Runaway Devil - Book Review

 

Marc and Debra seemed to have it all — a lovely home in the Prairie town of Medicine Hat, fulfilling careers, a supportive marriage, and two beautiful children: eight-year-old Jacob and twelve-year-old JR. After years of struggle to reach this point, they finally felt their future held promise. But on April 23, 2006, their bodies were discovered in their basement, covered in savage stab wounds. Upstairs, Jacob lay dead on his bed, his toys spattered with blood.

Investigators worried for JR’s safety, but unknown to them, the pretty honour roll student had been developing a disturbing alter ego online. Runaway Devil professed a fondness for a darker world of death metal music, the goth subculture, and a love for Jeremy Steinke, a twenty-three-year-old high-school dropout who lived in a rundown trailer park. Soon, shocking evidence in JR’s school locker — printed here for the first time — led police to believe the girl was a suspect in her family’s murders.

The case horrified parents everywhere. Journalists Robert Remington and Sherri Zickefoose have been covering it from the beginning, and in Runaway Devil, they reveal what really happened: the unlikely young love, the teenage rebellion, a troubling world of adolescent drifters, and a small community torn apart by an unthinkable crime.

A modern cautionary tale, Runaway Devil is also a chilling portrait of an approval-seeking man smitten with a manipulative young girl — who would stop at nothing to get what she wanted.

 

What kid hasn't said "I wish my parents were dead' but you don't actually mean it.  Jeremy thought JR meant it. And the horrible murder of a Medicine Hat family occurred.

 

This book is haunting. Haunting in the fact that its so close to home.More haunting is  the fact that right now, JR (name can't be provided as she was underage at the time of the murder and the Canadian legal system protects those...but if you do a google search you will be able to find her)  has been out of jail since 2012 and basically living a free life- with obviously a few restrictions. I get it, that because she was only 12 when the murders happened she couldn't be tried as an adult, but she was still charged with 3 accounts of First Degree murder. And somehow knowing that she was part of Canada's youngest murdering spree. and she gets to go to university and have a more or less normal life, just doesn't sit well. I mean, I live in the same city as her and what if she happens to meet another guy who is as manipulative as Jeremy was, and bam.

 

The also disturbing part of the Canadian Justice system is if she is 5 years clear of criminal activity since 2012, her record is wiped clean. Yup. Clean. I hope for her, and everyone she encounters that she actually does feel remorse and have rehabilitated.

 

There is also the fact that Jeremy nor JR has confessed to killing her 8 year old brother. Jeremy has stated over and over that he takes responsibility of killing her mother and father, but none will take the truth to who actually killed Jacob.

 

Jeremy, I don't want to say I feel bad for him. Because I don't. But, he was the classic case of getting bullied on and who found someone who  loved and adored him- and would thus do anything for her. The HUGE age gap has to be mentioned. But surprisingly, he never got charged with pedophilia - (I guess murder trumps that). And I think her real age matched Jeremy's mental age. I also have the feeling that JR conspired and forced Jeremy into it more than she admitted. I mean, you see your parents covered in blood, you freak out, you call the police. You don't go to the nearest 7-11 and steal money from your now deceased mothers bank card.

 

I enjoyed that while both JR and Jeremy were part of the goth subculture, the authors didn't blame that for their heinous crimes. There are bad people in every subculture; and you can't stereotype them all into bad, violent people.There is also a ton of questions that are raised, mostly why? Most cases where a child murders their parents (or anyone for that matter), they come from brutal, abusive, families. While Jeremy in a way fits that mold, JR doesn't. She had a good life. Good parents. Was a good student for a while. The only answer that we can see is, she really didn't like her parents saying no to dating a guy who was MUCH older than her.  But we will never know why. The only two who could are JR and Jeremy, and well...

 

I am so glad my book club decided to read this. Was an eye-opener for sure.  If you like true crime novels, I recommend this book.

