Review: The Borden Murders: Lizzie Borden and the Trial of the Century

The Borden Murders: Lizzie Borden and the Trial of the Century by Sarah Miller
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is really a 3 1/2 star review. I have always been fascinated with Lizzie Borden and her story, ever since I was a kid and learned the lurid rhyme: "Lizzie Borden took an axe, gave her mother forty whacks. When she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one." I have read tons of articles, and have even watched a ghost hunter show that takes place in her house, the scene of this awful crime. This book is takes us through the crime scene, and the author lets her readers know what life was like back in Fall River, Massachusetts 1892, with lots of sidebars and actual photographs. Some of the descriptions of the crime scene are totally gross. There were parts of the book I did skim over, because it got a little technical. That being said, this book is not that easy to read, so I would recommend it for 8th grade and up. As an aside, the author actually slept in Lizzie's bedroom, as the house is now a Bed and breakfast!

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Review: Nightbird

Nightbird by Alice Hoffman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Twig is a young teen who has moved from New York City to a quaint little town in Vermont. She lives with her mom and older brother, James. Her brother, because of an old family curse, stays hidden. He has huge black wings, and can fly! His mom is worried that the government will discover his "strangeness" and take him away. Because of all of this, Twig can never have close friends, and this gets to be difficult when a new family moves in to her neighborhood. She makes friends with Julia, a girl her own age, and they discover that this curse involved Julia's family, too. Things get even more complicated when Julia's older sister sees James, and they fall in love. Witches curses, spells, and monsters.

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