The Slenderman case was all over the media when it happened and I was appalled and shocked like everyone else that two 12 year old girls could plot to murder a friend and then try to carry out that plan. This book does a great job explaining the mental illnesses and issues that were working against both of these girls and how this crime likely wouldn't have happened without the two of them coming together. Thankfully the victim survived, although she suffered a huge trauma that will probably follow her for the rest of her life. This book gives a lot more insight into the perpetrators and into the case itself. This is a must read for anyone who followed this case.

I am not a reader of True Crime novels, but this book drew my attention based on the comments I have heard my nine-year old make about characters from games and videos from the Internet. I wanted to know what happened to two girls obsessed with one of those characters.

This book details the before and after of a crime that took place involving three girls and the internet character Slenderman. Morgan is a young girl who is undiagnosed with schizophrenia and is experiencing visions. These are her friends. She eventually makes a friend in Bella, who sees that Morgan has strange behavior, but accepts her anyway. Morgan makes another friend later on, Anissa. These girls eventually believe that Slenderman wants them to kill Bella for him. They carry out a plan, but Bella survives.

The majority of the book details the girls' time in jail awaiting trial as adults and time being treated for mental issues. I felt the flow of the book was choppy after the crime occurred. I know that the writer did not get cooperation or information from a lot of sources that would have provided needed insight, so I"m not sure if that is why I felt the disconnect.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is an extensively-researched, well-written deep dive into the sensational Slenderman case where two 12 years old stabbed their friend, another 12 year old, to appease an internet creation known as Slenderman. I really appreciated learning more about the case, and in particular the severe, untreated, mental health problems of one of the perpetrators. Very thought-provoking.

Please be warned of typos and misunderstanding of some mental health related diagnosis.

This book was about two young girls who were mentally ill and one more than the other. They were never at fault of their mental health and I wish them all the best. I cried at the end. Thank goodness the justice system got it right

This was incredibly well written and researched! I learned a few things that I didn't anticipate. I felt so much for all of the girls involved. One thing I will mention about the paper purple hearts sent to Payton "Bella" Leutner is that an anonymous veteran sent her his Purple Heart medal with a note attached reading "The only heart I could find - stay strong". It might be worth adding this in the relevant section. Overall a very insightful and well constructed read!

Slenderman is a case that is well-known, but this book takes the reader inside the minds of the young offenders in order to understand their thinking and what led them to the horrific crime they committed. It is a well-researched book that reads like a piece of fiction that you simply cannot put down!! It raises many questions that will leave the reader pondering everything from our current justice system and how it treats juveniles to the plague of mental illness and the lack of appropriate treatments. I highly recommend this book.

I live in Illinois, and we got plenty of coverage of the weird and disturbing Slenderman case when it happened. However, I haven’t read a lot about it since 2014, and this book filled in a lot of details. I found the narrative pretty riveting. It’s so hard to imagine being a 12-year-old girl who loves animals and reading but who also believes a fantasy figure is telling you to kill your best friend.

The author did seven years of research, and it shows. However, the book is slanted toward Morgan Geyser’s journey, because she and the people around her agreed to be interviewed. The other two principal figures in the case, Bella Leutner and Anissa Weier, did not. This resulted in a feeling that the book isn’t quite the “full story.”

Parents, I recommend you approach this book with caution. I don’t have kids and I was absolutely horrified reading how Geyser, suffering from early onset schizophrenia, was detained without access to therapy, medication, or education. A mentally ill child was treated like an adult because of the decisions of one judge. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the parents of all three girls. Angie Geyer “remembered how judgmental she had been when news first broke about the Columbine shooting in Colorado, thinking, ‘How did their parents not know that something was wrong? Well, you know…it turns out sometimes you just don’t know.’” (p. 158 of the advance reader copy) I don’t envy parents trying to navigate and raise healthy children in the confusing world we live in these days.

I had a hard time putting down Slenderman, but I did find the ending unsatisfactory. It is very abrupt, I guess because the story is not finished. I think an epilogue of thoughts or conclusions from the author would have helped. Still, if you are interested in true crime and mental health, you may want to read Slenderman.

I read an advance reader copy from Netgalley. Slenderman is scheduled to be published on August 16, 2022, and it will be in the Galesburg Public Library’s collection.

When I first heard about this case, I thought it was pretty crazy. My mind couldn’t comprehend what I was hearing. Two little girls planned and thought out how to best murder their friend for a made up being. It just sounded so bogus to me. I thought the author portrayed the case accurately and well but honestly I don’t know why some parts had to be added and it kind of took me out from what I was reading. Like the Christian/pornography billboards on the way to and from jail didn’t have anything to do with the case or Tony walking onto men having sex for money for opioids. The first part kept me interested but the second part just seemed to drag on for me. We were told the girls liked to swear and then all of a sudden in part two, Anissa is said to parrot back cuss words to try to fit in when we were already told she liked to cuss anyway. I think the author wanted us to feel more sorry for the girls and was biased towards them. I do feel bad that it took so long for Morgan to get treatment. Morgan by all means isn’t a monster but a very mentally ill individual. But it also felt like the author in sympathizing so much with Morgan took away from the trauma “Bella” had to live through. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the arc in return for an honest review.

4 stars
Such a horrible case, and this author seemed to cover all of it. The writing is done well and seems to be very accurate from what I can tell.