Week 8: Assignment 4

The Wild Truth—Carine McCandless BIO McCandless 

Appeal factors: characters, plot, special interest subject matter (for those who read Into the Wild)

This nonfiction title was written by the sister of Chris McCandless, the main subject of “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer. In that book, there were many unanswered questions as to why Chris essentially cut off his family. Carine writes this book to fill in some of those gaps and to give the readers a sense of what was really happening within their family that caused Chris to leave. This book is a biography written mostly about Carine and Chris’ lives growing up in a very strange and often abusive family. She writes in a way that almost makes her parents seem like fictional characters because of their outlandish, neurotic, and “crazy” behavior. This book will appeal to those who read and enjoyed “Into the Wild” in particular since otherwise you don’t have the story behind the story. Those who enjoy reading about and dissecting family relationships might enjoy this biography. Some authors include Elin Hillenbrand, Barbara Delinsky, and Fern Michaels.

In Cold Blood—Truman Capote 364.152 C 

Appeal factors: tone, genre, writing style

This book is a perfect example of a nonfiction book that reads like fiction. It’s a true crime book, but the writing style is exactly the same of the writing style you would find in the Fiction section. Capote uses descriptive language to set the scene and build tension within the story that effectively engages the reader. He also uses sense of place to develop the tone. Readers who enjoy fiction writers such as Patricia Cornwell, John Grisham and Agatha Christie may enjoy this nonfiction title.