The Undocumented Americans points out what is so often missing from the conversation: humanity. The people included in the book are not made into hardworking saints and angels nor are they infantilized as helpless children. Rather, the people in this book fully embody humanity in all the same complexities as anyone else's humanity. They are, to quote crybabybea's review, "living the 'American dream' (derogatory) alongside each of us." Additionally, because Cornejo Villavicencio does indeed combine "sensitive reporting and powerful personal narratives" as the summary suggests, this book has a wonderfully multi-genre flavor.

The House of My Mother is a haunting but gripping look in the world of a family vlogging child. I never watched 8 Passengers (or any family vlogging channel) and have only heard tangentially from others who watched the content or from the numerous scandals. I would not be surprised in the coming decade to see more and more memoirs of this lifestyle.

Franke is very vulnerable in this story and provides a level of reflection that I think is commensurate with her age and the relatively short distance from these experiences. Her voice is strong and her fervent desire to tell her own story is palpable. The writing is very accessible if not at times a little simplistic or repetitive. She weaves in journal entries from her childhood and the YouTube evidence to ground her story, and it is frightening to hear from a child's voice trying to rationalize and understand their own abuse. At times, she reaches a little into others' minds about their intentions, but it's her story and her impressions.

I do commend Shari for keeping this memoir to her specific perspective and leaving her younger siblings' stories to be told by them (or never publicly at all). This means the more salacious and nauseating pieces that were publicized about physical abuse to the younger children were not included which I think was a responsible and admirable choice. In the final act of this book, the narrative is a little abbreviated and abrupt, likely to stay in this narrow focus. I do not pretend to understand her forgiveness and excuses for her father's role (and lack of action) in this whole ordeal, but I know she's trying to piece her family life back together. The role of the LDS church in this was also incomprehensible to me, and I do wonder if she will remain in the. church longterm.

This book discusses child emotional abuse and neglect; grooming and sexual abuse and manipulation; and mental health including depression. (The younger children's physical abuse was loosely referenced but not enumerated.) Franke's Mormon faith is touched on, but there is not much reflection on the role of this religion in this abuse. If you are interested in the children victims of cult activity and behavior and the impacts of family vlogging on children, this book will likely be illuminating. The audiobook was read by Shari Franke and was helpful to truly hear from her. Wishing the best for Shari Franke and her siblings.

Based on Bookdun's Readdun.

1. Pitch
The first-ever memoir from a child of a family influencer, this book shares the harrowing account of life in the household of Ruby Franke, the infamous influencer who was found guilty last year of four counts of aggravated child abuse.
2. Strengths
Though mostly linear, the book makes small jumps back and forward in time when appropriate to give more context to a situation. I also have to commend Shari Franke for the fact that she upheld the anonymity of her younger siblings, keeping them outside of the spotlight. The only one who was named in the book is her younger brother Chad, who is of age and also consented to his name being publicised. Her care to keep her siblings in the shadow is in direct correlation with her criticism of her mother for exposing them to the world. I hate it when people who whistleblow are not consistent, and Shari doesn't deviate from the road she chose.
3. Weaknesses
Given the subject, I absolutely refuse to search the content of the book for flaws - it's not my place. Instead, I'm deciding to focus on prose, and on a slight overuse of a sentence structure that I noticed in the latter half of the book: "[beginning of the sentence] [name], [adjective] and [adjective]." To me, it's part of Shari Franke's writing style, but her editors probably should have signaled to her that it was repetitive in some sections.
4. Lessons
I don't have a real story to tell, and I hope my life never gets interesting and painful enough to warrant writing a memoir. However, the book managed to approach painful subjects with grace and respect, which is a lesson I'm taking with me, as I believe it's always important to keep in mind.
5. Thoughts
It's always complicated to properly review a memoir, especially one as dark as this. I can't truly say I've enjoyed it - how could I ever enjoy a woman baring her soul and exposing all the dark things she suffered? But it's well written and well told, and I believe it's shedding light on a very important subject. I would however caution people triggered by child abuse, sexual coercion and coercive control to proceed with great caution.

I rented this book through Libby and was so excited to take a listen to this book between work tasks and daily tasks. I ended up buying the Kindle version of this book and the Audible version of this book very early on. I now prefer doing things this way. Oops?

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This book is written by the eldest daughter of Ruby Franke and is the shocking true story of what she endured by the creator of the viral 8 Passengers Youtube channel. She details the hidden abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother and how she found freedom and healing despite the unimaginable pain she experienced.

