Legit Question

Little Shoes: The Sensational Depression-Era Murders That Became My Family's Secret

I received a digital ARC of this book for free via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4 Stars

This book was awful. I cried. A lot.

Not in terms of the writing, but the subject matter. I can think of no greater fear as a mother, than of something happening to my beloved little girl and I was in tears for much of this book because I could not stop imagining being in that position, to lose the person I love more than anyone or anything on this earth, in such a horrible way.

Little Shoes tells the story of the author's family in the summer of 1937. The Depression had lasted for almost a decade at that point, and war was imminent, though perhaps not from the US standpoint quite yet. Three little girls, two of whom would have been the author's aunts, were lured away from the park one afternoon and never seen in life again. After frantic searching by the family, friends, and police, a gruesome discovery was made, that of their little bodies, their three little pairs of shoes lined up neatly some short distance from their bodies. A suspect was brought forth, he was tried in one of the most sensational trials of the decade and the whole country seemed under the spell of the madness and trauma of it all. He was found guilty (no big surprise, despite the obvious fact that he was NOT guilty), and he was executed for the horrific murders. The story was long since buried, as the family attempted to tuck it away out of sight, as though that might lessen the pain or bring some kind of closure.

Everett stumbled upon this closely guarded family secret, nearly by accident. For reasons she does not at first understand, her father is extremely overprotective (thought by my own personal standards, nope, he is spot-on perfect in his protectiveness. Yes, I am THAT parent. I can't help it. I know what's out there.) and he makes a statement that she also does not understand, about him having lost two sisters. The author begins diving into the family history and discovers the story of her little aunts, lives ended far too soon. Both her current profession (lawyer) and her previous profession (journalist) aid Everett in her search for answers, and to the questions she did not even know she needed to be asking. She is met with a wealth of information, a complex scenario that involved some of the earliest attempts of criminal profiling, the creation of sex offender laws, and wrongful convictions and executions. We discover the information with her, and it leads to several questions about the whole arrest, trial, and execution - mainly, was the right man brought to justice for such a horrific crime?

Personally, I don't think so. And that makes this 80-year-old-crime all the more traumatic.

I finished this book ages ago, yet it has taken me this long to write a review, and I don't even feel like it is a proper review at all. As I mentioned previously, this was a hard one for me to read. But as I went on and on reading, and the sense growing that no, the right man was not held accountable, I knew I HAD to keep reading. This story was one I had never heard of, and those girls deserve to have their story known, even if those involved are long gone and justice is no longer possible. It is an absolutely heart-wrenching read and one I can not go back to, otherwise I might have more quotes and things to provide here. But I hope at least some of the emotion I felt while reading it will come across. I can't imagine living through something so terrible. I don't think I could.

I greatly appreciated the fact that the author did not go into details about the crime itself. The generalities were hard enough. I did want to know more about the man who seemed the more likely killer, but I don't suppose there is much more to know about it. The author does say he died within a decade of the murders, but the vengeful side of me wanted to know how - and hoped it was painful for him. From the information that the author presents, I do not believe the convicted man was the killer, I just don't see how he could have committed such a crime.

Overall, this is an incredibly well-written account of a terrible tragedy that was deeply personal for the author, as it impacted her family. I recommend it highly because these girls deserve to not be forgotten. The book is full of heartbreak and sadness, and justice not served, but it is also well worth your time.

Books Are The Best Reward

I can pretty much justify any book purchase, though I have been told that my logic does not resemble Earth logic.

(Bonus points for anyone who knows what show that logic line is from!)

Stacking the Shelves 14

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly feature co-hosted by Tynga's Reviews and Reading Reality. It is a chance to showcase all the goodies you've collected in the last week, whether they're bought on-line or in-store, an ARC or a final copy, borrowed from a friend or the library, physical or digital, you get the idea. If nothing else, this treat shows how much of an addiction I really have when it comes to acquiring my precious books.

I had an exceptionally large haul this week. Now I can see why my mom thinks I need therapy for my addiction.

Loaned From My Pastor

I actually got this one last week after the Good Friday service but totally forgot to include it the next morning in my STS #13. I absolutely love finding historical accounts relating to Jesus from across other cultures and places.

NetGalley


Kindle Unlimited
 
 

Amazon
 
 
I finally had to give in and just buy Shirer's book. I have been reading it for YEARS now. It's a massive tome and while our library system allows us to renew books up to three times after the initial check-out, someone else is ALWAYS waiting so I never actually get to renew it and have to get back in line again and again.

This set arrived on Wednesday and I was horribly disappointed that the cover of A Mother's Reckoning was damaged so I promptly returned it for a new copy. I used Columbine as my First Line Friday post this week. I have been avoiding this book for years. It's time.

