The Lizzie Borden Story

December 15, 2024
The story of the 1892 murders of Andrew Jackson Borden and his wife, Abby, and the subsequent trial of daughter Lizzie, told from the perspective of their young neighbor. Adding a light wash of invented detail to an account otherwise closely based on historical records, Kraatz presents a subtly nuanced view of the gruesome, controversial case. Despite his determination to get to the bottom of things, which leads him into some frightening situations, all 14-year-old Charlie knows about the Bordens next door is that they are a tense and unhappy family, and all he sees is a hatchet-wielding shadow in a covered window. But even though Lizzie is ultimately acquitted of the murders of her father and stepmother, in Charlie's mind a residue of fear and suspicion remains--which Lizzie's own remote, collected manner in chance encounters before and after the killings does nothing to dispel. Indeed, nearly everything she and her equally reserved younger sister, Emma, say seems freighted with double meanings that carry suggestions of secrets, buried emotional currents, and perhaps even complicity. The enigmatic expressions on their faces in Jayme's somber, two-color scenes brilliantly underscore this ambiguity. Readers can't help but come away less titillated by the case's sensational aspects than disquieted by feelings that one or both of the surviving sisters knew things about that day that they silently carried to their graves. A true whodunit, rich in ambiguities and suggestive hints.(Graphic historical fiction. 11-13)

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January 1, 2025

Gr 7 Up-We all know the rhyme "Lizzie Borden took an ax," which has stubbornly persisted in popular memory since shortly after the grisly 1892 murders of Andrew and Abby Borden, despite being blatantly inaccurate-Borden was not found guilty, Abby was not her mother, and there were not as many whacks as the rhyme suggests. Kraatz's and Jayme's well-researched historical fiction examines the case and provides detail and context that is missed by the generally accepted narrative of the tragedy. Told through the experience of Borden's neighbor, 14-year-old Charlie Churchill, this blend of fiction and history is less an indictment of Borden or any other possible murderers, and more an exploration of an event that became a viral sensation, predating memes by about a hundred years. Once she is arrested, the country is divided, and everyone, it seems, has an opinion based on very little information. Readers gain a nuanced view through Charlie as he tries to sort out the events of that horrible day, torn between the sensationalism of it all and his levelheaded mother's gentle admonitions that an opinion cannot be formed without having all of the facts. VERDICT Borden's persistently compelling story lends a perfect background for a graphic novel about sensationalism, murder, media, high-profile court cases, and the effect they can have on communities.-Sarah Maciejewski

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