xxstefaniereadsxx's reviews
1663 reviews

 This book discusses the death of Caylee Anthony, a three year old girl. She was (very belatedly) reported missing by her family, while her mother was out partying and buying alcohol with a bunch of boys. There were a lot of weird and suspicious things that went on during this investigation. I disagree strongly with the outcome of this case, however I realize one must bear the burden of proof in criminal trials. If nothing else, the case proved that the mother of this child was not fit to be a mother, nor acted like an adult in any sense of the word, and certainly should bear responsibility for herself and the death of this child.

If there is one person in the world who has a face I want to introduce to a curb, it is Casey Anthony. I am appalled that she now resides in the same state as me. I am also appalled that she took a tourist trip to the Alcatraz East Crime Museum, where items that belonged to the daughter whose death she (most absolutely) had something to do with are housed. I think, as a person divested from this crime, she has some serious mental issues. Her dad is a CREEP, and I would not be shocked in the least if her allegations against him were true. I think she is very manipulative, and I believe her relationship with her lawyer and those around her are evidence of such. I can appreciate the legal resolution of the case, but I certainly do not agree with it at all. Personal opinion aside, the book was decently written with plenty of facts that were current at the time of writing. A lot has happened with this...woman...since the conclusion of the case, so the book is a bit out of date in that regard. I am glad to have gotten it off my shelf though. 

 Bethany Hamiton was born in Hawaii in 1990. She learned how to surf at age three and entered the world of competitive surfing at age eight. She was good enough to get a sponsorship at age 10. (Meanwhile, I was 12 and doing nothing exciting.) In 2003, at age 13, Bethany was attacked by a Tiger Shark. This attack resulted in the loss of her left arm. The shark was caught about a mile away from the attack by some fisherman, who discovered surfboard pieces in its mouth. Police later determined the fragments were a match to Bethany's board. Bethany recounts her experiences regarding the attack and her desire to get back to surfing in this book. She has since continued to compete competitively.

I found this book to be really inspiring for a couple of reasons. It shows that children can have passions and work hard toward them. It also shows a determination and desire to overcome to continue doing thing you love to do, despite serious odds against you. For those of you interested in surfing, there is a museum called the California Surf Musuem that houses the swimsuit and surfboard Bethany Hamilton was wearing at the time of her attack, along with many other neat items. The book was just over 200 pages, so if you are looking for a quick read to help meet your goals that is also interesting...this might be for you. 

 Ohlone Costanoan Esselen Nation (OCEN) is historically known as the Monterey Band of Monterey County as the results of the Congressional Homeless Indian Acts. These people are also often referenced as Mission San Carlos Indigenous. Currently, the tribe has completed all requirements to be reinstated as a Federally Recognized Tribe, and I sincerely hope they achieve that. There are over 600 people enrolled in this Tribe today. The author of this book is a member of this tribe, and discusses the history of genocide against them from the 1800s up to present day. Missions were built throughout the Western part of the country, and Indigenous people were used to construct them in what was basically slave labor. Children were snatched and sent to these schools to "Christianize" them. The story of the missions and the stories of the later residential schools are very similar. Forced labor, forcing them to only speak Spanish or English, ridding them of their customs, clothing, and beliefs, rape, beatings, deaths... The population of the Ohlone Costanoan Esselen declined to appalling levels, thanks to death, low birth rate, and high mortality due to disease and living conditions. The systematic eradication of a people is disgusting to me. If you read this book and do not find yourself disgusted and outraged at the treatment of these people, you have serious problems.

I have the Audible version of this book. It was approximately six hours of listening time. If you are interested in the physical copy, it is just over 200 pages. I had never heard of this particular tribe on Indigenous people, though I am sure there are hundreds more I could say the same about. I learned a great deal about the culture, which I loved. I think it is wonderful that the author was able to research her family so extensively and discuss the truth about what happened in the Missions. This was a very moving, and very enraging, book. The atrocities that Indigenous people in the Americas have faced are disgraceful, and they are ongoing. This book mentions the legacy of violence and various types of physical, mental, emotional, and substance abuse that many Indigenous still struggle with today. This is generational. The stripping away of a peoples' identity and culture is abhorrent. It is tragic. If you would like to learn more about the tribe the author belongs to, please visit ohlonecostanoanesselennation.org 

 

Air France Flight 4590 was an international flight traveling from Paris to New York. This flight departed on July 25, 2000 (my goodness, I was in sixth grade) when debris on the runway from a previous flight caused catastrophic damage for 4590. This flight goes down in history as the only fatal Concorde incident in the history of Concorde. Concorde planes were in operation for 27 years, but all planes were grounded following this accident. Concorde ceased operations shortly after. If you happen to be in France, there is a beautiful memorial to the 109 people who died in this crash, located at Gonesse. There is another memorial located just south of the airport where the crash occurred. This book detailed the accident and the subsequent criminal investigations, so if you are interested in air history or plane crashes...this is a good book for you.

