On the whole Best of all Smyth uses this book to show how positive changes can come out of something so negative and horrifying 9781904590279 As a active follower and supporter of the S. E foundation I had never had the opportunity to sit down and read this book until now I saw it was actually available for me to borrow through Prime and could not be happier that it was available to me and that I took the time to read it Was it the best book I have ever read. yes The reason I enjoyed the book so much is because living in the US I had some unanswered questions about the events of the case due to it happening overseas and seeing tribute videos and things on Youtube that didn t match up to some of the things I was reading and hearing Going into the book I read what the book was about and knew that Catherine Smyth was a journalist and when I went into reading this book I knew it would have it s moments of feeling like a newspaper article or report at times instead of a award winning novel However seeing the way the case effected her on a personal level made it real for me and in times you sometimes feel like you are reading her own personal journal Seeing her try to do what she could to support Sylvia and make it known about the case was touching I found it inspiring If you are looking for an intense emotional look into Sophie s life you are not going to get it here You are going to get the facts about the case and get a better understanding of how things played out and how it effected the life of a reporter in her home town I feel people should take the time to read this book and get familiar with the case Get a better understanding of the importance of the S. E foundation and how we should all be supporting their efforts 9781904590279
| Weirdo. Mosher. Freak: (If Only They'd Stopped at Name Calling) By Catherine Smyth |
| 1904590276 |
| 9781904590279 |
| English |
| 202 |
| Paperback |
I was lucky enough to win a book through GoodReads giveaways unfortunately this book is disappointing I found it read like one giant newspaper article and despite the fact that this is the true story of a girl who was violently beaten to death I couldn t form any sort of emotion towards it Call me cold but I couldn t get into this book 9781904590279 Because of the horrendous subject matter of the book and the fact that part of its sale is donated to charity I feel almost petty in mentioning this but feeling obliged to review it as I would any other book I feel I must mention how frustrated I was that peppered with spelling typing errors it wasn t better written edited. The true story of two young people one of whom was murdered the other badly beaten because of their alternative lifestyle because of their goth way of dressing Weirdo Mosher Freak though thankfully not quite as graphic in its descriptions as I had feared is without a doubt a harrowing read the narrative of the call to the ambulance service complete with background noises particularly so. Written by local journalist Catherine Smyth who attempts to answer some of the questions surrounding the events of that fateful night this is a fairly personal account in which largely told in chronological order the reader really gets a feel for many of those involved though and perhaps rightfully so the motives of Sophie s murderers are not as fully explored as they might have been. Saved from being a totally unbearable read by the description of the outpouring of public grief by the accounts of community spirit by all the fundraising events film festivals and peace demonstrations in Sophie s honour whilst I can hardly say this is an enjoyable read I found it to be a surprisingly uplifting one 9781904590279 My view on this book is mixed I think it s subject matter is an important if horrific one However I felt this book was less the killing of Sophie Lancaster and how reporter Catherine Smyth dealt with a terrible crime that happened in her town Very often I felt the focus of the book was on Smyth and not on Lancaster I know that right at the very beginning Smyth states that this is her personal account and she makes no apologies for it but personally I would have preferred it written in a different style An example of this is instead of a dedication at the beginning of the book Smyth has provided a quote from Sylvia Lancaster saying that only she Smyth could have written this book I m sure it was put there to add legitimacy to her authorship of such a sensitive book but to me it came across instead as rather self indulgent. As others have mentioned before me the book is in need of a good editor I also feel that there was a lot in the middle that could have been shortened significantly again as I felt the focus was not on Sophie Lancaster or her family enough during this section. Over all while I have my gripes with how this book was written I do think it is worth a read I remember the case when it first happened I remember being shocked and appalled it happened when I was first entering the alternative scene and certainly made a young impressionable me question whether I was doing the right thing or not several years on I feel no different Whether you are reading this from a purely interested perspective or as a criminological critique on British hate crime legislation I did both it is definitely one to be read 9781904590279 Brilliant perspective from the reporter closest to the story Heartbreaking just like I thought it would be A massive supporter of the S. E Foundation and loved this book Hope the bastards who did this to Soph and Rob die horrible painful deaths too And or experience the loss and pain in their life that poor Sylvia and her family had to ensure 9781904590279 I feel kind of bad giving this only 2 stars but according to the scoring system that means it was ok and that s about the long and short of it The thing is you see this should have been an amazing book It should have been devastating horrific yet hopeful Of course parts of it are devastating and horrific that goes almost without saying The details of the attack on Sophie Lancaster and Rob Maltby are particularly hideous But at just 200 pages it should leave you wanting Instead it leaves you thinking it should have been 50 pages shorter. Despite having been a journalist Catherine Smyth seems not to understand the value of a good editor which is what this book desperately needed to cut the wheat from the chaff It needed not only a good subedit but also a really close content edit And while Smyth makes no bones about this tale being from her own personal perspective there is just far too much I did this and I did that I m glad I read it and coincidentally I started it just a couple of days before the sixth anniversary of the attack on Sophie and Rob lending it even greater poignancy but it s a shame that it s not the book it could have been 9781904590279 I won this book