Free Library Books Removed From Circulation
  
 

Half Price Books
  
  
  
  
  
 

Lakeshore

This might be the very cutest book ever. Like, waaaaaay cuter than The Day the Crayons Quit (which I thought I really liked, until I read this one). We've already read it about one hundred times. Eleanor never stops laughing about the "fuzzy butt" line and you can see my review HERE.

Happy Reading!

Sarah

First Line Friday: Columbine

First Line Friday is brought to you by Hoarding Books.

This week my line comes from a book that I have been wanting to read for a long time, but could never quite bring myself to actually do so, until now.

I was a sophomore in high school when Columbine happened. And that is how we've always referred to the massacre, and even do now still. There was life BEFORE Columbine, and life AFTER Columbine. It is true that there were other school shootings prior to Columbine, but this was the definitive one for me for a couple reasons:

1. I was old enough to understand what it meant in the grand scheme of life as a high school student

2. The first footage I ever saw from the tragedy as been imprinted on my brain and will never leave me as long as I live

"He told them he loved them."

For those outside the US who may not know, (or maybe you do, since our country has a horrible record of these mass murders, and no one in power seems to want to do anything about it), on April 20th, 1999 two boys walked into their high school armed with an arsenal of weapons and ended up killing thirteen students and staff before killing themselves in the school library. THIS article from The Guardian is a great read, written on the 10th anniversary.

I understood that day that life was going to be very different going forward. Sure enough, in the weeks that followed there were an assortments of idiots (all caught) who wrote notes or called in bomb threats, disrupting our final two months of the school year. I remember with perfectly clarity the first one, where we were forced to evacuate to the football stadium while bomb-sniffing dogs combed the school. I wondered out loud what they would have done in the event that the threat was real, but the weapon was false, and perhaps someone was actually waiting outside with guns to kill us all as we sat on the bleachers, enclosed by a fence. The second bomb threat came the day we were in the middle of our AP US History exam. The evacuation order was given, and we refused to leave. We protested that it was not real, it was another hoax, and we wanted to finish our exam. The proctor pleaded with us to go, and we refused. It took the principal coming into the room and ordering us out, to finally get us moving.

But far more important than my own personal experience with the aftermath, were those images of students, teenagers just like me, sobbing and bleeding, being loaded into ambulances, or covered with sheets until their bodies could be removed from the scene. The very first image, seared into my brain on that day, came in the evening when we (the track team) were returning to school from a meet. The bus dropped us off at the main doors and as we walked in, one of the televisions in the main entry was turned to CNN. I watched in horror as footage played of a boy so desperate to escape what turned out to be Columbine's library, that he was willing to drop out a second story window, being dragged down to safety by SWAT.

So, I am giving this one a go now. It may take me a long time to read or it may take me no time at all. I honestly have no idea.

Leave a comment or a line of your own and I'll be sure to check out your post as well.

Sarah

And He Wonders Why Belle Didn't Want To Marry Him...

An unforgivable transgression. Sheldon has the right idea.

Happy Reading!

Sarah

The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors

Rating: 5 Stars

Y'all, seriously.

This book is legit one of my fave kid lit reads of the year. My daughter (almost 5) really liked Daywalt's The Day the Crayons Quit and the moment I saw this at the check-out counter in Lakeshore, there was no question it would be going home with us. My daughter is really getting into playing Rock Paper Scissors now and this was a perfect 'origin story', so to speak. She also gets upset with me when I take a page from the Friends' playbook and add fire or water, which are totally valid options, I feel.

Anyway, back to the book.

The whole idea of how Rock, Paper, and Scissors came to know one another and become locked in an epic battle for eternity is hilarious. There are some zingers and one-liners that are just as funny for adults (if not more so) as they are for the kids. These warriors take on all kinds of assorted foes, who are not worthy of their time, as they defeat each and every one, until they come to know one another. Before they meet one another, they fight various other opponents such as an apricot, a tape dispenser, and dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets, among others. It's truly a clever, intelligent book that would be a valuable edition to a home library. There are also random pop culture references adults will enjoy, such as when Rock called the apricot a fuzzy butt. I could not stop laughing as I was reading it out loud (because yes, it does look like the emoji. We all know that peach is really a butt.) He also had another line when he shouted after one battle, "ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!", as he channeled his inner Russell Crowe.

All in all I highly recommend this fitting tribute to three mighty warriors.

Extra Special Treasure!

