Gitta Sereny, Cries Unheard: the Story of Mary Bell Reviews

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Good Points: Well researched and thoughtful

General comments: Gitta Sereny, Cries Unheard: the Story of Mary Bell is a really useful antedote to media hysteria about 'evil' children. It make us face what we as a society and as parents do to our children and what it is that helps to make us what we are. Perhaps if social work was not so woefully underfunded, more children like this would be picked up sooner and would have the chance to change their lies for the better. All praise due to the author who was quite right to share her fee with the subject in my opinion.

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Engrossing subject, I found it difficult to put down. At first I was frustrated about how the chronology of the book, but that is exactly what made it so compelling. Amazingly, I knew nothing about the book before I started reading it. It made me think about how children perceive things, and how they adapt. Serenny did an incredible job of portraying Mary Bell - both the woman she has become and child she was.