The Shape of Mercy by Susan Meissner

“We understand what we want to understand.”

Leaving a life of privilege to strike out on her own, Lauren Durough breaks with convention and her family’s expectations by choosing a state college over Stanford and earning her own income over accepting her ample monthly allowance. She takes a part-time job from 83-year-old librarian Abigail Boyles, who asks Lauren to transcribe the journal entries of her ancestor Mercy Hayworth, a victim of the Salem witch trials.

Almost immediately, Lauren finds herself drawn to this girl who lived and died four centuries ago. As the fervor around the witch accusations increases, Mercy becomes trapped in the worldview of the day, unable to fight the overwhelming influence of snap judgments and superstition, and Lauren realizes that the secrets of Mercy’s story extend beyond the pages of her diary, living on in the mysterious, embittered Abigail.

The strength of her affinity with Mercy forces Lauren to take a startling new look at her own life, including her relationships with Abigail, her college roommate, and a young man named Raul. But on the way to the truth, will Lauren find herself playing the helpless defendant or the misguided judge? Can she break free from her own perceptions and see who she really is?

I. Loved. This. Book. It was awesome. I'm a big fan of Meissner's book Blue Heart Blessed, but I didn't realize it was the same author until I got the book. I was hesitant to read this book. I usually stick with young adult and steer away from romances because I don't want to read about people making out (you'd be surprised at what's in some Christian fiction). But Meissner had just enough romance to make it sweet, no gagging. I immediately wanted to give this to my younger sister to read because she and I both adore The Witch of Blackbird Pond and this book reminded me of it sooooo much. But she's a little younger and I'd put the age range on this book teens to adults.

Lauren was an interesting character. I didn't like and yet I loved her all at the same time. She made some stupid choices, but her character still stayed real and likable. Mercy was awesome. I didn't think that I would like the diary entries but they were the best part! Especially when she wrote about John Peter. *swoon*

All-in-all, I really, really, really liked this book. The characters were awesome, the story was gripping, and I was close to tears several times. Y'all. I never cry when I read books. This one's a keeper.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.