The Fact of a Body by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich Review

Before Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich begins a summer job at a law firm in Louisiana, working to help defend men accused of murder, she thinks her position is clear. The child of two lawyers, she is staunchly anti-death penalty. But the moment convicted murderer Ricky Langley’s face flashes on the screen as she reviews old tapes―the moment she hears him speak of his crimes―she is overcome with the feeling of wanting him to die. Shocked by her reaction, she digs deeper and deeper into the case. Despite their vastly different circumstances, something in his story is unsettlingly, uncannily familiar.

Crime, even the darkest and most unsayable acts, can happen to any one of us. As Alexandria pores over the facts of the murder, she finds herself thrust into the complicated narrative of Ricky’s childhood. And by examining the details of Ricky’s case, she is forced to face her own story, to unearth long-buried family secrets, and reckon with a past that colors her view of Ricky's crime.

But another surprise awaits: She wasn’t the only one who saw her life in Ricky’s.

An intellectual and emotional thriller that is also a different kind of murder mystery, The Fact Of a Body is a book not only about how the story of one crime was constructed―but about how we grapple with our own personal histories. Along the way it tackles questions about the nature of forgiveness, and if a single narrative can ever really contain something as definitive as the truth. This groundbreaking, heart-stopping work, ten years in the making, shows how the law is more personal than we would like to believe―and the truth more complicated, and powerful, than we could ever imagine. 

The nonfiction books I've been picking up lately have been especially good, and continuing that winning streak we have The Fact of a Body. This was one of two extremely hyped up nonfiction crime novels this year, and it seemed much much more interesting than the other one, American Fire, about arson, a crime even more boring than money laundering or other financial crimes. Also, it's by the same author as one of my least favorite books last year. So when looking at both books in the library I only came home with one, this one.

The Fact of the Body is kind of in the same tradition as In Cold Blood, looking at a heinous crime and then looking at the man who committed such an act. Both crimes are roughly on the same side of horrible, the men in In Cold Blood killing four people, including two teenagers, in a home invasion and the man in this book killing a child after maybe sexually assaulting him. Or perhaps he killed the child and then sexually assaulted him. The details were never really worked out. I put these two crimes on the same level because crimes against children are hideous no question. 

After Marzano-Lesnevich establishes the crime and the crime's effects on the people of the town, like Capote she then launches into Ricky Smith's (the man who did it) past. There could be strong parallels drawn between him and Perry Smith. Both come from less than ideal home lives, big families with alcoholic mothers. Both have less than normal mental states, there is something easily pitied about them. While it was easier to pity Perry than Ricky, I can't help but feel something for them both. Of course, I've always been sensitive to people who come across as sad or desperate or childish seeming. I mean, I've been watching The People vs OJ Simpson and I just feel bad for everyone in that show except Shapiro and Cochlan. So really, it's not that hard to garner my pity, I'm pretty susceptible to sob stories, it's mostly why I oppose the death penalty. That being said, I'm not saying that Ricky Smith should be free or be in a mental institution instead of jail, no the man belongs in prison for life, no questions asked, but he doesn't deserve to die.

An interesting question that this book brings up is the question of pedophilia. Can a person with it get help? Can they change? Or are they people who just can't help themselves? I'm not a psychologist, far from it actually, but I don't think they can change. On one hand, the book leads you to pity the pedophile, who tried to get help only to have it fail, but on the other hand... pedophiles hurt children. They aren't kleptomaniacs who don't actually hurt anyone. Children do not and never will understand sex or romantic love, you cannot be in a mutual relationship with a five year old. In the end, I think there is nothing to do but put the pedophile in jail.

Also, I'm pretty sure Ricky Smith has some form of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. The childish, impulsive way he acts certainly points to that, especially since his mother apparently drank steadily throughout her entire pregnancy.

However, I wasn't as taken with the memoir part of the book as I was with the crime part, though I'm sure it was very cathartic to write. 

Marzano-Lesnevich is a very good writer, one who definitely knows how to tell a story, and I can see her going far in the literary world. I liked her style, and how she endeavors to show all sides of the story, and her own perspective on her childhood abuse. While she doesn't claim to speak for all those who were abused as children, likely this book will be very helpful for someone who went through something similar.

In the end, I highly recommend this book to someone who likes crime books or family dramas or both, regardless of which side one falls on the death penalty. I will definitely watch for more of Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich's work.

8.5 out of 10

The Dead Inside by Cyndy Elter Review

I never was a badass. Or a slut, a junkie, a stoner, like they told me I was. I was just a kid looking for something good, something that felt like love. I was a wannabe in a Levi's jean jacket. Anybody could see that. Except my mother. And the professionals at Straight.

