Three superb recordings for young listeners. Siegfried masterfully reads Many Stones, a story about Berry, a young woman coming to terms with the murder of her sister in South Africa. Siegfried is a careful reader, and she is appropriately sarcastic in her portrayal of the bitter Berry. Princess Mia's story continues in the hysterical sequel, The Princess Diaries--Volume II. Hathaway perfectly reflects teenager Mia and her concerns about boys, clothes, girlfriends, her pregnant mother, demanding Grandmere, and the residents of Genovia. Hathaway (who was the voice of Princess Mia in the recent motion picture) vivifies the characters. In her reading of Witch Child, narrator Ehle skillfully weaves together a tale about young witch Mary Newbury, who lives among seventeenth-century Puritans. Mary's story is told through a series of journal entries. Ehle's soft British accent suits the characters, and her serious vocal tones help convey the constant danger facing the young witch.

Mary, a young witch, fears for her own life after her grandmother and mentor is hanged. Luckily, she is rescued and whisked away to America disguised as a Puritan--all under the protective, often invisible gaze of other witches. In the expertly written, potent novel, persecution catches up with Mary in the New World, and her narrative ends dramatically mid-sentence--leaving readers eagerly awaiting a sequel.

After watching her grandmother hang for being a witch, Mary journeys to the New World only to discover that human nature's desire to blame another is not limited to 17th-century England. Unlike most stories about people accused of sorcery, Mary freely admits to her gift, one that offers pain with its limited power. Mary's intelligence and openness to the world around her, along with a distinct distrust of the omnipresent religious fervor provide the narrator with immense appeal. There's objectivity to the diary entries about her journey to Massachusetts among a group of Pilgrims and her hard work of settling in a new land. She freely enjoys the company of a young sailor, gets to know the native guides, and appreciates the healing powers of plants. Equally, she recognizes the frivolity and conceit of others in the party and the arrogance and selfishness of the leader who claims to speak for God. When trouble arises, whether in England or in the colonies, some are quick to blame the Devil and his spawn, the witch. Luckily, Mary finds some good people who cling to logic even amid their religious allegiance or who lack that mindset of blind devotion. This diary is eerily given fake credibility by a single-page prologue and an afterword that describe the provenance of the pages and call for further information from readers, an unnecessary gimmick. The tightrope that Mary walks as an outsider in her society is a dangerous one, and the suspense tightens as events unfold. The text is haunting despite a lack of antiquity in the language. Perhaps wisely, Rees forgoes emphasizing historical or theological accuracy and instead focuses on providing immediate characters. With its theme of religious intolerance and its touches of the supernatural, this is sure to be in high demand for a long time. (Fiction. 11-14)

Gr 5-9-Journal entries, found and pieced together from pages stitched inside a 17th-century quilt, are said to be the basis of this captivating tale. As her grandmother is executed as a witch by English village folk, Mary Newbury is abducted by a wealthy woman and shipped off to America. During the long, difficult journey, she makes friends with some of the other Puritan emigrants, finding an older woman to draw her into the community. They join other followers of the Reverend Elias Cornwall to travel to a newly established village deep in the Massachusetts wilderness where their very survival is threatened, not only by the harsh physical conditions, but also, the villagers believe, by savage Native Americans and the presence of the devil among them. The healing skills Mary learned from her grandmother make her useful, but also a target for suspicion. She is befriended by a Native American boy who accepts without question the supernatural talents she must hide from her community. When, inevitably, the village turns against her, she escapes to the woods. There is no more to the story in this volume, but eager readers who visit the accompanying Web site will learn that a sequel is forthcoming. While the quilt premise is an obvious ploy, the historical setting is sound and well developed, and Mary is an entirely believable character. Readers already captivated by stories such as Ann Rinaldi's Break with Charity (Harcourt, 1992) or Elizabeth George Speare's The Witch of Blackbird Pond (Houghton, 1958) will not want to miss this one.-Kathleen Isaacs, Edmund Burke School, Washington, DC Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.