on good reads I had seen this story on TV and wanted to read this book It is an amazing eye opening and well written book This takes you through all the events even to the trail It is very sad how people judge you on the way you look and act I highly recommend this book 9781904590279 I remember vividly the first time I heard about Sophie s murder being a member of the alternative community the story spread like wildfire only a few weeks before I d been to a festival and heard the story of another girl who people categorised as a goth who had been set alight as a joke and had died of her burns I remember hoping that the news would come out that Sophie had pulled through but sadly she didn t and passed away. This book is not an indepth look at what happened there s no biographies of the 5 human beings who decided to kick a girl to death along with leaving her boyfriend with lifelong physical and mental injuries it s not a dissection of the crime scene or the way the police investigated everything It s the telling of events from the perspective of a local journalist who has reported the story since the first day the news broke and who gained the Lancaster family s trust by showing her support along with the majority of the local and eventually national and worldwide community So I started this book knowing I wasn t going to learn anything groundbreaking I certainly wasn t expecting to have the backgrounds of the 5 individuals told to me I didn t care about them to be honest whatever their background or home situation they still decided on that night that it is was acceptable to stamp kick and jump on the heads of 2 other people Their background doesn t make them thugs or scum their actions do. Mainly this is a book about how the community rallied around 2 families and showed their support in the wake of a horrible vicious and completely unprovoked attack on a young couple. E wristband with pride for the last 3 years and I will continue to do so and tell her story to anyone who asks I donate money to the foundation and I tweet regularly in support of their hard work to get those who commit hate crime tougher sentences. P Sophie Rob I hope you overcome those mental scars you ve been left with and go on to have a happy life 9781904590279 Disclaimer I won this book through a FirstReads giveaway and I m really glad I did. Most everybody at some point in their lives has been picked on bullied pushed around whether literally or just emotionally What happened to Sophie Lancaster and Rob Maltby in August 2007 shows the result of that being taken to the unfortunate extreme. To say that I enjoyed this book would seem a little inappropriate considering its subject matter However I found it extremely enlightening as I do not recall ever hearing about this case when it occurred 5 years ago Reading about how news of it and the resulting foundation spread worldwide made me pause and try to remember back to that time and I think I remember seeing the S. I found this book to be very tactful in its approach to the case from start to finish as well as the coverage of the fundraising events for the Sophie Lancaster Foundation and Sylvia Lancaster s work to change the laws regarding the definition of hate crimes Having just received a Master s Degree in Forensic Psychology and as someone who has worked with people who have committed Domestic Violence the sections describing the defendants actions during the assault interviews court appearances as well as their parents was extremely unsettling but very helpful in understanding just how they could be so abusive. I would recommend this book to anyone who works with youths especially those considered troubled as they could see and share what could happen if they continue down the road they re on However those who might benefit most are those who can relate to the title having been called a weirdo or a freak by their peers They need to know that there are people all over the world just like them and that there is no reason to take the abuse whether verbal or physical As Sylvia Lancaster was quoted in the book prejudice and intolerance is the new racism and it can t get any better until those who promote it are held accountable. Hate is easy love takes courage 9781904590279 The first thing that caught my eye with this book was the title having been called by these names and many others over the years I just had to pick it up When I realised it was about the murder of Sophie Lancaster and the attack on her boyfriend Rob Maltby I just had to take it home and read it in a matter of hours as it turns out Smyth begins by making it very clear that this book is not written to be a comprehensive look at the crime itself or the investigations and trials afterwards but is about how it affected her as a journalist and as an individual And she is true to her word there are no testimonies or interviews from the other people involved in the story apart from those that affected Smyth at the time or led to key events or moments in the tale Instead Smyth show s that journalists are in fact human and can be affected by the stories they cover even finding themselves getting involved with the victims and their families Smyth does cover the murder and assault as well as the subsequent investigation and trial while keeping the focus on her own thoughts and feelings about these However she does still manage to let the reader make up their own minds as well which for me is a vital part of the story as Sophie and Rob were attacked by those with closed minds unable to vocalise their opinions without the use of violence Smyth also addresses some of the misconceptions that surround the case including showing how varied the alternatives sub cultures really are and how the labels used by the mainstream often end up encouraging misunderstandings misconceptions and unnecessary bad feelings honestly we are actually nice people Rob Maltby was also kicked and punched senseless This is an exclusive insight into the crime by the first journalist on the scene Catherine Smyth A mother too her book provides a documentary of what happened from a media and a parent perspective It details the attack facts about the town where it happened the court case and mass media interest and the launch of the Sophie Lancaster Foundation It also uncovers some anomalies The police admitted initially attending the wrong park the ambulance service has yet to explain why it took 14 minutes for first paramedics to reach the scene just a mile away, E logo before here in Virginia USA That just goes to show how much this meant and still means to so many people around the world. A third of profits benefit the work of the Sophie Lancaster Foundation If you buy this book from my personal website money goes to the foundation www, uk Weirdo Mosher Freak If Only They d Stopped at Name Calling site_link post a comment.