This book is part of a three-book series, called Air Disasters. Luckily, you do not have to read them in any particular order, which is wonderful. They are not terribly long books; this one came in under 300 pages. They are all well-researched and provide plenty of facts about the crashes. I was recommended these books off of a show, called Mayday, that I ran across on tv that covered several air disasters. I remember learning about the Concorde on the Weekly Readers that we did in elementary school. This was a really neat book, and I am glad I got an extra day off work due to inclement weather to read some.

 

 Turkish Airlines Flight 981 departed from Istanbul on a scheduled flight to London. This flight also included a stopover in Paris. The plane was a McDonnell Douglas DC-10. The plane was carrying 335 passengers and 11 crew members. An incorrectly secured cargo door opened during the flight, causing an explosive decompression situation. The issue with the cargo door was a known issue, one that had previously caused another crash. A remedy was found for this, and documents stated that this was applied to Flight 981...but it had not been. The plane crashed into the Ermenonville Forest in Oise, France. The speed of the plane at impact was approximately 487 miles per hour. There were no survivors, with only 188 bodies being visually identifiable. This crash was the first to exceed 200 deaths. This crash also holds the title of being the deadliest plane crash in France, the deadliest DC-10 crash, and the deadliest single-aircraft accident with no survivors. As you can imagine, there were lawsuits and investigations aplenty after this crash, AS THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN. Accidents happen, nothing is 100% safe, but people should be held responsible for not doing their jobs, fixing problems, or creating a safe environment for the public they serve.

This crash was featured on an episode of Mayday, and this episode also featured a similar story of American Airlines Flight 96, which had the same issue with the cargo door. This book was well researched. There are three books in this Air Disasters series, and I have one left to go. If you are interested in aviation and aviation disasters, I recommend checking out this author. 

 Mount Tambora is a volcano located in Indonesia. The volcano erupted in April 1815, spewing volcanic ash, debris, and lava forth. The eruption was exceptionally powerful, and the dispersion of gas wound up disrupting the climate. This climate change decimated crop production and changed temperatures, resulting in the Year Without Summer. The information about the volcano and the volcano rating scale was pretty interesting, though the book itself was repetitive and pretty dry. I'm glad this was on Audible Plus, because I would have been sad if I used my credit for it. 

 Boy, do I have a lot of thoughts about this book. To start, I will go ahead and say that I got the Audible version of this book, which is read by the author, Shari Franke. Listening to her tell her own story was very moving. The book was well written and cohesive. While many of us know the names of Shari's siblings, she did not use their names in this book as a way to give them some measure of privacy. I will do the same in this review out of respect for her wishes. Shari recounts her childhood in the home of Kevin and Ruby Franke, which seems intensely stressful at the bare minimum. Her mother, Ruby, got involved in family vlogging, turning every single moment into scripted content for their social media. Behind the scenes, the children were emotionally abused, starved for affection, and mistreated in many ways. Her father actively engaged in this nonsense, and eventually passively allowed worse nonsense to occur to his own children while he sat around doing nothing. Ruby would become involved with a wanna be cult leader/prophet, devolving into worse abusive and neglectful behavior. This would result in the severe abuse of the two youngest siblings of Shari's, and the court case that we have all become familiar with.

Ruby Franke most definitely has some type of mental health issue, personality disorder, or both. She is extremely manipulative, abusive, and narcissistic. She was unable to the be the mother that she should have been, and intervention would have been very beneficial to all people in this family early on. I think she is a fascinating case study for those interested in personality disorders. I think part of her problem was likely the way she was raised and the relationship she had with her own mother, but that is pure speculation, as I am not a mental health professional. I do not believe that her little speech in court was sincere, in fact, it struck me as self-serving. In this book, Shari discusses a letter that Ruby wrote to her after her imprisonment, and the content was disgusting. Her lack of care and accountability was blatant.

