Janet Ruth Young

I have to be honest and say that I was a little nervous about reading The Babysitter Murders – the title alone makes one come to an abrupt stop when browsing the bookshelves. What a daring and startling story that Janet Ruth Young has written! To be sure, The Babysitter Murders still continues to linger in my mind and has changed how I read or watch the news – for the better.

The story concept is unquestionably disturbing as readers get a look inside Dani’s head, but it is obvious that show more Dani also finds her thoughts unsettling and prefers to not have them in the first place. This slows readers down from casting Dani into a villain’s role and wonder what exactly is going on. The constant debate of whether Dani will be innocent or guilty keeps the pages turning – and the curiosity nearly explodes as Dani tries to figure out how to avoid the inevitable temptation.

I cannot go into too much detail without destroying the carefully-knotted story, but when Dani finally faces the point of no return, what happens next makes me sick to my stomach. Oh, how quickly the media pounces, how swiftly the cry for justice sounds, how wildly the panic spreads, how prematurely Chicken Little runs about before the sky actually falls… If there had been any hope for Dani to get help for this sickness, assuredly it has been crushed by the bloodthirsty public who wants her head on a platter.

In her defense, Dani does attemp to reach out to those closest to her for help – which is incredibly brave on her part – although she does not spell her concerns out explicitly. The Babysitter Murders makes me wonder how I would react if Dani had told me what was going on. What happens if my best friend confides in me about thoughts on wanting to murder someone – seriously – and needs my help to stop her from doing so? I am ashamed to say that I would probably back away slowly and hightail it to somewhere safe. How else does one react? How does a PARENT react when their child approaches them? Obviously I am out of my depths, but if someone I loved had this issue, I should be able to acknowledge their cry for help as a GOOD sign and not ditch them.

The Babysitter Murders reminds me a little of shine where a singular news event affects the entire town and the truth is not as black-and-white as the typeface on the paper wants you to believe. It definitely cautions readers from jumping to conclusions and reminding them that even the worst stories have two sides to them. show less

The Babysitter Murders, Janet Ruth Young's novel released today, is like a modern day witch hunt story. Dani Solomon is your well rounded high school student: tennis player, sings in the school choir, babysits after school . . . But lately Dani's been keeping a secret.

Thoughts about those she cares about most have been invading her mind. Bad, usually violent thoughts. She thinks about stabbing Alex the little boy she babysits with a giant knife from his kitchen while he sleeps.

Dani doesn't show more want to do it. She loves Alex. Enjoys babysitting him. Feels bad for him because of his absent mother. But she thinks about it.

When Dani's secret gets out, the moniker Dani Death is bestowed upon her even though she's never committed any crime, never harmed anyone. No matter, though, the whole town, the whole area, is soon out to get Dani Death.

An enjoyable YA psychological tale. you get to see what's going on inside Dani's mind . . . and what happens to and around her once she decides to let some of it out (or even just share it). It's also also a fantastic portrayal of the town's psyche - of the pack mentality, really - and how they're all so ready to latch on to Dani as Dani Death even when no crime has been committed.

With tabloid headlines, news reports, internet communications and other characters mixed in, The Babysitter Murders shows just how people will react to mental illness-whether they know it's that or not.

It's an excellent depiction of how people are still ready to dig out the pitchforks and storm a castle. Or think/post that they are.

And what it means for the person on the receiving end of those comments, posts, taunts, headlines, etc.

The Babysitter Murders is written in present tense. For me it felt more like anarration of a story than a story--I was always one step away from being full engrossed in it. Present tense storytelling doesn't really seem to work for me; it doesn't allow me to connect with the characters. But for other readers, it really might. show less

Billy’s family is in crisis. His father is sliding into a state of chronic depression. Billy, his mother and sister all pitch in to help by researching different anti drug methods. Nothing works. In desperation, they resort to Electric Shock Treatment. Billy finds it hard to let go.

Quite good. Easy to read. Good to pair with No Worries (Bill Condon)

Dani Solomn seems like a normal 17-year old girl, she's a high school student, a babysitter to a cute little boy, Alex, and a popular to boot. Dani isn't all that she seems though she's keeping a dark secret from her friends and loved ones. She keeps having disturbing visions of hurting and even killing people that she cares about the most. The visions are strongest when it comes to Alex, the young boy she babysits for, and the visions are so vivid that she feels she might really do it. She show more discloses the information to Alex's mother, and things take a frightful turn, the cops are called, and she runs the hate from the interweb and the newspapers that are claiming she's a potential child killer.

This book took me on a roller-coaster ride of emotions, at first I was not convinced that I would enjoy this book, but was drawn to it, simply because it deals with a psychological problem. Dani deals with a type of OCD that consists strictly of delisional thoughts that consume her mind, which is a face of OCD i've never read anything about, which drew me too this.

I felt the book to drag on a bit in the beginning and was a bit slow, but it was worth the wait. Once I got like 150 pages into the story it became excited, and page-turning, and I couldn't wait to find out what the outcome of Dani's devastating situation would be. If you like books that deal with issues of Psychology in the YA genre then this is def. a book that you would enjoy! show less