colourless.

The Daughters of Salem (aptly subtitled "How We Sent Our Children to Their Deaths") is a fictionalised reimagining of the Salem Witch trials in 1690s Massachusetts. The main character, Abigail Hobbs comes of age and rejects a local boys proposal which starts off a chain of events that leads Salem into a state of hysteria. Neighbour turns on neighbour, friend turns on friend, all leading up to Salem's darkest time.

I'll read anything that 1) has anything to do with witches or potential witches and 2) anything with mass panic and confusion (you know those end of the world films where everyone runs from tidal waves screaming etc. that's my jam). This seemed to encompass both of those and it has been a bloody long time since I last picked up a graphic novel, 2014 me would be ashamed, so here we are and here's what I thought:

This graphic novel explorers themes of religion, politics, womanhood, survival, fertility and more, a true exploration of real fears that the people of Salem (more so for women) would have experienced day to day. Shown through the beautiful, gory and graphic art work it really brought a sense of panic and the macabre to the story. There is also a small romantic subplot involving a Native American which really added to the whole experience even if it was a bit instalove, a fragment of hope through love in an otherwise morose time.

I enjoyed the theme of sisterhood that this book brought and it was definitely my favourite aspect. In face of all the atrocities and hysteria the story managed to bring together a group of young women who would stand by each other, a haven to escape the patriarchal control of their home. I'm not sure how this will hold up in later volumes when the hysteria reaches its peak but I have a strong belief that these women will stand by the sisterhood til the end.

While I did enjoy certain aspects of this graphic novel it was hard for me to wholly love. Firstly, the writing style was just a bit basic and I couldn't put my finger on who this was aimed at (but I'm guessing young adult?). The language and style of the characters speech was more juvenile than I would expect of a fourteen year old girl so I found it a bit simple, lacking and juxtaposed with the very adult illustrations. I have since however found out that this was actually a translation so it may not a true reflection of the author's original.

If I'm being picky, the story I found a bit dull, I was compelled enough to keep reading but when I wasn't reading it I wasn't thinking about it at all. The story would often jump from scene to scene changing the subject when in was just starting to enjoy where the current scene was going. I just needed a little more resolve throughout rather than just snippets.

I will read Part 2 when it surfaces in English as it was short and sweet and I really did enjoy parts that I hope will further explored in subsequent volumes.

The Daughters of Salem was...not good. It was meant to be feminist but fell into the stereotypes of women's oppression without actually having anything important to say, and was, quite frankly, borderline racist in places. Study of the history of Salem is already historically about understanding female oppression and scapegoating, and The Daughters of Salem simply didn't add anything to that and ended up adding elements that muddied the waters instead.

The writing is too simple and cliche'd. It's narrated, so the text doesn't build on what the images show, it just tells us the story that isn't conveyed in the images. It reads like something aimed at a much, much younger audience than it is. Overall I think it simply lacked any real depth.

There are much better books on the subject matter that tackle it much more effectively. If The Daughters of Salem had not been so graphic in its art and violence I might have recommended it as an introduction to pique interest in the subject for middle-schoolers. But its images have an adult audience in mind, where its text appeals to much younger.

This was a very interesting graphic novel. I have read other graphic novels in the past, but this was the first "dark" one I have read. The imagery was often disturbing, to emphasize the darkness of the setting. I don't know a whole lot about the Salem witch trials, and this book has re-ignited my curiosity. It's one of the darkest times in American History. The countless people, women mostly, who were put to slaughter for no reason, it's messed up.
I look forward to part 2, this book had quite the cliffhanger.