Newes from the Dead

Newes from the Dead
by Mary Hooper

Book: Stand Alone
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Pub Date: April 2008
Genre: Historical
Format: Print
Source: Borrowed
Book Links: Goodreads  Amazon 

WRONGED. HANGED. ALIVE? (AND TRUE!) 

 Anne can't move a muscle, can't open her eyes, can't scream. She lies immobile in the darkness, unsure if she'd dead, terrified she's buried alive, haunted by her final memory—of being hanged. A maidservant falsely accused of infanticide in 1650 England and sent to the scaffold, Anne Green is trapped with her racing thoughts, her burning need to revisit the events—and the man—that led her to the gallows.  

Meanwhile, a shy 18-year-old medical student attends his first dissection and notices something strange as the doctors prepare their tools . . . Did her eyelids just flutter? Could this corpse be alive?  

Beautifully written, impossible to put down, and meticulously researched,Newes from the Dead is based on the true story of the real Anne Green, a servant who survived a hanging to awaken on the dissection table. Newes from the Dead concludes with scans of the original 1651 document that recounts this chilling medical phenomenon.

My Review: So I stumbled on this book randomly and thought why not. I'm not super big on historical books, but this one was pretty good.

Anne wake up in a dark space. She thinks that maybe she is dreaming and then she remembers. Remember she was brought up to be hanged. But why is she awake and feel alive? First she thinks its how it is, or worse, she could be buried alive. 

Then it leads to her story and how she came to be where she is now. She went to go work for a wealthy family. There she wakes early to do her chores and anything else that needs to be done. Things weren't exactly easy, but she at least she had a job and a place to live in. Then all it took was one guy to ruin it all for her. 

Then after it all, the day comes for the people to work on her body. Then they notice she takes a breath. After some care, Anne is alive and well, and because of this, she is able to live on with her life. 

So like I said, I don't read many historical books. This one was okay. I didn't love it, but didn't hate it. It started off well and at some point, made me decided I should some history books a little more. Then things started to get a little boring. Then there were those parts that I just wasn't feeling it. 

My Rating:

✪✪✪