There are definitely clashing opinions on this book, evident by scrolling through the internet alone. After reading the inconsistent reviews on GoodReads recently and the sheer fact that my family and I are in the middle of a “no TV” hiatus for the next two weeks, I decided to finally read it myself. Such a shame that I hadn’t read it before as it’s an incredibly popular story that was first published well-before I was born–1977.

Anyway, the storyline is good to really good–true or not. Anson wrote the book in a reporter’s tone so depending on your taste, it could be dry or just acceptable. If you’re an editor like me, page 114 is a good place to skip because it will probably kill your soul a little:
“Kathy came out of the house with his light and his parka” (114). (You mean George!)
I have to give Anson credit for how he constructed the book though; it goes back and forth between characters a lot and flows day by day until the family eventually flees the house. This construction allows the reader to be able to really dig in to the details that finally push the family out.
I think this story will forever be popular because of the anomaly that it is. No matter how much skeptics scoff at the “based on the true story” stamped boldly across the cover, it’s still a scary read–disturbing even. This is definitely a book to read in broad daylight…with friends around.
-E