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| YOU ARE HERE : Home > Categories > Books > Fiction > Looking for JJ | |
| ProdID: 5209 - Looking for JJWritten byAnne Cassidy | Product Score: 8.3 |
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Three children walked away from the edge of town one day - but only two of them came back....... Alice Tully knows exactly what happened that spring day six years ago, though it's still hard for her to believe it's real. She's making a go of things, putting all that behind her at last - but Alice's past is dangerous and violent, and sad, and it's about to rip her new life apart. |
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I was interested in reading this book, I love crime dramas and always get lost in the story, this book was no exception. I was thinking that the three girls would meet JJ so it took a while to get past that theory (not sure why I thought that) and then I spent a lot of the rest of the book hoping the author would hurry up and get to what happened as all in the flashbacks the dead girl was just referred to as the dead girl but no name until almost the end. You feel sorry for Alice, she was just so young when the crime was committed and she has paid the price but the media will not leave her alone, they are out for blood. You also feel sorry for the victim's family as they understandably are bitter about the fact that JJ is alive and has a chance at a future when their own daughter will never have that chance. I see there is another book in the series but I'm not sure I would bother reading it, I was more interested in the flashbacks to see what happened and why. I do believe that people deserve a second chance and can change but a lot depends on circumstances and this was just a very unfortunate accident. |
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I enjoy crime TV shows was interested to see how Looking for JJ would go. We meet JJ as Alice Tully, years after the incident took place, as she is trying to make a new life for herself but she can't outrun her past. We get flashbacks to her childhood and the lead up to the incident, which really provides a raw, childlike account of what happened. It gave an insight into child offenders and what logic they use to commit offences, and the scary innocence they can portray. I found myself absolutely gripped by the story. I knew something terrible was going to happen, and the little glimpses of evil we see are just breadcrumbs leading up to the event which ultimately lands JJ in jail. In some respects JJ and Alice are two different people, and it shows how a moment of madness can affect your entire life. It was also interesting how Alice lived in constant fear of being discovered, and how she separated out that part of her life. I did find myself confused at first and found it hard to get into the book due to that confusion but I did eventually figure out where things were going. On more than one occasion I did feel sorry for Alice. Having spent a long time in prison, she is trying to go back to 'normal'. Unfortunately with the media snapping at her heels, it makes her quite a nervous person, and just shows how redemption can't always be achieved. Looking For JJ is a heart wrenching journey, it is so interesting to see a story from a unique perspective, and the flashbacks provided a raw account of events. For something a bit different this is a good read. |
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I believe in the death penalty and believe that once a criminal usually always a criminal. This book made me take a hard look at my beliefs and how I look at the convicted. Three girls went for a walk one day and only two made it back. They were ten year olds and one paid the price. It was not planned, it was just a very unfortunate event that occurred because of girls being girls. For most of the book you are not sure what girl was murdered. JJ is friends with them both and you hope it will be one of them and not the other but the way it happens leaves you feeling sorry for not only JJ but also the victim. JJ has paid the price - she went to jail and paid for her crime. Released early and forging a new life as Alice everything is turning around for her. A boyfriend, a stable home, a job, friends but then the media finds out that the notorious child killer will be released soon and they go on a witch hunt. It leaks that she is out and everyone is trying to find her - some to make her pay, others to ask why, but most out of a fascination for what really happened. The story is told fantastically. It tells you about her up bringing, her thinking at the time. You then skips to Alice who has paid her time, shows remorse and wants to live again. She is riddled with guilt and wishes she could take that day back. You are left feeling for her and showing an understanding of her crime. It plays with your mind a bit because usually I would be the one crying for revenge and out on the witch hunt but now I have to stop and look at both sides of the stories and now find myself left re-evaluating my thoughts and beliefs. Can not wait for part two! |
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| Printed at 06:58:01pm on Friday 07th June 2024 |
