This review originally published at More Than Just Magic 
 There's something particularly captivating about cases of mass hysteria. They grab my attention in the similar way as cults. I can't help but wonder what makes people act this way and how it progresses to such intense levels. Apparently Katherine Howe wonders the same because these are some of the exact questions she tackles in her new novel, Conversion. 
 Conversion is a modern day incarnation of the Salem Witch Trials. The students of St Joan's Academy have many of the same symptoms as the historical girls, and their sickness progresses along similar lines, sucking in more victims the bigger it gets. And as an added bonus, their town (Danvers) is near the location of historic Salem. There was a period of time in high school where I was obsessed with the Salem Witch Trials and read everything I could get my hands on about them. So the teenage history buff in me found this book fascinating. Throughout the novel, Howe intersperses short chapters from Ann Putnam's confession after the real-life Salem Witch Trials. It was fascinating to read about the trails from the point of view of one of the "victims" and see the parallels between the two cases. 
 One thing that really stood out for me was the variety of characters affected by the symptoms. It wasn't just a certain type of girl. However I would have liked to see a few guys thrown in as well. Though there are some similarities between now and then there are some big differences too. I know there are some unique pressures on girls in high school but teenage boys are not free from expectations, stress and anxiety. It felt a little unlikely that not a single guy was afflicted with the mysterious illness as well. 
 The narrator of the modern day narrative is a smart, fairly self confident girl named Colleen. She is a difficult character and that is both a good thing and a challenge. It's good because it makes her a bit of an enigma, which helps deepen the mystery. It's not so good however because it makes her difficult to connect with, because we don't get a lot of character development or growth from her. The focus of Conversion is on the mystery, which was well plotted, but the limited character development hindered the emotional impact of the story. 
 I appreciated the comparisons Howe was making between the seventeenth century to modern day. They may be completely different time periods but there are more similarities than you would expect. Particularly the pressures based on young people. It isn't as character-driven as I would have liked but the mystery of what was causing the girl's disorder kept it interesting. Conversion is a fascinating book if you're interested in the Salem Witch Trials or simply in the bizarre causes of human behaviour.