Based in part on family history, Duble's narrative clearly captures the sweeping effects of community fear and shows how one youngster's bravery can bring about change. In the end, Abigail speaks up about the evil of false accusations and helps bring the insanity to an end. After their aunt dies, the girls' pregnant mother, believing that her condition will protect her, asks her daughters to claim that she is really the witch so that she can take their place in jail. Eventually, Abigail and her sister are also denounced and imprisoned, sharing her filthy, rat-infested cell. The madness spreads and before long, Abigail's Aunt Elizabeth is charged and jailed. Expecting her preacher grandfather to condemn her actions from the pulpit on Sunday, she is surprised when he speaks instead on bearing false witness-comments targeted to those who were accusing others of being witches. As the story opens, 10-year-old Abigail is sitting in the stocks wearing a sign that says 'Sinner.' She constantly questions the limits placed on her by her community and does not regret her crime-racing her male cousin, which is considered inappropriate for girls. Kathleen Benner Duble wrote eight award-winning children's books before 'Madame Tussaud's Apprentice'.Set in Andover in the late 17th century, this novel describes one family's experiences with the Salem witchcraft hysteria. Told from Abigail's point of view and based on actual events in the author's own family histoy, 'The Sacrifice' offers a unique perspective of the Salem witch trials by delving into the devestating effects the trials had not just in Salem but throughout Massachusetts. At the heart of this gripping story are Abigail and her sister, Dorothy, who together must find a way to persevere during a period marked by terror, adversity, and ignorance. It isn't long before chaos consumes Andover, and the Faulkners find themselves in the center of it all when friend turns themselves in the center of it all when friend turns against friend, neighbor against neighbor, in a desperate fight for the truth. When two girls are brought from Salem to identify witches in Andover, suspicion sweeps the town as well-respected members of the community are accused of witchcraft.

In Salem, Massachusetts, witches have been found, and widespread fear and panic reign mere miles from Abigail's home of Andover. In the year 1692, life changes forever for ten-year-old Abigail Faulkner and her family.

The sacrifice by kathleen benner duble