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alisarae's Reviews (1.65k)
This book is good, but I somehow didn’t realize before starting that it is 80% about the Chicago World’s Fair and 20% about H. H. Holmes, the serial killer. It kind of seems like the author set out to write a rich contextual background to the murders and then the background, with its ample source material, became the focus of the book. If you took out the serial killer stuff, the book could stand alone as an interesting account of the world’s fair. But if you took out the fair stuff, the remaining material about the serial killer would be a long, but not deep or meandering, article worthy of a magazine.
It was interesting to learn about the construction of the fair and the energy of the time (esp since I had already studied some architecture history in college). But I wouldn’t have sought out a book on the subject and if I had known, I would have chosen a different book to read about Holmes.
It was interesting to learn about the construction of the fair and the energy of the time (esp since I had already studied some architecture history in college). But I wouldn’t have sought out a book on the subject and if I had known, I would have chosen a different book to read about Holmes.
The book is what it is—a dystopian near-future boarding school for stepford girls—and the story is fine. But it is filled to the brim with discussion topics to have with teens:
- how to listen to instincts about feeling in danger, and how culture teaches women to suppress those instincts
- diet culture
- why are women’s magazines so often about pleasing men?
- pleasant mutual touch vs situations where only one person is receiving pleasure
- the male gaze and objectification
- girls working cooperatively instead of being pitted against each other (really stood out bc it is so rare to see this in media for teens!!)
- future planning as a woman (career options)
- why some women are complicit with their abusers
- being kind/helpful in one situation does not negate a history of abuse
- abusers in general: how you feel around an abuser, the kinds of things they say to emotionally manipulate you, how your relationship is based on rewards/punishment and not on mutuality, etc
- common ideas we see embodied all the time, but made explicit, e.g., boys can’t control themselves around beautiful women, so it’s up to the woman to protect her purity.
It is not preachy, and it has a lot of sentences that are easy to latch onto and bring out of the book into your life. This is key to help people to start analyzing and questioning the media and attitudes around us. For example, the girls get ahold of a Cosmo-type magazine and start reading the tips on how to give better blowjobs to men (these are not described in the book btw). After flipping through the magazine some more, one of the girls wonders aloud, “If this is a women’s magazine, why is so much of it about men?” No one has a good answer. But questions like that don’t need to be answered. They just need to be asked. And this book is so so so good at that. That’s why I gave it 5 stars.
- how to listen to instincts about feeling in danger, and how culture teaches women to suppress those instincts
- diet culture
- why are women’s magazines so often about pleasing men?
- pleasant mutual touch vs situations where only one person is receiving pleasure
- the male gaze and objectification
- girls working cooperatively instead of being pitted against each other (really stood out bc it is so rare to see this in media for teens!!)
- future planning as a woman (career options)
- why some women are complicit with their abusers
- being kind/helpful in one situation does not negate a history of abuse
- abusers in general: how you feel around an abuser, the kinds of things they say to emotionally manipulate you, how your relationship is based on rewards/punishment and not on mutuality, etc
- common ideas we see embodied all the time, but made explicit, e.g., boys can’t control themselves around beautiful women, so it’s up to the woman to protect her purity.
It is not preachy, and it has a lot of sentences that are easy to latch onto and bring out of the book into your life. This is key to help people to start analyzing and questioning the media and attitudes around us. For example, the girls get ahold of a Cosmo-type magazine and start reading the tips on how to give better blowjobs to men (these are not described in the book btw). After flipping through the magazine some more, one of the girls wonders aloud, “If this is a women’s magazine, why is so much of it about men?” No one has a good answer. But questions like that don’t need to be answered. They just need to be asked. And this book is so so so good at that. That’s why I gave it 5 stars.
A fascinating and humane look into a murder case that resulted in two wrongful convictions and death sentences. If you like Making a Murderer or The Sun Does Shine, you will like this book. It is well written and interesting. There is no mystery, however, and Grisham tells us upfront who the true killer is. So if you are looking for something like Serial, this might not be your thing.
My memory of what actually happened at the Boston Marathon bombing was fuzzy and missing large chunks of information. I felt like I never got the true account in the first place because there was so much media saying so many things and no one was hearing actual facts from law enforcement.
This book straightened up the story. It is fascinating and more about the history of the entire family than about the bombing. But there is a reason I had so many gaps in my memory: there are a lot of lingering unknowns in the history. The FBI in particular has remained silent on inconsistencies reported by the agency itself, and had been purposefully vague and loose with the facts throughout the investigation. Key witnesses are either dead, “disappeared,” or are in prison and under gag order because of special rules that only apply to terrorism-related cases. Fertile soil for conspiracy theories to thrive in.
The FBI, like the DEA, is notorious for baiting “potential terrorists” into involving themselves in a terrorism plot. Nearly all domestic terrorism-related arrests and “uncovered plots” since 2001 originated with an FBI informant baiting and supplying the target with information, ideas, and weapons. Indeed, 40% of their budget is dedicated to domestic terrorism. The most likely scenario is this: the FBI were baiting the Tsarnaev brothers, but somewhere along the way they lost control. Usually the FBI supplies fake bombs in these sorts of cases, so it is unlikely that the FBI is 100% responsible for the Boston bombings. But it is equally unlikely that the brothers created multiple successful bombs and did so without leaving any trace of the very fine fireworks gunpowder dust in their homes and cars, nor in the homes and cars of their 3 “accomplices.” The story is plagued with doubts like this and it is infuriating that we will never know the truth of the situation.
