mandyherbet's review
3.0
Tania Head was the 'ubersurvivor' when it came to 9/11 - she repeatedly told of how she'd survived in the South Tower while her fiance/husband had perished in the North Tower. Her story overshadowed her fellow survivors but alas, it was exposed as fake and she went into hiding. This is the story of how she fooled her friends and fellow survivors but it reads like a novel - told from her perspective as if it were all true.
I found this narrative style very disconcerting because I was expecting a truer non-fiction style of book. Knowing that her story was fake, I had trouble reading about how she survived as if it really happened. I think it would have been a better book had the author set out from the beginning that Tania was a fraud, instead of only exposing that at the end. While the story is told chronologically, I don't think the linear structure works.
I found this narrative style very disconcerting because I was expecting a truer non-fiction style of book. Knowing that her story was fake, I had trouble reading about how she survived as if it really happened. I think it would have been a better book had the author set out from the beginning that Tania was a fraud, instead of only exposing that at the end. While the story is told chronologically, I don't think the linear structure works.
natalie3's review
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Grief, Gaslighting, Death, Violence, and Murder
barkylee15's review
4.0
3.5. Crazy fast read and a nutso story. I did wish I got more of a "what happened after she was found out" - the reveal didn't happen until 90% into the book. Mostly I just wanted MORE, but it was a real propulsive read where you are constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop.
readers_block's review
5.0
This book kept me up all night reading.
It hooked me from the very beginning. Obviously, this is a story you go into pretty much knowing what is going to happen. In a case like that, it's often difficult to enjoy the book anyway. This book did an incredible job of making a compelling read even when the ending is a given.
My only criticism is that I wish the authors would have gone more into depth about the after effects of Head's lie and why she did it. Only a few pages at the end of the book are dedicated to that subject, while the rest of the story details the intricacies of her hoax. I was also slightly disappointed with the way the authors approached the fact that she lied, as if it wasn't as big a deal as it actually was.
Other than that, a truly addictive read.
It hooked me from the very beginning. Obviously, this is a story you go into pretty much knowing what is going to happen. In a case like that, it's often difficult to enjoy the book anyway. This book did an incredible job of making a compelling read even when the ending is a given.
My only criticism is that I wish the authors would have gone more into depth about the after effects of Head's lie and why she did it. Only a few pages at the end of the book are dedicated to that subject, while the rest of the story details the intricacies of her hoax. I was also slightly disappointed with the way the authors approached the fact that she lied, as if it wasn't as big a deal as it actually was.
Other than that, a truly addictive read.
hoosiers93's review
4.0
The best story told in this book was of the real survivors of this horrific day. Their story was my takeaway. The guilt they've had to endure that many others didn't understand or appreciate. Only after reading this story of the most despicable of deceptions can I begin to comprehend the pain they've had to live through. Well written and an unforgettable story.