November in Salem: The Bargain of Witches

November in Salem is one of those "must not miss" novels that conjures a vivid movie in your mind from the outset. Although L. C. Russell wrote the book for young adults, it delights any age to the point where you finally glance at the clock and see that it's already three o'clock in the morning! It would not be inappropriate to compare it to the in-depth complexity of Tolkien and the creative settings of Rowling. However, November in Salem is not a Tolkien "wannabe." Russell takes off on her own unique story, drawing on actual places and obscure historical facts that the curious can actually research. For example, I googled the Danvers Asylum for the Insane and found that it has sadly (and just recently) been partially torn down and show more turned into condos. Fortunately, the builders preserved parts of the old structure-you can look at their website. Better still, you can go to http://www.opacity.us/site22_danvers_state_hospital.htm and take a vicarious trip through what it must have looked like when November, Hawk, Jeff and Dynnis took their dark, cold, and terrifying trip through its portals and into the world of Salem when the bargain was struck between the evil Astaroth and the men responsible for the Witch Trials. L. C. Russell presents a rich offering of characters and settings, weaving fact, myth, and a wonderfully heavy dose of imagination that she takes to dazzling fantastical and artistic heights. November in Salem is so much more than just a fantasy. It is also a grand but dark adventure, a coming-of-age novel, and a first-love story where November and Thomas are separated by time, she in the 21st century and he in the 18th. Russell creatively veers away from mainstream settings into a world unlike any you have read about before. Each scene, each character is painted with lavish word pictures so that you don't even need to close your eyes to visualize the asylum, the Croft, Avnova, or the evil Astaroth as Hawk runs his wheelchair over the gaping chasm, bridged only by smoldering red-hot coals, to deliver November's soul to be weighed against that of the Evil One. After you read this book, you'll be clamoring for a sequel! show less

I read this book on the heels of watching the Tolkien trilogy, "Lord of the Rings." Thinking it might just carry over into my induced euphoria, I was pleased to find it did just that. I went along with the kids, into the dark abyss that was that old asylum, and found myself immersed in a genuine piece of American history with a sobering twist. The novel has enough hazards to try anyone's abilities, and the resolution doesn't come easy for the characters involved. It is easy to identify with them, as they are contemporary beings and good friends, and the fantasy aspect comes with the meeting and interacting with the magic world and the fact that some kids do indeed have powers beyond texting and twittering. Get yourself a copy and enjoy it.