The Witch of Blackbird Pond

The Witch of Blackbird Pond is a children's novel by American author Elizabeth George Speare, published in 1958. The story takes place in late-17th century New England. It won the Newbery Medal in 1959.
Plot summary.
In April 1687, 16-year-old Katherine Tyler (known throughout the story as Kit Tyler) leaves her home in Barbados after her grandfather dies and a 50-year-old man tries to marry her. She relocates to Wethersfield, Connecticut to live with her Aunt Rachel, Uncle Matthew, and her two cousins, Judith and Mercy, in their Puritan community.
As she travels on the ship "Dolphin", a brief stop is made in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, a small town just down the river from Wethersfield, where four new passengers board. As the small rowboat returns to the ship, a small girl named Prudence accidentally drops her doll in the water and begs her mother to get it back for her. Her mother, Goodwife Cruff, harshly strikes Prudence and tells her not to be foolish. Impulsively, Kit jumps into the water and retrieves the doll. She nearly freezes in the frigid water; she is accustomed to the pleasantly warm water in Barbados. When she returns to the rowboat, she is met with astonished suspicion, as few people in Connecticut could swim so well. Goodwife Cruff is the most cynical of them all, believing Kit is a witch, commenting, "No respectable woman could stay afloat like that." On the slow trip upriver, Kit befriends John Holbrook, another passenger coming to Wethersfield to study with Reverend Gershom Bulkeley. After the "Dolphin" arrives at Wethersfield, Kit admits to the captain of the ship that neither her aunt nor uncle knows she is coming. She says that they would welcome her because she is family. 
When she arrives in Wethersfield, Kit finds Wethersfield very different from Barbados. At her previous home, Kit's family owned slaves, but here she is expected to work along with the rest of the family. Her cousin Mercy has a lame leg and is on crutches. Kit is required to attend church meeting services twice each Sunday, which she finds long and dull. She meets the rich, 19-year-old William Ashby, who begins courting her, though she does not care for him. Originally, her cousin Judith had hoped to marry William, but she focuses on John Holbrook, a divinity student studying with Reverend Bulkeley.
Kit's life improves when she and Mercy begin teaching young children of Wethersfield who are preparing for traditional school. Everything proceeds well until one day, bored with the normal lessons, Kit decides the children will reenact a passage of the Bible: the parable of the Good Samaritan. The head of the school, Mr. Eleazer Kimberly, enters the house just as things get out of hand. He is outraged at Kit for having the audacity to act out something from the Bible and shuts down the school. Heartbroken, Kit flees to the meadows where she meets and befriends the kind, elderly Hannah Tupper, who was outlawed from the Massachusetts colony because she is a Quaker and does not attend church meetings, as well as being suspected of being a witch.
As fellow outcasts, Kit and Hannah develop a deep bond, and even after her uncle forbids Kit to continue the friendship, Kit keeps visiting Hannah. During one of her visits, she again meets the handsome Nathaniel (Nat) Eaton, son of the captain of the "Dolphin". Without realizing it, she falls in love with him, and though he doesn't say so, Nat reciprocates. Unfortunately, Nat is banished from Wethersfield after setting lit jack-o-lanterns in the windows of William Ashby's unfinished home. Nat is threatened with 30 lashes if he returns to Wethersfield. Kit also begins secretly teaching Prudence to read and write; Goodwife Cruff claims the child is a half-wit and "stupid" and refuses to allow her to attend the dame school. She claims the child is too "old" to learn.
When a deadly illness sweeps through Wethersfield, a mob gathers to kill Hannah by burning her house. Kit rushes to warn Hannah, and the two women escape to the river just as the "Dolphin" appears from the early morning mist. Kit flags it down, and she explains to Nat the events of the night. Hannah refuses to leave without her cat, so Nat courageously dashes ashore, risking trouble with the town council for returning to Wethersfield. After taking Hannah aboard, Nat then invites Kit to come with them. She refuses, explaining how Mercy is gravely ill, though Nat believes Kit fears risking her engagement to William Ashby.
After the "Dolphin" sails away, Kit returns home to find that Mercy's fever has broken. In the middle of the same night, the townspeople come for Kit; Goodwife Cruff's husband has accused Kit of being a witch. The next day, after a freezing night in the sheriff's shed, she is asked to explain the presence of her hornbook in Hannah's house and a copybook with Prudence's name written throughout, as the townspeople fear that she and Hannah had been casting a spell over the girl. Kit refuses to explain that it is Prudence herself who wrote her name in the book, as she does not wish cause Prudence trouble with her parents. 
Just as the case seems to be decided and Kit is guilty, Nat appears with Prudence, who testifies that she herself wrote her name in the copybook. To demonstrate her literacy, Prudence reads a Bible passage and writes her name, thus convincing her father both that she is intelligent and that no witchcraft could be involved, as the devil would be foolish to allow a child to be taught to use the Bible against himself. While Nat is initially in trouble for returning and evades capture, Matthew Wood intervenes on his behalf so that his sentence is remitted because Nat came back to see justice done, not to cause further mayhem.
Soon after, Kit breaks up with William and John Holbrook is captured by Indians. However, John returns and reveals he loved Mercy, not Judith all along. Two engagements are announced: Mercy to John Holbrook and Judith to William Ashby. Kit decides to return to Barbados. However, she finally realizes that she is truly in love with Nat, and she waits for him to return. Nat returns to Wethersfield with a surprise: he has a new boat, and is also captain. The boat is called the "Witch", named after Kit. Kit asks to come on board the "Witch" but Nat says no, not until he gets Uncle Matthew's permission to get married, and they leave to visit Uncle Matthew.
Allusions to local geography.
Many places in the novel are actual locations in Old Wethersfield, Connecticut. They include:
Reception.
At the time of the book's publication, "Kirkus Reviews" said: "Kit's vindication, her gradual integration into the community and the positive effect she has on those about her, combine here in a well documented novel to rival the author's first work, Calico Captive, which received wide acclaim as a work of 'superior historical fiction'." In a retrospective essay about the Newbery Medal-winning books from 1956 to 1965, librarian Carolyn Horovitz wrote of "The Witch of Blackbird Pond", "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch", "Rifles for Watie" and "The Bronze Bow": "All have value, all are told skilfully. If they lack the qualities of greatness, it is largely because their style has a commercial sameness."