From the outside, Straight Inc. was a drug rehab. But on the inside it was...well, it was something else.

All Cyndy wanted was to be loved and accepted. By age fourteen, she had escaped from her violent home, only to be reported as a runaway and sent to a "drug rehabilitation" facility that changed her world.

To the public, Straight Inc. was a place of recovery. But behind closed doors, the program used bizarre and intimidating methods to "treat" its patients. In her raw and fearless memoir, Cyndy Etler recounts her sixteen months in the living nightmare that Straight Inc. considered "healing."

Fun fact, I found this book in the local library thinking it was fiction, because it's in the fiction section. It's not. It's a memoir. But it is written like a fiction novel which makes me think fiction is in this author's future. 

In this case, the fictional feel of the memoir made it easy to read and hard to put down. I read the whole thing in one sitting, intrigued by the fucked up nature of Straight Inc. Young Cyndy was an interesting narrator, and I liked the 80s slang that peppered her voice. Also, she gets bonus points for actually managing to sound her age in the memoir. Cyndy actually seemed 13-14, not 8. I find that a lot of YA authors when writing a character that's younger than 15 make them sound like they're fresh out of elementary school, not middle school- see The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Cyndy was believable as an 80s young teen- I could imagine her with her big 80s hair and jean jacket giggling about boys at the mall with Joanna.

I also loved that it took partly in Connecticut. I didn't expect it too, and thought it was just a coincidence when Bridgeport was mentioned. But then Stamford and Norwalk and Monroe showed up, and I kind of loved that I knew everything she was talking about. I'm happy this book showed a different Connecticut than the one that usually shows up in books. Fairfield County, Greenwich, Westport, rich areas with Old Money WASPish families and the only cotillion classes available this side of the Mason-Dixon Line. Either that or charming colonial-era towns populated by lovable eccentrics straight out of Gilmore Girls. In reality, while it is true Connecticut is home to some of the richest area codes in the country and has plenty of picturesque small towns, there's a huge wealth divide, and many of the major cities are Not the Best Places to Live as a result. I mean, sure, there's a couple of exceptions- Trumbull's pretty nice for instance- but Bridgeport, New Haven (there's a reason most of the Yalies live in Woodbridge), and Hartford are pretty bad places to be late at night. We also have a lot of rural towns and old blue collar mill towns that have picked themselves back up by varying degrees after industry left America. My point is, Cyndy paints a good portrait of what the real Connecticut is. Her descriptions of Monroe as a Podunk town especially made me laugh- Monroe's on the edge of the rural area- it's not really rural, but I could see how someone from Stamford would think that. 

This book also probably contains the most glowing description of Bridgeport you will ever find. Seriously. My mother grew up in Trumbull, on the Bridgeport border actually, and worked there as an ER nurse during the AIDS epidemic- right around the time this book takes place- and the stories she could tell you. Bridgeport's probably like the estranged delinquent child of Fairfield County. I think because of that I really liked the way Cyndy thought of the city. Because Bridgeport's kind of like an amped up version of all those old mill towns. Once upon a time, it made everything from corsets to guns. It's home to PT Barnum, the Frisbie Pie Company (where the name Frisbee comes from), and Subway and what would the world be like without those things. But it got hit hard by deindustrialization and I'm afraid it hasn't changed much since '85, the year this memoir was supposed to take place. I suppose they're trying to fix it, but this is also the city that, two years ago, elected a guy as mayor who got arrested for corruption the last time he served, so I'm not really holding my breath.

Sorry, I get a little carried away with stuff like that. 

Anyway, one thing I didn't think worked entirely about this memoir is the way she switched tenses a lot, making me confused when an event took place. In fact, the whole time frame of this memoir once she got into Straight was a bit hard to follow. She would make references about events that happened "last night" even though she didn't write about them when they actually happened and, again, her tenses would get all mixed up and I'd just end up confused. Luckily, it was easy enough to not fixate on and I was able to get the gist of what was going on. Because once you get past those minor issues, the book becomes easy to read- and an interesting one at that.

So I did enjoy The Dead Inside. I mean, I didn't love it or anything, but I did find it absolutely fascinating and liked Cyndy enough. I'd recommend it if you want an easy to read memoir with an interesting subject matter.

8 out of 10

Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier Review + A Mini Review of Dare to Disappoint by Ozge Samanci

WARNING: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS BELOW

Catrina and her family are moving to the coast of Northern California because her little sister, Maya, is sick. Cat isn't happy about leaving her friends for Bahía de la Luna, but Maya has cystic fibrosis and will benefit from the cool, salty air that blows in from the sea. As the girls explore their new home, a neighbor lets them in on a secret: There are ghosts in Bahía de la Luna. Maya is determined to meet one, but Cat wants nothing to do with them. As the time of year when ghosts reunite with their loved ones approaches, Cat must figure out how to put aside her fears for her sister's sake - and her own. 

