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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
THE BORDEN MURDERS: LIZZIE BORDEN AND THE TRIAL OF THE CENTURY
Written by Sarah Miller
2016; Schwartz & Wade (304 Pages)
Genre: young adult, nonfiction, history, crime, mystery, true crime
RATING: ★★★
In 1892, Andrew and Abby Borden were found murdered in their home and their daughter, Lizzie is soon arrested. In this true crime book, Sarah Miller takes the reader on a linear look at the case from the moment the Bordens are murdered to when Lizzie dies. We sees the different theories that have been thrown around then and now. Where the key players were and their motives. Miller also supplies some historical context of the time to gives us some ideas of what that time was like It reads like a textbook rather than a story which is not a bad thing. While the book is about crime and murder, it isn't gory in details but I would pin this one at mid to late teens to adults. A must for any true crime buff...or one in the making!
My Novelesque Blog
Written by Sarah Miller
2016; Schwartz & Wade (304 Pages)
Genre: young adult, nonfiction, history, crime, mystery, true crime
RATING: ★★★
In 1892, Andrew and Abby Borden were found murdered in their home and their daughter, Lizzie is soon arrested. In this true crime book, Sarah Miller takes the reader on a linear look at the case from the moment the Bordens are murdered to when Lizzie dies. We sees the different theories that have been thrown around then and now. Where the key players were and their motives. Miller also supplies some historical context of the time to gives us some ideas of what that time was like It reads like a textbook rather than a story which is not a bad thing. While the book is about crime and murder, it isn't gory in details but I would pin this one at mid to late teens to adults. A must for any true crime buff...or one in the making!
My Novelesque Blog
dark
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
A well written, well researched, and expertly balanced account of the Borden murders.
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
I learned of this book while listening to Sarah Miller being interviewed by Richard Behrens at lizziebordengirldetective.net. Those interviews were excellent. So I picked up a copy of her book, which I found excellent as well. It was very easy to read, hit all of the high points of the story, and then some. I've read numerous books about the murders, and this is the best one so far. Miller covered a lot of ground in 278 pages.
medium-paced
Like most schoolchildren, I knew the infamous rhyme about Lizzie giving her parents forty whacks, but little else about the story. This engrossing history for teens has it all: lurid rumors, a mysterious poisoning the day before the murders, a rich family tight fisted with their fortune, sisters who stick together but sometimes clash in opinion, and in the center of it all, misfit spinster Lizzie Borden who is accused on little evidence other than her general lack of hysteria about the crime. The only thing that makes this read dissatisfying is the answers to all the questions it raises--lost to history.
I didn't like this book which is why it took me so f-ing long to read it. I found it not very thrilling and while I did choose it as my optional summer non-fiction I regret my decision. It was interesting to hear about the 1800s murder case stuff but other than that I didn't really enjoy this book and would not recommend it. I also wish they had actually found out if she did it or not but whatever.
dark
informative
medium-paced
# 1 - Read a YA nonfiction book
The second book of my reading challenge was found on the ReadHarder website, since I had no idea where to start for this prompt. I found the blurb "YA true crime needs to happen so much more and this book is a great one" to be all that was needed to convince me that this book was going to be my next one. So, off I went to the library!
To start things off, I realized I didn't know the slightest thing about Lizzie Borden - not even much of the popular claims that she was a kleptomaniac, had a seething hatred for her stepmother, that she decapitated cats, etc. Even so, what I did know was that she had been accused of killing her parents. That being said, all of the myriad details laid out carefully by the author really helped me to get a better context and understanding of what might have gone on during the trial, from the time of the murder until the electrifying verdict of the trial. The many photographs included in the book were also quite helpful as visual aids to the overall story of this "true crime."
How I wished that there had been some sort of final word from the author about what had truly happened! But unfortunately, we do not, and may never, know. If only CSI could time-travel and enhance, enhance, enhance...
Some nonfiction historical accounts can be quite dry to get through, and I will admit that I suffer from shorter stamina than many, especially because I read nonfiction essentially all day for my job (with school, now, adding more non-fic on top!). There were times where I left this book sitting around, and I'm not sure if it's because I was just overwhelmed with the business of everything else, or if I had reached my nonfiction limit. Even so, I found the writing to be engaging and suspenseful.
I'm not sure what made this book "YA" and not just a regular old non-fiction book, but I would recommend this to people of all ages who would like to know a bit more about the whole Borden affair.
The second book of my reading challenge was found on the ReadHarder website, since I had no idea where to start for this prompt. I found the blurb "YA true crime needs to happen so much more and this book is a great one" to be all that was needed to convince me that this book was going to be my next one. So, off I went to the library!
To start things off, I realized I didn't know the slightest thing about Lizzie Borden - not even much of the popular claims that she was a kleptomaniac, had a seething hatred for her stepmother, that she decapitated cats, etc. Even so, what I did know was that she had been accused of killing her parents. That being said, all of the myriad details laid out carefully by the author really helped me to get a better context and understanding of what might have gone on during the trial, from the time of the murder until the electrifying verdict of the trial. The many photographs included in the book were also quite helpful as visual aids to the overall story of this "true crime."
How I wished that there had been some sort of final word from the author about what had truly happened! But unfortunately, we do not, and may never, know. If only CSI could time-travel and enhance, enhance, enhance...
Some nonfiction historical accounts can be quite dry to get through, and I will admit that I suffer from shorter stamina than many, especially because I read nonfiction essentially all day for my job (with school, now, adding more non-fic on top!). There were times where I left this book sitting around, and I'm not sure if it's because I was just overwhelmed with the business of everything else, or if I had reached my nonfiction limit. Even so, I found the writing to be engaging and suspenseful.
I'm not sure what made this book "YA" and not just a regular old non-fiction book, but I would recommend this to people of all ages who would like to know a bit more about the whole Borden affair.