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goodem9199's review against another edition
4.0
Painful story of a white girl and her black brother.
book_concierge's review against another edition
3.0
3.5***
This is a memoir of growing up with parents who adhered to a religious fundamentalism but who were abusive to their children. Scheeres was the youngest child in the family, and the last biological child born to her parents, who subsequently adopted two African American boys. David, was practically Julia’s twin, with only a month or so difference in their birthdates. They grew up as brother and sister, and shared dreams of one day growing up and moving to Florida together. When David and Julia were teens, they rebelled against their strict upbringing with the result that their parents sent them to a school in the Dominican Republic – a sort of “boot camp” to get them right with Jesus.
The first half of the book details their childhood and early school experiences. The racial prejudice aimed at David, and from which Julia tried to protect her brother, with the result that she was also ostracized in their small midwestern town.
The second half of the book focuses on the time they spent at Escuela Caribe, and what they had to endure there to “prove” to the people running the school and to their parents that they “deserved” to return to their home in Indiana.
Their mother was clearly neglectful, ignoring the children’s complaints of mistreatment at school, and barely providing them with food, shelter and clothing. But their father. He may have been a surgeon, but he was physically abusive, particularly to the adopted boys. Why was he never prosecuted!?!?!
Yet the love she and David shared, the unbreakable bond of brother and sister, shine through. Towards the end of their time at Escuela Caribe, she writes:
We are young, and we have our entire lives ahead of us. Together, we have survived racism and religion. Together, we are strong. Together, we can do anything.
Life may not be fair, but when you have someone to believe in, life can be managed, and sometimes, even miraculous.
After everything else falls away, we shall remain brother and sister. Family.
This is a memoir of growing up with parents who adhered to a religious fundamentalism but who were abusive to their children. Scheeres was the youngest child in the family, and the last biological child born to her parents, who subsequently adopted two African American boys. David, was practically Julia’s twin, with only a month or so difference in their birthdates. They grew up as brother and sister, and shared dreams of one day growing up and moving to Florida together. When David and Julia were teens, they rebelled against their strict upbringing with the result that their parents sent them to a school in the Dominican Republic – a sort of “boot camp” to get them right with Jesus.
The first half of the book details their childhood and early school experiences. The racial prejudice aimed at David, and from which Julia tried to protect her brother, with the result that she was also ostracized in their small midwestern town.
The second half of the book focuses on the time they spent at Escuela Caribe, and what they had to endure there to “prove” to the people running the school and to their parents that they “deserved” to return to their home in Indiana.
Their mother was clearly neglectful, ignoring the children’s complaints of mistreatment at school, and barely providing them with food, shelter and clothing. But their father. He may have been a surgeon, but he was physically abusive, particularly to the adopted boys. Why was he never prosecuted!?!?!
Yet the love she and David shared, the unbreakable bond of brother and sister, shine through. Towards the end of their time at Escuela Caribe, she writes:
We are young, and we have our entire lives ahead of us. Together, we have survived racism and religion. Together, we are strong. Together, we can do anything.
Life may not be fair, but when you have someone to believe in, life can be managed, and sometimes, even miraculous.
After everything else falls away, we shall remain brother and sister. Family.
carolynrasp's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
3.0
I'm only giving this one 3 stars because I did feel mostly engrossed in the story, but overall, this was not my favorite. The writing was fine, which was shocking bc of how good Thousand Lives' writing was. I didn't understand the choice to try and give us the background of her and her brother's relationship at the end of each chapter. Occasionally the language was derogatory and homophobic and I can't tell if it's because she was telling the story from her viewpoint as a teenager, or if that was her present day language, and that's a significant difference. Lots and lots of trigger warnings with this too.
kathleenguthriewoods's review against another edition
5.0
Katie Couric is right: You can't put this down!
A gripping memoir from a brave woman. Brave because she survived her childhood, brave because she shares her story.
Racism, religion gone wrong, "reform" school...this book checks a lot of hot boxes. At the core is a loving bond forged between adopted siblings.
Get ready to stay up all night.
A gripping memoir from a brave woman. Brave because she survived her childhood, brave because she shares her story.
Racism, religion gone wrong, "reform" school...this book checks a lot of hot boxes. At the core is a loving bond forged between adopted siblings.
Get ready to stay up all night.
nderiley's review against another edition
5.0
My boyfriend asked me recently, why I read so many fundamentalist religious themed novels when I myself am an atheist. I gave it some thought this afternoon and what I can put into words is that I find the thought process of people so opposite me to be intriguing. One might also wonder why I read so many memoirs about hardship. I find them uplifting, inspiring and sometimes, they just make me grateful for the upbringing I've had. With that in mind, I've read many books that fall into either or both categories.
With the years of books I've read, nothing has come close to touching me the way that Jesus Land just has.
With the years of books I've read, nothing has come close to touching me the way that Jesus Land just has.
jeanabreu's review against another edition
3.0
This wasn't the most well written book, but her story is compelling. Her description of her sibling relationship was really good, and eventually heartbreaking.
jennylane's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Racism, Racial slurs, Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Sexual assault
aliena_jackson's review against another edition
3.0
This wasn’t a bad book, I just genuinely did not know how to rate it. Escuela Carine seems like it is a terrible, awful place that should be shut down as soon as possible.
ashpanda88's review against another edition
5.0
Julia tells the story of she and her brother David's experiences growing up with fundamentalist parents and at Escuela Caribe, a fundamentalist Christian reform school in the Dominican Republic. I am simply appalled that such an institution is allowed to exist or that parents would willingly spend thousands to send their children to a 'school' for them to be abused and gain a low-grade education. Heartbreaking story, but well-told. I admire Julia for being able to open up about such painful experiences.
krystlem's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.0