Lauren Durough is the only child of a fabulously wealthy and successful entreprenurial father. She has spent her whole life trying to live up to the family legend of success and ability. But she doesn't want to do everything the way that she imagines her father wants her to and so she enacts small moments of rebellion, choosing to go to a state school instead of Stanford. She lives in a dorm with a roommate instead of alone in a fancy condo. And she has now decided that she wants to forgo the allowance that has made her college life so easy so she applies for a job. But Lauren is not finished walking off the beaten path, applying for a job in which none of the other English majors is interested. And when she goes to Abigail's gracious home and hears that the job is to transcribe Abigail's distant relative's diary from the time of the Salem witch trials, she wants the job desperately.

The novel weaves the stories of Lauren, the elderly Abigail, and the long deceased Mercy together. Mercy's diary was probably the most interesting bit of the story but instead of choosing to portray it in the language and tone of the times, Meissner chose to have the diary be in modern language which made it hard to distinguish between Mercy's voice and Lauren's. There was no real legitimate argument for having Abigail ask Lauren to not only transcribe the diary but to transliterate it as well to make it accessible to a modern reader. If Abigail's intention was to have the diary published, an intention she disclaims, that might be one thing but as she doesn't there is no compelling reason to her request, thereby robbing the novel of some of its authenticity.

The love story between Mercy and John Peter is sweet and charming as portrayed in the diary and certainly is a foil to the long ago love of Abigail's that Lauren pushes to discover. But the story of Abigail's love and loss is abrupt and never fully fleshed out making it hard to compare it to the sacrifice that Mercy makes. Many of the plot threads in the story are not so much left dangling as ignored completely once the end of the story nears and that is a frustrating thing. I don't think the strived for parallels between all three of the women were as successful as I suspect they should have been. I didn't love the book, because of these flaws but I'm not sorry I read it. There was potential there and the nugget of the story was a good one that just didn't fully work. ( )

This novel packs a powerful punch as the reader gets drawn into the dramatic story of a young women involved in the Salem witch trials. The story starts in the modern day, however, as Lauren--a college student with a trust fund--becomes intrigued by an ad posted on a school bulletin board. It is a help wanted ad for someone to transcribe a diary. Lauren answers the ad and despite the imposing nature of the diary's owner, Abigail Boyles, she gets the job and is thrilled to learn that the diary belonged to a young girl living in Salem during the time of the witch trials. What Lauren doesn't count on is how emotionally involved she will get with the story of Mercy, the author of the diary, and how it will affect her own life choices.
This novel is so intriguing on many levels, but mainly because of the excellent job of capturing the drama of the Salem witch trials and the difficult choices that Mercy was faced with. Fans of well written Christian fiction, and those who love history must read this one. ( )

What this book had going for it... A powerful diary of a girl who was to be hanged in the Salem witch trials. The story of Mercy through the diary was strong and I looked forward to these snippets.
What was not so great... The book was preachy. The author was very overt on her message and what she wanted the reader to take from this book. Although I don't think that the book says it is contemporary fiction, I can see why people have shelved this book as christian lit. ( )

Lauren has always lived a life of privilege, but she goes to a state school, lives in a dorm, and wants to get a job, even though she could just use her parents' allowance and live off-campus. The job posting that most intrigues her is a transcription job, and her boss is an older woman who has refused the job to many English majors before her. Abigail owns the diary of Mercy Hayworth, a woman accused of witchcraft during the Salem trials, and wants someone to not only transcribe the diary but also understand Mercy. When Lauren takes the job, she finds herself immersed in this other woman's life, and starts questioning assumptions she's made all her life.

I tend to like books with first-person narration, because I can stay in a character's head and feel like I'm getting to know them, so using both Lauren as a narrator and Mercy's diary was a neat device and helped me "know" both characters. Some things seemed resolved a little quickly (an Internet search here, and problem solved...), but it was a good story and left me feeling happy in the end. ( )

The Shape of Mercy’s, Lauren, is the quiet introvert as in she doesn’t have any friends that she isn’t related to. She is forever trying to make up for the fact that she isn’t the son her father wanted. So she does everything her family does not expect in an attempt to forge her own path in life. A literature major in college, Lauren is near obsessed with proving that she isn’t a rich snob, so she takes an odd job—transcribing a diary of an accused Salem witch. While earning her spending money she discovers kindred spirits in her employer, Abigail, a wealthy recluse and the diary’s doomed author, Mercy. Learning from the past while on the cusp of her future, Lauren questions her destiny.

Susan Meissner recently spoke about this book, and she relayed that this book is about the individual power everyone has to effect their own and other’s circumstances. When reading the book, the reader understands that it’s never too late to take an action towards improving our world. This message may be why the book is classified as Christian Fiction, not detracting from that message, but this novel could have just as easily been branded Women’s or Historical Fiction. The story transcends genre and becomes simply a great read as good a recommendation to your Grandmother as it is to pre-teens.

The book is well shaped with endearing characters that are near impossible to resist. Mercy’s fate, Abagail’s life, and Lauren’s preconceptions are all revealed slowly which builds the novel’s suspense layer by layer. This novel is at times syrupy sweet and sentimental but always satisfying. If you loved, THE HERETIC’S DAUGHTER by Kathleen Kent or DELIVERANCE DANE by Katherine Howe, you’re sure to enjoy Meissner’s Salem interpretation. ( )