Witness

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The Barnes Noble ReviewKaren Hesse s Newbery Award winning skills are put to great use in Witness, a poetic tale about friendship, fanaticism, and the deadly undercurrents of racial prejudice The story takes place in a small Vermont town in the year 1924, revealing the devastating impact of the Ku Klux Klan on this pastoral, insular community At the heart of the tale are two motherless girls who come to the attention of the newly formed Klan 12 year old Leanora Sutter, who is black, and 6 year old Esther Hirsch, who is Jewish Hesse tells her story, which is based on real events, through the eyes of 11 different characters Each point of view is expressed in poetic form, but with a stark clarity of difference that makes the voices unique and identifiable There is a fire and brimstone preacher whose sermons reveal him as a zealot and whose actions brand him as a hypocrite There is a middle aged farm woman named Sara who takes Esther under her wing despite the warnings of her neighbors, trying to help the child understand why the Klan has marked her and her widowed father as targets for their hatred Esther s only other friend is Leanora, who is about to learn some harsh lessons on tolerance and hatred herself at the hands of the Klan And linking them all together is 18 year old Merlin Van Tornhout, a young man struggling to fit in with the adult world and determine for himself the difference between right and wrong The remaining characters who circle the periphery of this core group reflect the various mind sets and biases that were common during this era of fear and persecution, even in a setting as bucolic as the Vermont countryside.Hesse weaves real historic events into her tale, such as the murder trial of the infamous kidnappers Leopold and Loeb, giving the work a definite period flavor Using prose that is both sparse and powerful, she builds the tension with a slow crescendo of inevitability that ends in violence, but also offers up an unforgettable lesson on the true power of friendship and acceptanceBeth Amos Free Download Witness [ by ] Karen Hesse [ Kindle ePUB or eBook ] – kino-fada.fr this is the way this conversation should have gone down so, i want to write a kid s book about the KKK coming to town and the town s reaction to it from all different perspectives okay, i am listening it will be set in vermont wait what vermont not in the south no, in vermont the green mountain state okay, your call keep em guessing, i like it why pick on the south all the time, sur...At first, I found Witness difficult to get into, and I was a little skeptical of Karen Hesse s chosen format, namely, writing the book somewhat like a play, insofar as characters switching off in dialog, but poetry because the dialog consisted of free verse poems of varying length Towards the end, I not only grew to appreciate the literary merits of this format, but also grew to like it Telling the story in this way allows Hesse to convey turmoil that the encroaching Ku Klux Klan, because th At first, I found Witness difficult to get into, and I was a little skeptical of Karen Hesse s chosen format, namely, writing the book somewhat like a play, insofar as characters switching off in dialog, but poetry because the dialog consisted of free verse poems of varying length Towards the end, I not only grew to appreciate the literary merits of this format, but also grew to like it Telling the story in this way allows Hesse to convey turmoil that the encroaching Ku Klux Klan, because the text makes it feel like the varying characters voices are swimming around in your mind, echoing, crescendoing, and fading depending from whose perspective the story is currently being told Though the words in the book are scant, Hesse manages to develop her characters as well, or better than, many large, ful...I first read this in elementary school and loved it, then read it again recently for my Young Adult Literature class and loved it evenIt reads almost like a play, with each character all residents of a small Vermont town in 1924 telling their version of events the Ku Klux Klan rolling in and starting to recruit in free verse Characters include the local preacher, a twelve year old black girl, the town doctor, the sheriff, a six year old Jewish girl, and a woman who runs liquor Amazi I first read...Why a 5 star rating This is a well written, compelling look at prejudice and hate told through a variety a voices and perspectives Hesse is masterful when it comes to writing poetry and novels in verse Because the novel is narrated by a diverse group of characters, you get to experience the story in a different way It s a quick read that tackles tough subjects and leaves the reader wanting to knowabout the characters and the town in which they live.Plot summary Witness by Karen Hess Why a 5 star rating This is a well written, compelling look at prejudice and hate told through a variety a voices and perspectives Hesse is masterful when it comes to writing poetry and novels in verse Because the novel is narrated by a diverse group of characters, you get to experience the story in a different way It s a quick read that tackles tough subjects and leaves the reader wanting to knowabout the characters and the town in which they live.Plot summary Witness by Karen He...4.5 starsDamn, this book was good I am not too big of a fan of the format it was written in poetry prose but I really, really liked it Its short and quick but boi, was it powerful if you are looking for a quick and emotional read, I recommend this novel At f...I loved this book it gave me a lot of information on a girl named leonora sutter It talked about her life and people that knew her It also talked about the k.k.k I hope to read another book like it.This little book packs a huge punch.In 1924, the Ku Klux Klan comes to a small Vermont town to protect families As the Klan becomesviolent and influential, their presence impacts every person in the town This novel in verse is told from multiple points of view The characters are different ages, from different backgrounds, and have different opinions of the Klan Will the characters give ...Witness is a true story It takes place in Vermont and there are many things going on in the story You get to see this from everyone s point of view In the beginning, all of the characters are deciding whether to be a part of the KKK Ku Klux Klan or not That was the major part of the story the KKK Leonora Sutter is a yo...3.5 Eleven residents of a small Vermont town in 1924 reveal what happens when the Ku Klux Klan moves in Neighbors turn against one another and no one is safe, particularly two children twelve year old Leonora, an African American girl, and six year old Esther, who is Jewish The residents of the town bear witness to the events of 1924 in haunting free verse I ve read several of Hesse s works now, and am in awe of how much she can con...3.5 stars.Historical fiction usually isn t quite my thing, but I really enjoyed this It s written in verse, which made everything feelclose and real to me The characters were all very vivid to me and ...

Witness
  • English
  • 20 November 2018
  • Paperback
  • 161 pages
  • 0439272009
  • Karen Hesse
  • Witness