Pretty much any time my pastor mentions ancient references to Jesus from other cultures around the world, I am at rapt attention. Last week he mentioned the Chinese references to the skies darkening during the Crucifixion. I asked if he had any texts about it, and he told me about this one, which is no easy book to find. Not only did he let me look at the book, he let me borrow it - complete with the page already marked as to where the references are. I am terrified I am going to somehow lose it or damage it, and I feel like I should probably wear gloves so the oils on my skin do not hurt it in any way. It's THAT special. I am really loving it, seeing the translations from Chinese to English, and the commentary. I highly recommend it to anyone who, like me, really enjoys seeking out non-Biblical sources on Jesus. Finding Him in other ancient texts is such a cool thing.

Happy Reading!

Sarah

Death of a Queen

Today is a particularly important day to me, in addition to the celebration of Easter and the defeat of death by Jesus as He rose from the grave.

Today is the day that Eleanor of Aquitaine lived her last, as she died at Fontevraud Abbey in 1204. She was 80 years old and had lived a more full life than many of her male counterparts, really coming into her own upon the death of her second husband, Henry II and serving as regent for her beloved son Richard once he was crowned - and he promptly left for the Holy Land.

I have felt drawn to Eleanor's story for many years now. I have touched briefly on how I came to know her story. I was pregnant with my daughter and living in a new city where I knew no one. So, I spent my weekends at the various libraries I discovered around here, and first 'met' Eleanor thanks to my BFF Dan Jones and his fantastic book, The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England. And just because I never pass up the opportunity to share these...

Eleanor fascinated me from the start and after reading Jones' book I read every other text I could find on her. Some were great, some were terrible, but all were valuable in shaping the image I have of her in my head - one that I am now trying to convey to the world through my own book. I never dreamed in a million years that I would have the opportunity to write about my heroine and yet here I am.

So on this day, I remember this Mighty Girl, who forged a path that earned her nothing but trouble for many years, and yet she persisted. Sometimes life was easy for her, most times it was not. She came into a political marriage at age 13 to Louis VII of France, then spent much of that time at odds with those around her, all vying for Louis' ear. She went on Crusade at the head of a large contingent of women, at Louis' side. But nothing went right and the Crusade was an abysmal failure - and at this time the great cracks in the marriage were becoming irreparable. Once back in France, divorce seemed inevitable and finally Louis could see that by Eleanor, he would have no male heir - a pretty obvious conclusion when she refused to sleep with him any longer. Within a short time Eleanor was free of Louis and had another marriage in mind, one that would provide her the protection she needed as a newly single woman - a marriage to the future Henry II of England. Despite him being nearly a decade younger, they were married quickly, much to Louis' surprise and fury. Eleanor did for Henry in five years what she had not done for Louis in fifteen: provided him with four sons and a daughter. They would go on to have at least three more children, one of whom was yet another boy. But like numerous royal marriages of the time, there was a husband, and a wife, and a slew of mistresses. As Eleanor reached the end of her child-bearing years, she returned home to her familial lands of Aquitaine, at Poitiers. There she was content, raising her favorite son Richard to take over as duke when he came of age. But Eleanor's involvement in the upbringing of their oldest boys lead to a rebellion when Henry II could not relinquish enough power to keep their sons happy. In the end the rebellion was crushed, the boys forgiven, and Eleanor kept as Henry's prisoner for the ensuing fifteen years, rarely allowed at Court unless it was necessary. But, as soon as Henry was gone, one of Richard's first acts was to finally free his mother from her imprisonment. She went to work right away, finally exercising the power that was rightfully hers, as skilled as any king - and often more so. She held the Angevin Empire together while Richard was off fighting Saladin, traversing the length and width of their lands to ensure loyalty and in the end, outlived eight of her ten children. It is kind of fitting that the only daughter to outlive Eleanor was the daughter named for her (and dastardly John, but never mind that).

There are many myths and legends swirling around Eleanor even now, over 800 years later. Some of the nastiest rumors began circulating before she had passed away and many more started making the rounds long after she was around to defend herself. I admit on the surface that some of them could easily be true. But one has to consider the attitude towards women at the time, expectations by the Church of women, and what the chroniclers did and did not say. While I do not believe Eleanor was a saint, there are many stories still in circulation which are simply not true. Embellishments at best and outright lies at worst.

I look forward to sharing my book with you in the near future.

Happy Reading!

Sarah

Happy Easter!

I am nearing the end of my favorite Holy Week read. Something that starts out on such a high with Jesus entering Jerusalem, followed by the traumatic betrayal and agonizing Crucifixion, finally ends with His defeat of death today, Easter Sunday.

This is one of my favorite songs, which our worship band performed this morning.

My pastors are pretty amazing, week in and week out. But today's sermon was especially fantastic, probably my favorite of all Pastor Roo's Easter sermons. You can watch the video from the live service HERE on Facebook.

Or on Wednesday, Week 5/Easter service from the 'Within Reach' series will be up. This video is a little cleaned up, complete with slides used during the sermon.

Happy Easter, He is risen!

Sarah