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I didn’t know what 8 Passengers was when Ruby was first arrested but still watched the court case with bated breath. I couldn’t believe a parent could treat their children in such a way but yet here we are. I’m glad we get this closer look from someone who experienced it, first-hand.

After listening to the audiobook for this book, it made me even angrier for what happened to these poor kids. I will never believe they deserved anything they experienced at Ruby’s hands. I think Ruby didn’t get a long enough prison sentence but that’s just me.

I hope Shari gets the closure she deserves and I hope that writing this book helps her in some way. I’m so glad she felt the bravery to publish this book. That’s what I think this is: I think it took so much bravery to come out with her story. Prove me wrong.

I didn’t realize how horrified I’d feel as I was going through this book or how shocked I’d feel that the public image someone holds for themselves can be so different than what goes on behind the scenes. This couldn’t be more true for the Franke family.

Going through depression and having it laughed off or not taken seriously is so fucking dangerous. Take it from someone who knows: my own parents didn’t take me seriously when I came to them when I was in college. I never trusted them again so I can’t say I blame Shari for her reaction to a lot of Ruby’s actions in the book.

I can’t imagine the trigger warnings this book would need if the book went even deeper than it does. I can’t imagine what happened that we aren’t told about. I’m not sure I want to know what the younger children went through, to be fully honest.

If you do read this book, especially on my hesitant recommendation, please be very careful with triggers. I know there aren’t any triggers listed in the beginning of the novel from what I can tell but there should be for mental health and suicidal ideation. So yeah, here’s your trigger warnings, people. Good luck if you do read this book!

In some ways, this book makes me think of I’m Glad My Mom Died - both authors were pushed into fame (albeit different mediums) as young kids even though neither of them wanted it, and of course both authors had abusive mothers who sacrificed their children's psychological well-being for their narcissistic delusions of grandeur.

Just like with Jennette McCurdy's show, I also did not follow or watch 8 Passengers, so I came into this book a bit blind as to the specific cultural context. Regardless, I definitely came out of it infuriated with both Shari's mother specifically as well as with the "mommy blogger" culture. I was never into that culture to begin with, because it's clear to anyone with half a brain that real life is nothing like what those blogs/vlogs portray (and because so many of these blogs/vlogs are promoting the "trad wife" lifestyle which is a whole 'nother issue). But after reading this book, it is clear how detrimental it can be to the kids. Of course, Shari's mom took it way too far, but even for moms who aren't actively abusive, I'm sure growing up in front of a camera and feeling like the only validation that matters are randos on the internet is not psychologically healthy regardless, not to mention issues of full understanding and consent.

I was glad that Shari was basically almost out of the house by the time that Jodi came into the picture, so she was able to escape fairly quickly compared to her siblings, but it was still sad for her siblings. And of course, her psychological state/mental health really primed her to a place where she could be groomed by the older man from her church who ended up sexually abusing her. (I recognize that people can be groomed and abused even without coming from previous family abuse, but obviously this made it easier for the predator to do so.) So it really all goes back to Shari's mom...and of course, her dad is also complicit by doing nothing and letting her mom do whatever she wanted. Reading about him in particular was so frustrating! I don't think that I could have forgiven him the way that Shari did, but it's not my personal story, so I support her in however she wants to heal.

My main frustration was something that several people had mentioned - that Shari doesn't seem to fully recognize how the LDS church/religion played a role in everything that happened. Again, I recognize that not the entire religion is bad and that there are plenty of LDS people who are perfectly good people...but there have been plenty of child abuse scandals within this religion (and tbh religion in general), which can't be denied. Also, everything happened sort of within the auspices and framework of the LDS religion, so again, I was surprised that Shari stayed within the religion, but like I said before, I'm not her, and maybe she wants to keep something that is familiar in her life.

(To be fair, I just hate any and all organized religion myself, so I'm coming in hot and a bit biased to begin with.)

Anyway, this was an interesting and quick read that blended my interests of true crime and abnormal psychology. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in narcissistic personality disorder, the dark side of the internet/Youtube, or childhood/adolescent resilience.

My heart goes out to Shari and her siblings, and it was very brave for her to share everything so honestly and deeply. I hope she continues to advocate against children in vlogs, and that she continues deconstructing everything she was raised with. I think more needs to be said then “leave the church” or “fuck mommy bloggers”. The core of what happened with Jodi and with Derrick was the Mormon church. The Mormon church primed Ruby to raise her children how she did, it primed Shari to fawn, it primed (and supported) Derrick to abuse his power. And it will continue to prime people for situations like these. I’m so glad this book is out and so many people have read it. Thank you for sharing your story, Shari.