Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

The Babysitter: My Summers with a Serial Killer by Jennifer Jordan, Liza Rodman

8 reviews

myantigone's review against another edition

dark sad fast-paced

1.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Murder, Sexual assault, Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Death, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Physical abuse, Rape, Gun violence, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Infidelity, Pregnancy, and Cannibalism

librarymouse's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced

4.5

The Babysitter shows life in Provincetown MA in the 1906s through a mix of personal memoir and synthesizing a timeline of Tony Costa's life and crimes. There was an astounding amount of casual drug use, alcoholism, and a combination of the two, and the manic energy that cocktail of drugs creates was captured really well by Rodman's descriptions of the adults in her life. It was fully not the intention of the book, but having friends from MA and fond memories of visiting them, the vivid description of Portuguese foods and familiar locations made me smile. The happy memories Liza Rodman shares are intimate and nostalgic. This book is written with stunning detail, showing both the best and the worst the era and location had to offer. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Rape, Murder, Suicide, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Gore, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Cannibalism, Car accident, and Homophobia

Minor: Incest

readerrachel's review against another edition

I really wanted to like this - I like true crime shows and was hoping this would be my foray into true crime books. But it just didn’t grab me - started out slow. I probably would have tried harder if I liked the last book I read, but life is too short to read too many books you don’t like.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape and Adult/minor relationship

foreverinastory's review against another edition

challenging informative slow-paced

3.0

This was interesting.

CWs: child abuse/neglect, murder, drug use/abuse, addiction, rape, sexual violence, emotional abuse, sexual assault, parental abandonment, domestic abuse, gore, dismemberment, violence, alcoholism, death, physical abuse, suicide, mental illness, adult/minor relationship, toxic relationship, blood, homophobia, f-slur, misogyny, sexual content. Moderate: animal cruelty, kidnapping, pedophilia, suicidal thoughts, torture, suicide attempt, injury/injury detail, fatphobia, body shaming, self harm, abortion, vomit, excrement.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Death, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, and Sexual content

Moderate: Self harm, Abortion, Excrement, Animal cruelty, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Body shaming, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, and Fatphobia

saldre's review against another edition

dark informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Violence

sarahasyouwish's review against another edition

dark informative medium-paced

3.75

This was an interesting mix of half memoir and half true crime story. We learn of Liza’s rocky upbringing and her abusive mother who would frequently leave her children with any willing person she could find to babysit them. One of the strangers recruited to babysit is Tony Costa, whom Liza remembers fondly until learning years later he was convicted of multiple murders which took place around the time she knew him. The book flips back and forth between Liza’s story and Tony’s as she pieces together his past from the records available to her. It was sad to see how disposable young women were thought of in the 1960s and how the disappearance of several women was barely a blip on anyone’s radar. The book would have benefited from having first-hand information from Costa and his experience-wife, but given the circumstances, I felt like the author did a good job piecing together the story in a way that was intriguing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Murder, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Drug use

molsreads's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

3.5

Part memoir, part serial killer true crime novel--The Babysitter: My Summers With a Serial Killer by Liza Rodman & Jennifer Jordan is told through Liza's first-person recollections of her summers spent in Provincetown often spending time with the local hotel handyman, Tony Costa, who, years later, she learns was a sadistic serial killer known as The Cape Cod Vampire.
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 What's heartbreaking and shocking about this story is that Tony, despite his brutal crimes,  is not portrayed as the only villain in this story. Liza's own mother is physically and emotionally abusive and deliberately cruel. 
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It's heartbreaking when one of the few people from Liza's childhood that showed her the most kindness is revealed to be a serial killer-- who was likely grooming her to be a future victim.
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I had never heard of Tony Costa so his story and gruesome crimes were completely new to me. It's not the best true crime book I've ever read, that honor is still held by American Predator but it is definitely worth a read for any true crime fans. 
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Thanks to @netgalley and Atria Books for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. 
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Since @jobis said true crime counts for the #50states50horrorbooks challenge; this is my choice for Massachusetts.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Violence

charisma_reads's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.5

While I am completely intrigued by true crime (books and tv aspects) this book wasn’t what I thought it would be entirely. Yes, the title is “the babysitter” in regards to the serial criminal being one of the authors babysitters it is a bit misleading. The book included the author (Liza) time growing up with her emotionally and physically abusive mother and how her mother found babysitters left and right so her mother can go out and find herself a husband. I truly disliked these parts because of course her mother was vial but it really had nothing to do with the true character of this book, the serial killer Tony Costa. If the chapters about Liza had nothing to do with Tony, but about her abuse w her mother at the end of the chapters she would say something along the lines of “I wondered what Tony was doing on nights like these” ...... which honestly had nothing to do with Tony or the premise of this book which was his crimes. 


Reading about Tony’s chapters were very interesting, graphic and well written. He was truly a disturbed individual who seemed to have multiple personality disorders IMO while reading the book. 

The book was interesting, well written and the research well done. 


Obviously this is true crime so all of the TW: Rape, Drug Abuse, Sexual abuse and rape, Emotional, verbal and physical abuse, suicide and murder. 


Thank you to the publisher for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicide, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Child abuse, and Adult/minor relationship