I'm not really a graphic novel fan. As much as I love art and animation and all that, graphic novels never really caught my eye. Maybe it's because graphic novel art reminds me a lot of the new Cartoon Network art, which is kind of unappealing to me. Also, a lot of graphic novels just kind of blend together and none of them stand out when I browse for books at my local library. 

But this month I read not one but two graphic novels. And I remembered another reason why I don't usually read graphic novels, but I'll get to that in a second. This is the first, which I picked up on a whim and also because, as I think I mentioned before, I really enjoy Raina Telgemeier's work. She's one of the few middle grade writers who have managed to hold my interest, and I find her art style unique and pleasant for a graphic novel. I especially like her memoirs, though I did also enjoy Drama, her first middle grade straight up novel. 

So with all that in mind I picked up Ghosts. I was intrigued by this book when it first came out in the September of last year, but then got distracted by other books that came out around that time, like A Gentleman in Moscow and Crooked Kingdom. I liked the fact that it was about a little girl with cystic fibrosis and her older sister dealing with the very real possibility that her sister will not live very long. I've never read a book that had a girl with cystic fibrosis in it, though I was aware of its existence, and really liked that representation. I also liked the Mexican cultural elements. Latin, especially Mexican, culture is so vibrant and colorful and quite interesting. Also, the Day of the Dead is easily one of the most interesting holidays out there, and I was a little in love with the Northern California town she created to set her story in- I'd never live in California, but if I had to, it'd be to there. Or San Francisco. Either one. 

That being said, my favorite part was the illustrations. I loved Telgemeier's take on ghosts. I admit, I expected a more realistic style of drawing ghosts and was really happy when I saw those cute little things. I also really liked her character designs and how she goes to extra lengths to make sure that all of her characters, even the background ones, are visually interesting and unique. 

Of course, this book does have flaws. It is a middle grade book, and a graphic novel, so the emotions don't reach as deep as they could have been. The characters aren't as developed as they could have been, and their development was pretty instantaneous. Both of these are common problems I have with graphic novels- I find that they're usually pretty short, and as such are pretty surface level in terms of depth. Often I leave them wanting more. 

But overall, I did enjoy this book, about as much I can enjoy a middle grade graphic novel. Also, ghosts. I really love ghosts. I'm tempted to pick up Anya's Ghost now because of this book. Recommended for any middle grade reader, graphic novel lover or not.

7.5 out of 10

And now, a mini review of Dare to Disappoint by Ozge Samanci

Growing up on the Aegean Coast, Ozge loved the sea and imagined a life of adventure while her parents and society demanded predictability. Her dad expected Ozge, like her sister, to become an engineer. She tried to hear her own voice over his and the religious and militaristic tensions of Turkey and the conflicts between secularism and fundamentalism. Could she be a scuba diver like Jacques Cousteau? A stage actress? Would it be possible to please everyone including herself?

In her unpredictable and funny graphic memoir, Ozge recounts her story using inventive collages, weaving together images of the sea, politics, science, and friendship. 

Not crazy about this book. It had a lot of the same problems as Ghosts, but with a storyline that endeared me less and with what seemed like much less heart. I felt like Samanci just wrote this book because of the success of books along the same lines as this, like Persopolis (haven't read that one, and honestly, it doesn't really appeal much to me). 

I also felt that Samanci didn't really know where she was going with this book. Did she want to write a book about her father's pressure on her, fundamental Islam, a picture of Turkey at the time, what? The book felt as confused as Turkey did during the 80s. The lack of her telling us any time periods confused me, and made this not the best book for someone interested in a history of modern Turkey. Perhaps that's intentional, to mimic her feelings about what she should do with her life, but I don't know.

So what did I like? It was easy to read- I read the whole thing in one sitting without even checking it out because I was tired of my other book- and the mixed media elements were interesting even if it did add to the confused, jumbled together nature of the book. Some parts were actually pretty funny, but other times her jokes missed the mark a bit. My favorite parts were at the beginning of the book, when she talked about her experiences in primary school- the book kind of lost me as she entered her teenage years.

But the art style was mostly unpleasant and the ending felt unfinished and I left this book feeling very meh. I suppose if I want to read a book about Middle Eastern culture (I'm referring to the Middle East more as a cultural construct, not a geographical one in this context, because I know that Turkey isn't part of the Middle East geographically and people get all butthurt about it), I'd pick up something by Khaled Hosseini. His books are longer, and they lack the pictures, but his characters and portrayals of their situations are unmatched. Adore his stuff.

5-5.5 out of 10