The subtext of the book is that the US government’s foreign and domestic policies are a mirror of Russia’s. Two sides of the same coin. For most of us, the deliberate unfairness and injustice goes unnoticed. But if you come from a group that’s in the crosshairs of either government (or both governments, in the Tsarnaevs’ case), your life will become a dystopian hell.
This book straightened up the story. It is fascinating and more about the history of the entire family than about the bombing. But there is a reason I had so many gaps in my memory: there are a lot of lingering unknowns in the history. The FBI in particular has remained silent on inconsistencies reported by the agency itself, and had been purposefully vague and loose with the facts throughout the investigation. Key witnesses are either dead, “disappeared,” or are in prison and under gag order because of special rules that only apply to terrorism-related cases. Fertile soil for conspiracy theories to thrive in.
The FBI, like the DEA, is notorious for baiting “potential terrorists” into involving themselves in a terrorism plot. Nearly all domestic terrorism-related arrests and “uncovered plots” since 2001 originated with an FBI informant baiting and supplying the target with information, ideas, and weapons. Indeed, 40% of their budget is dedicated to domestic terrorism. The most likely scenario is this: the FBI were baiting the Tsarnaev brothers, but somewhere along the way they lost control. Usually the FBI supplies fake bombs in these sorts of cases, so it is unlikely that the FBI is 100% responsible for the Boston bombings. But it is equally unlikely that the brothers created multiple successful bombs and did so without leaving any trace of the very fine fireworks gunpowder dust in their homes and cars, nor in the homes and cars of their 3 “accomplices.” The story is plagued with doubts like this and it is infuriating that we will never know the truth of the situation.
The subtext of the book is that the US government’s foreign and domestic policies are a mirror of Russia’s. Two sides of the same coin. For most of us, the deliberate unfairness and injustice goes unnoticed. But if you come from a group that’s in the crosshairs of either government (or both governments, in the Tsarnaevs’ case), your life will become a dystopian hell.
I think the author did a great job of telling about the lives of the victims. I never once thought, “Well, they were prostitutes after all.” That is the most important part of telling their stories in particular—many of this serial killer’s victims were not even reported missing and are still unidentified simply because they were addicts and hookers. One of the unidentified even had a child buried with her. More than just a face and a name, this book reveals that the known victims had dreams, personalities, friends, and plans.
As the murderer is still at large, the book touches on some pet suspects at the end (though the police haven’t named any persons of interest). The mainstream theory’s suspect (no spoilers) definitely has classic psychopathic characteristics... it would be a shame if the true murderer was never brought to justice.
As the murderer is still at large, the book touches on some pet suspects at the end (though the police haven’t named any persons of interest). The mainstream theory’s suspect (no spoilers) definitely has classic psychopathic characteristics... it would be a shame if the true murderer was never brought to justice.
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This was a good book. All the characters are fictional but the story is based on true practices at the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna, Florida. This reform school was closed in 2011 after decades of allegations of abuse. It is estimated that over 100 boys were killed on its grounds.
The book itself has an interesting story with a couple plot twists I didn’t expect. I was kind of dreading reading it because of the heavy subject matter, but it isn’t torture porn. Colson Whitehead is not a sadist, and I’m sure he was concerned about telling the truth of what happened without it becoming a glory guide for the Klan.
The story touches broader themes that are also interesting—the school-prison pipeline, most obviously. But also how Jim Crow is still present in our lives. How structural racism benefits corporations and other powerholders.
The book itself has an interesting story with a couple plot twists I didn’t expect. I was kind of dreading reading it because of the heavy subject matter, but it isn’t torture porn. Colson Whitehead is not a sadist, and I’m sure he was concerned about telling the truth of what happened without it becoming a glory guide for the Klan.
The story touches broader themes that are also interesting—the school-prison pipeline, most obviously. But also how Jim Crow is still present in our lives. How structural racism benefits corporations and other powerholders.
This book was really really good. So crisp. The voice of the MC sounded truly authentic.
That said, I went into this book expecting it to be about a jury’s deliberations. It is not. It is about an affair. I almost stopped reading it once I figured that out, because I do not like reading fiction about affairs. I’m glad I continued though. It is a well-written character study.
That said, I went into this book expecting it to be about a jury’s deliberations. It is not. It is about an affair. I almost stopped reading it once I figured that out, because I do not like reading fiction about affairs. I’m glad I continued though. It is a well-written character study.
DNF at 20%: the author constantly does things that he thinks makes him sound cool and makes everyone else think he’s a douchebag. I started to get the feeling that this book is more about his own life than about a possible crime, and also that he would not solve the case by the end of the book. After reading other reviews, I decided to not finish this book because my suspicions were correct. Read some of the 1-starred reviews to get a sense of this nonsense.
This book is nice but very short. It consists of a few different stories from the author's childhood. It is very simple and seems like it is meant for K-5 readers. I liked the illustrations a lot.