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herbivorehaunts's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
3.0
Rating is reflective of the audiobook production/writing style of the book, not the events in the account.
I wish this would have spent more time on the women in this story, and not the monster who abused them for so many years. I might pick up one of their accounts eventually, because this focused too much on their abuser and the events through his perspective, which I wasn't expecting going into this book.
This is such a frustrating case to listen to, as between this and the Cleveland strangler it's abundantly clear the police system needs a complete overhaul in Cleveland. Love the city but it's embarrassing how police mistreatment of cases (and which victims are even considered to be so) lead to more victims. I remember this case so vividly as a young girl living in Ohio at the time- in complete shock that monsters can be living in plain sight and among us, this was the first case that really drove home that bad things can happen anywhere, as it was such a huge case (understandably) in Ohio as well as the rest of the world.
This is probably very nitpicky of me but the audiobook narrator constantly mispronounced locations and names. As an Ohio native who lived in Cleveland for a very long time, it was really grating to sit through city and county names getting mispronounced constantly. I don't mind when people mispronounce something in real time and are open to being corrected, but I feel like an audiobook, especially a journalism one, should be expected to have those things correct.
I wish this would have spent more time on the women in this story, and not the monster who abused them for so many years. I might pick up one of their accounts eventually, because this focused too much on their abuser and the events through his perspective, which I wasn't expecting going into this book.
This is such a frustrating case to listen to, as between this and the Cleveland strangler it's abundantly clear the police system needs a complete overhaul in Cleveland. Love the city but it's embarrassing how police mistreatment of cases (and which victims are even considered to be so) lead to more victims. I remember this case so vividly as a young girl living in Ohio at the time- in complete shock that monsters can be living in plain sight and among us, this was the first case that really drove home that bad things can happen anywhere, as it was such a huge case (understandably) in Ohio as well as the rest of the world.
This is probably very nitpicky of me but the audiobook narrator constantly mispronounced locations and names. As an Ohio native who lived in Cleveland for a very long time, it was really grating to sit through city and county names getting mispronounced constantly. I don't mind when people mispronounce something in real time and are open to being corrected, but I feel like an audiobook, especially a journalism one, should be expected to have those things correct.
mugglemom's review against another edition
3.0
Basically the exact same book as "Hope" by Amanda Berry & Gina DeJesus as far as 'surface details'. "Hope" is the better book by far as it's the actual thoughts of two of the victims. This book only changes when it offers info about the trial transcripts - about chapter 28.
catarinaslibrary's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
macfiar's review against another edition
2.0
I am not sure ho w much research went into this, because it seems a very shallow account of things that happened. Like the author wrote the book after reading all the newspaper accounts. There are no first hand interviews with the principals involved. So I don't know that this is anything more than a complication of publicly available information. The quotes used are from newspaper or television accounts of the rescue or proceedings. These are repeated often. It's readable but not terribly interesting if you already know the story from the news.
crystal_lancaster's review against another edition
3.0
What happened to these girls was absolutely harrowing. My rating is purely based on the writing style of this book. It focuses mostly on Castro’s background and life. Outside of that, most of the other info regarding what went on during the 11 years he had the girls felt a bit like a copy/paste style taken from news and paper reports.
leighannsherwin's review against another edition
5.0
A story of true horror, but also of survival. The story not only looks at the abductions of three women, but also tells about the background and life of Ariel Castro and what a life it was. The first section of the book sets up the rest of the story, telling of Castro's childhood, and into his common law marriage. The abuse his wife Nilda endured was horrific and would eventually cause her an early death. Their children seem varied on whether or not the abuse occurred. While Nilda finally broke free and found new low Castro vowed revenge and soon a charge of molestation is brought against her new fiancé. The case unfolds during the captivity of the three women and though a part of me thinks Castro bought his daughters testimony, another part of me thinks well maybe he did do it. Castro soon begins to lead a double life, having a girlfriend who thinks he is the kindest most loving man ever, and keeping first Michelle Knight and then Amanda Berry locked up in chains as his sex and torture slaves. The girlfriend knew nothing about this, which I have to question, as there were suspicious things going on, with radio's being blasted and heavy curtains and access to certain places of the house blocked. I'm sure she feels bad about it now and is second guessing herself, I know I would be. Gina Dejesus arrives after Castro and his girlfriend have broken up. The years of torture and abuse these women went through is beyond words and the fact that they have not only survived it, but have thrived in their lives now shows how courageous and truly amazing they are. Michelle suffers the most in captivity and it is made clear Amanda was treated the best, especially after her baby Jocelyn is born. They seem to have divided into groups, with Gina and Michelle forming a close bond as they were locked up together. Miraculously they escape their confines and Castro is arrested. The statements he makes during interrogations and at his sentencing will make your blood boil, claiming it was their fault they got kidnapped, saying they were a happy family living together, wanting to see his little girl he fathered with Amanda and even smirking at Michelle when he saw her in court. Of course the story comes to an end as Castro is found hanging in his cell, the coward's way out as Michelle put it. It ends on a positive note though showing that the three survivors of this horrible crime are moving on with their lives and have promising futures ahead of them. This book was an engaging read, with short chapters or with paragraph breaks on each page making it easy to say just one more page, until you realize it's three in the morning and you have to work tomorrow. It is certainly not for the faint of heart as the crimes committed are gruesome, but it is a good book to read to get some background into Castro's life and what might have led him to commit such terrible acts.
bookishcb_21's review against another edition
4.0
This was a hard read! What happened to these 3 girls over the span of a decade...broke my heart