It was okay. I am always drawn to stories of Salem. This one just fell short for me. Too bad, because I wanted to like it.

I liked the premise of the story and how people reacted to anything bad that happened back then. Mainly they blamed it on anything they weren't sure about. I thought the art was good but the violent scenes were a bit too graphic and weren't in line with the rest of the graphic novel artwork.

Thank you for this ARC. I was excited to read this graphic novel. However, it was difficult to follow this book. It seemed to go from one terrible incident to the next without focusing on the issues surrounding the incidents. The people of color in the story were stereotypical. The Native American in blackface that befriends the girls in the woods was offensive. Most of the characters lacked depth. I did not like the portrayal of the female characters in what is supposed to be a feminist book. I would have liked to see stronger female characters.

The artwork was good but there were a lot of graphic scenes.

3+ stars
An interesting premise for a graphic novel. I thought the summary was interesting so decided to read. At first, I thought the graphics were lovely and the story developed well.
What I didn’t like was the graphic visualization of the killings and the destruction inflicted at the ending of the book. Likely it was done for effect, but my opinion is it was overdone. And the story of the young girls and what they were experiencing somehow got lost in the violence.
I would be interested to read the next chapter to see where the author takes the reader next. But if it entails more violence, I would put it down.
Thank you NetGalley and publisher, Europe Comics, for the opportunity to read this ARC.

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.