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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
This is the first true crime book I've read and I've also never heard anything about the Borden murders before. I loved this book and couldn't put it down.
Reading it, it didn't strike me as particularly for a younger audience, though it is labeled ya (maybe that helped it be less graphic?). While the content matter was naturally disturbing (since two people were butchered) and the book didn't shy away from describing those deaths, I never found it disturbing. The descriptions felt distanced to me, not as graphic.
I loved the neutral way the case was presented. I did feel really frustrated at the way the case was so poorly handled (meaning we will probably never know for sure who did it) but it was a very interesting case. I felt it was presented very well.
Reading it, it didn't strike me as particularly for a younger audience, though it is labeled ya (maybe that helped it be less graphic?). While the content matter was naturally disturbing (since two people were butchered) and the book didn't shy away from describing those deaths, I never found it disturbing. The descriptions felt distanced to me, not as graphic.
I loved the neutral way the case was presented. I did feel really frustrated at the way the case was so poorly handled (meaning we will probably never know for sure who did it) but it was a very interesting case. I felt it was presented very well.
Lizzie Borden took an axe, gave her mother forty whacks. When she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one.
A bit of local lore that I had never learned the full story about. Well written and researched, it follows the trial and aftermath of the murders of Andrew and Abby Borden. This is being assigned to the 8th grade classes in my school, and it is written in such a way that will capture both younger and older readers.
A bit of local lore that I had never learned the full story about. Well written and researched, it follows the trial and aftermath of the murders of Andrew and Abby Borden. This is being assigned to the 8th grade classes in my school, and it is written in such a way that will capture both younger and older readers.
Very well-done for its target audience - youth. Lots of sidebar explanations of terms from the period, or law terms, or things specific to the town. Review to come.
I read this one bc my niece was interested in it. We were doing a lil mini book readinh together. I always knew about the accusations against Lizzie, but I was curious about the trial. Good, easy read.. Hard for me to know what is true and what is fiction when a book is based on truth but isn't really..
For an event with almost no solid evidence and that remains unsolved, this is an incredibly detailed and dense book about something really fascinating. Well done.
I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was interesting and kept me engaged. It's well researched and well written, plus I learned some things I hadn't known before. I would definitely recommend this book to people if they wouldn't find the subject matter too macabre. 4 out of 5 stars, would read again.
A great non-fiction book about Lizzie Borden and the murders of her father and stepmother. I recommend this to anyone who is interested in knowing more about the case. The author does a great job keeping the story neutral and allowing the reader to make up their mind of whether or not Lizzie was guilty of this crime. The author presents the information in a very readable style that is so well put together it almost feels like fiction.
An in-depth look at a gory murder, a sensational trial, and the mysteries that remained unsolved, Sarah Miller's exploration of the Borden murders brings this dramatic piece of history to life. Lovers of true crime will eat this up, but younger readers may struggle with the often dry tone and the extensive vocabulary. Although publisher recommendation is 10+, this one will be best enjoyed by middle school readers with the patience to dig through history.
3 STARS ✨
Format read: Audiobook
Listening time: 7hrs, 49 minutes
Since Lizzie The Musical swiftly became a new hyperfixation of mine, I have been doing a lot of research into the Lizzie Borden case. This book was highly recommended, and it definitely raised a couple of points I wasn't aware of before and was an interesting listen. However, it did feel as if it paced back and fourth a bit at the beginning, rather than going chronologically. Perhaps it was to engage the younger readers, as that is its audience, but it didn't really work for me.
Format read: Audiobook
Listening time: 7hrs, 49 minutes
Since Lizzie The Musical swiftly became a new hyperfixation of mine, I have been doing a lot of research into the Lizzie Borden case. This book was highly recommended, and it definitely raised a couple of points I wasn't aware of before and was an interesting listen. However, it did feel as if it paced back and fourth a bit at the beginning, rather than going chronologically. Perhaps it was to engage the younger readers, as that is its audience, but it didn't really work for me.
In The Borden Murders: Lizzie Borden and the Trial of the Century, author Sarah Miller lays out the facts -- as far as they're available -- of the case of the Fall River, Massachusetts murders of 1892. From the gruesome scene which Lizzie Borden alerted everyone to in the home she shared with her father and stepmother to the trial that captured generations and everything between, The Borden Murders covers the events of a crime that remains a mystery today and has been boiled down to a rhyme: Lizzie Borden took an axe, and gave her mother forty whacks; when she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one.
With a critical eye, Miller examines the media reports and court transcripts most, noting frequently how the reliability of these documents varies and, in many cases, it's not always possible to discern the truth from varying reports. It's an excellent -- if perhaps not entirely intentional -- meditation on media manipulation in particular and a great foundation for discussing media literacy. Given the events' removal from modern times, I'd absolutely recommend this work to educators seeking a demonstrative piece for media literacy studies.
In notes following the main text, Miller points out how none of the dialog is invented, but rather drawn from real quotes in the many sources she used to conduct her research. Some readers have described the book as reading like a novel -- here, I disagree and in fact often found the prose to be a bit tedious to get through. Especially having been written for teens, the book might have benefitted from a more energetic style. However, the book does provide a seemingly thorough look at the case and is generally clear.
Readers who begin the book with a more decided notion of Borden's guilt or lack thereof may be surprised to find themselves more ambivalent by the end. With a precise description of how the law works in the US, following Lizzie Borden's legal journey can help the reader to see why she was found innocent when the rhyme bearing her name damned her so decidedly. An interesting -- if sometimes dry in style -- read.
With a critical eye, Miller examines the media reports and court transcripts most, noting frequently how the reliability of these documents varies and, in many cases, it's not always possible to discern the truth from varying reports. It's an excellent -- if perhaps not entirely intentional -- meditation on media manipulation in particular and a great foundation for discussing media literacy. Given the events' removal from modern times, I'd absolutely recommend this work to educators seeking a demonstrative piece for media literacy studies.
In notes following the main text, Miller points out how none of the dialog is invented, but rather drawn from real quotes in the many sources she used to conduct her research. Some readers have described the book as reading like a novel -- here, I disagree and in fact often found the prose to be a bit tedious to get through. Especially having been written for teens, the book might have benefitted from a more energetic style. However, the book does provide a seemingly thorough look at the case and is generally clear.
Readers who begin the book with a more decided notion of Borden's guilt or lack thereof may be surprised to find themselves more ambivalent by the end. With a precise description of how the law works in the US, following Lizzie Borden's legal journey can help the reader to see why she was found innocent when the rhyme bearing her name damned her so decidedly. An interesting -- if sometimes dry in style -- read.