How To Hang A Witch

“When I was little, I admired her ability to charm roomfuls of people.”

Almost from the beginning of the novel, the author gives clues that Vivian is not what she seems. While in Chapter 1 the word “charm” could simply be a description of her personality, by the end of the novel, the word indicates a magic spell that results in Vivian getting the thing that drives her overall: For everyone to like her best.

“It’s only a matter of time before someone gets hurt or their parents forbid them to spend time with me.”

This quote is one of the many instances of foreshadowing in this book. It is necessary for the idea of the curse to be planted early in the text. At this point, Sam sounds like a truculent teenager, but the author slowly layers information on top of this first hint that something is truly unusual about Sam. By the end, when it is revealed that Vivian has manipulated all of Sam’s social situations, it feels believable because of the careful foreshadowing that happens as early as page 10.

“There are five of them in our school. He’s the only dude. They’re descended from the original witches. Everyone kinda love-hates them. People think they can curse you if they want to.”

The first appearance of the Descendants as a group is dramatic because of the uniformly black fancy clothing and their cliquish, aloof behavior. The author begins referencing the theme of The Repetition of History early by showing how people view the suspected witches, treating them with a respect that is based on fear, which can quickly turn to hate, mimicking attitudes that led to the conviction of people during the Salem Witch Trials.