The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe

This book had a lot of potential, but it just didn't quite achieve it. The story is based around an American Colonial history PhD student who discovers a primary source that could potentially change the way the Salem witch trials are discussed. The idea being that if people believed in witches back then, then practicing witches must leave some documentation behind, not just fear mongering propaganda created by witch hunters. So Connie Goodwin goes on a hunt for this Physick Book, which she first gets hints about among her grandmother's things. She meets a boy, falls in love. The bad guy is her PhD supervisor who wants to use the book to prove that magic actually exists in the world, and create a real Philosopher's Stone. And of course, she can actually do magic once she gets her hands on some real spells.

When I first read the summary for the book, I immediately thought "Possession" by A.S Byatt. That was such a good book, with so much depth of character, and the reader becomes so involved with the story- and the story the characters discover. But this one, just doesn't compare. There is so much potential for this to be a great book, but you can tell right off that this is Howe's first book. There isn't much subtlety to the writing, and the main character feels flat. My biggest beef with Howe is that she doesn't quite grasp the technique of "show, not tell" with character development. The first chapter is her explaining how Connie is anal and uptight without really showing it. She tries, but doesn't quite succeed. She does a better job with Connie's mother, Grace, who is a minor character but has much impact on Connie's life. Most of Connie's character development comes from comparing herself with Grace... The main plot of the story is fairly obvious, and the interludes that jump back in time to show bits of Deliverance Dane's life is kind of weird. Where Howe chooses to add these interludes don't always make sense. And she doesn't stick with one character, she writes these interludes through several points of view. I think Howe should have kept with Mercy Lawson's (Deliverance Dane's daughter) character for all the interludes, because she is the most well written character in the whole book but she doesn't have any distinct ties with the present day plot of the story. Mercy Lawson is referred to once or twice in Connie Goodwin's story arc, but the focus is still on Deliverance Dane. If they'd switched the focus to Mercy Lawson, it would have been a better story. In my opinion anyways.

Not sure I like how Connie spontaneously does magic. It adds a nice twist to the story, but it doesn't need to be there. The story was interesting on its own without the magic. The magic would have been more interesting if Howe did more with it, or incorporated it in earlier in the story rather than make half assed cracks against new aged theology.

The story's Ok, but not sure I would ever read it again.