Kevin Franke is equally to blame for the destruction of the six children's lives. Instead of being a father who protected, taught, and loved them, he engaged in and allowed whatever his wife wanted. He did not stand up for these kids. He was not there for these kids. He wasn't even there for himself, ruining his career and everything he loved and was good at for this woman who, quite honestly, doesn't deserve the air she breathes. Shari Franke is a better person than I could ever be for trying to see the good in this man and forgive him for his massive failings, because I COULD NEVER. I would never speak to this man again as long as I lived. If he has seen the error of his ways, changed, and is attempting to make amends and rebuild his relationship with all of the children and that is what makes them happy and safe, that is their business...but it surely would not be me.

Shari also discusses the role her LDS faith has played in her life and handling of this situation. The LDS faith sets women up for failure. I know that Shari is a firm believer, and so are many other people, but just based on her statements in this book, it is very obvious. This religion is very patriarchal, with women having large families and being mothers the goal in life. If Ruby had been raised in another religion, perhaps she would have been less inclined to have a large number of children to abuse because she did not have the proper tools or personality for mothering. She might not have been exposed to cult mentality, falling into another cult with Jodi, and doing what she did to the children. Shari also has some experiences in which she was made to feel a certain way about certain situations because she was a female in the church. I do not want to spoil the book by discussing that too much, but ICK. This religion and her upbringing really set her up to be used and abused by men and other people, and I am glad that she sees that and put herself in a safe position.

Jodi Hildebrandt is a complete scumbag. That is about all that needs to be said about her. People fall under the spell of people like this so often. It is difficult to imagine, but it happens so often. She deserves to be under the prison with the sewage.

As a person who is interested in true crime and who has grown up in a family of emergency service workers, I read and watch a lot of things. Though it sounds desensitized and rude to say, when this case hit the news, it was just another case. There are so many cases that feature terrible child abuse, mass shootings, and domestic violence that they all tend to run together. I think it is extremely, extremely important to remember that these are real people behind the stories and headlines. These are real victims who have dealt with horrific trauma that they have to work through every day. I think in a world where violence is commonplace, it is good to remember that we should show care and concern for human beings, especially children.

I hope that Shari and all of her siblings and extended family find peace and healing in the future. I am so proud of her for fighting for her siblings, as well as all the other children who are victims of family vlogging and parents who use them. 

 I have been reading this book for a while, as it has been in my desk drawer at work. The author of this book definitely has a personality and sense of humor that shines through. I appreciated the candidness about growing up in her religion and the reasons why she struggled with it. This was a good lunch break book to read. I have another book by this author on my wish list, and I am looking forward to seeing what that is all about. 

 Stella Maudine Nickell was born in Oregon in 1943. She grew up very poor, and found herself living in several abusive relationships.  She never seemed to be a good mother, even being charged with child abuse for beating her daughter with a curtain rod, among other things. Her most recent husband fell ill while at work, dying at the hospital almost immediately. Another death raised alarm, especially when it was suspected to be cyanide related. The investigation would ultimately lead back to Stella Nickell. I was not expecting the twists and turns this case took, despite having watched the Forensic Files episode about it some time ago.

Gregg Olsen is a true crime author who I generally enjoy reading. I appreciate the level of detail and the amount of research that goes into each book. I always learn a great deal about the case being covered, even if I have followed the case or read/listened/watched something else about it. This was a decent true crime read. 

Rachel Hines became another victim of Larry Nassar when she was just fourteen years old. Nassar told her that treatment for her injuries would be healed with "internal massaging" while also recommending that she not get an MRI for what would turn out to be a broken back so he could continue treating her. This man is disgusting. The more I learn about him, the more disgusted I become. Hines discusses why she trusted this man, which makes sense because most people trust doctors, coaches, teachers, and other authority figures. It is shameful that he used his position of power to manipulate and molest girls at will. Hines discusses the trauma she experienced at the hands of this vile creature, and how she worked through it. 

If you are looking for a shorter book, this one comes in at about 140 pages. I hate saying books like this are good reads, but it was certainly worth the time it took to read it, especially if you are a fan of gymnastics, or you have a child in the sport. This book provides some warning signs to look out for, while shedding light on a system and culture that is not about the athlete in the way it should be. I applaud Hines for speaking out about this issue, and hope that she is able to continue finding joy and healing in her life moving forward.