 

 

 

BOOK REVIEW: Berlin Wolf by Mark Florida-James

‘We must catch up with the boat,’ he urged himself. As hard as he tried, Peter was too weak to raise his body from the ground. He cried as he thought of his parents, the salty tears warming his face. After a while he heard a noise that he could not quite place. It gradually grew louder and closer. Then it became terrifyingly clear. ‘Soldiers!’ 

The bond between a man and his dog is unique. For Peter, a boy of 15, it is so strong that he risks his own life to save that of his dog, Wolfi. It is 1942. Peter is Jewish, and with his parents he is escaping the Nazis. A decision to jump into the icy waters of the River Spree to rescue Wolfi ultimately saves his own life as well, for they have been betrayed and his parents are taken. Left to fend for himself, Peter hides out in the woods, foraging and hunting. Life is tough, but he and Wolfi are together.

One day, a visitor stumbles into their den. Franz, also 15, has escaped from a labour camp. The three become close friends and have many adventures together. When they can no longer cope in the wild, they turn to a family friend, Aunt Berta. The wife of a wealthy industrialist, she takes them in. But their peace is short-lived; Kurt, Aunt Berta’s adopted son and a fanatical Nazi, betrays them. With the help of new friends, the two boys not only save themselves from capture but are able to rescue others in hiding.  - goodreads

4.75 stars!

I am so happy I read this book. And I urge everyone to go and pick it up.  Admittingly at times this book was slow at times and seemed to drag on., however I found it was a time where a slow story line worked. 

It's WWII, and Peter,  his family (all who are Jewish) and his dog Wolfi  go on faith alone to trust someone to help them flee from Nazi Germany.  Once on the boat, Wolfi falls into the icy cold river, and faced with a decision Peter jumps in and tries to save his dogs life. This decision ultimately saves his own life too as his parents are betrayed and sent to the camps. 

Peter and Wolfi go live in the woods and have to fend for themselves, giving each other a sense of comfort. Peter was also very well trained in the outdoors, knowing how to fish, make fire, etc. By knowing this and having a constant companion he survived through the winter. 
One way that helped is survival is Peter stealing a Hitler's Youth uniform and pretending to be a member, luckily he was born with blue eyes and blonde hair. Imagine for a second what this means. You are dressing up as the enemy. As the people who are spewing hate propaganda about you and your religion/race.  I can't even imagine the type of courage this would take. 

About a year later, a stranger stumbles into their camp, Franz. He is also 15 and is an enemy of the state- having escaped from one of the work camps.  Peter, Franz and Wolfi  mesh well together and begin to garner each other;s trust. So much that they leave the safety of the forest and move in with Franz family friend, "Aunt" Berta.  I loved Aunt Berta as a character along with her actress friend whose name I just cannot think of while I am writing this, and I can only hope that there were people like this during the war. 

Enter the second part of the book.  While living with Aunt Berta they face many challenge, and all the twists and turns that come about with trying to stay hidden and yet help other Jews escape/hide. My own complaint of the book is that a lot of the challenges that they faced, ended positively. I know this sounds like a weird thing to complain about, but sometimes I wanted it to end badly just so they could figure out some other way to deal with the problems and to maybe show that it wasn't always easy. 

I loved how all the characters were deeply indebted and loyal to each other. Nothing like tragedy brings you together I suppose.  I also loved that one of the main 'characters' was Wolfi. If it wasn't for him a lot of the chapters would have ended badly.  I also think it was no coincidence that Florida-James named the dog Wolfi, as it had many connections to Hitler.

I guess my final thoughts on this book is basically I really enjoyed it. It took you on a story basically about a young Jewish boy and his dog growing up in the worst possible time for them and learning how to survive in the hate filled world. Peter grows up to be what I can only assume, a fine young gentleman.  While I wished some of the challenges faced turned a bit darker, I didn't know that the next one wouldn't. 

Usually I am not a fan of war stories, especially war movies  I just don't' like them- but lately with this book and books like The Book Thief grabbing my attention, I may have to try and read a few more.