Waiting on Wednesday #5 - Wicked Girls: A Novel of the Salem Witch Trials by Stephanie Hemphill.

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted at Breaking the Spine that spotlights eagerly awaited upcoming releases.

This weeks selection is:
Wicked Girls: A novel of the Salem Witch Trials - Stephanie Hemphill
Balzer & Bray/Harperteen
Hardcover, 416 pages
Release date: June 29th 2010.
Age Group: Young Adult

Wicked Girls is a fictionalized account of the Salem witch trials based on the real historical characters, told from the perspective of three young women living in Salem in 1692—Mercy Lewis, Margaret Walcott, and Ann Putnam Jr.

When Ann’s father suggests that a spate of illnesses within the village is the result of witchcraft, Ann sees an opportunity and starts manifesting the symptoms of affliction. Ann looks up to Mercy, the beautiful servant in her parents' house. She shows Mercy the power that a young girl is capable of in a time when women were completely powerless. Mercy, who suffered abuse at the hands of past masters, seizes her only chance at safety. And Ann’s cousin Margaret, anxious to win the attention of a boy in her sights, follows suit. As the accusations mount against men and women in the community, the girls start to see the deadly ramifications of their actions. Should they finally tell the truth? Or is it too late to save this small New England town? 

Ever since I finished reading The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry I've been looking for books that are centered around The Salem Witch Trials.  This one sounds like it might just fit the bill.

What are your Waiting on Wednesday picks for this week? Share your links!