The story is hard to believe. You'd think Junior ...
343936
The story is hard to believe. You'd think Junior and his buds were Seal Team 6 operatives. Also, all contacts they make in every country speaks English. I miss the way Tom Clancy wrote his stories.
4041586
A must read if you have the interest. Hard to believe anyone with at least a 3rd grade education could believe this weird stuff.
1378937
This was an interesting story to read. Is it all true? I highly doubt it.

As so many other reviewers of this edition and the paperback have already mentioned, without a DNA test to confirm if Desiree was really Elvis' daughter, what other real proof is there? I highly doubt that anyone who supposedly was involved intimately with "the King" for over 20 years, could remain so invisible and unknown to his inner circle of family, friends and staff. And who would live in the shadows for all those years, waiting and waiting, even if it was for Elvis Presley? I think not.

Not credible but I guess it could be true. Possible but highly unlikely.
2258916
I've read this before and the story is one of those times when truth is stranger than fiction. The writing is good, not great, but the story is mind boggling, made even more so by the fact that I was on the periphery of that show horse world.
1539696
A bit hard to follow but the story if interesting
3178890
I Found this story so unbelievable i had to double check if it was classified as fiction or was supposedly true. Liver cancer cured completely, parents who let their just abused son go to a one week treatment center unchaperoned, his abusers showing up during his "treatment", a kidnapping by an impersonator, a fatal switcheroo poisoning hard to believe one of these, but all of them?
24063
This book is hard to believe!  The author overplayed her hand when she tried to say the story is true.  No way!
1803517
A true story, that is hard to believe. Sad that the Jewish community of Aleppo, Syria, no longer exists after centuries of contributing to the culture, mores, and life of Aleppo. It is a serious loss to Aleppo and to Syria.
4025628
A very lengthy story...Not particularly believable....You must start off reading by having a mindset of "This is fiction".  It is, however, a well thought out tale.
578428
This story is of epic deceit and collusion with that deceit.  A nowhere man, a chameleon, takes advantage of the family of a missing child.  The question is how did he pull it off, and how - why - were they taken in?  It's like a blend of Deliverance, a CSI episode, and something like the The Day of the Jackal.. Except it's a documentary, and all the significant people involved in the story have inexplicably agreed to provide private family pictures and vhs footage, to give lengthy on camera interviews, and even perform elaborate re-enactments of what they did.  Initially a seemingly straight forward story about the abduction and impersonation of a child, the tale takes a darker twist as it unfolds.  An unsettling and upsetting story, but fascinating and well told.
2873343
I found it hard to believe that a 9 year old boy could do everything he did. Not very believable.
2174971
This beautiful story rings true on many levels but sometimes is a little far-fetched. I guess for a young adult book it is a good way to explain deaths but for an old adult , it is too contrite.
328672
I was told this was a true story but surely, if so, it was fictionalized, right? No one could be this diabolical ... could he?
3586361
Whoever came up with the plot of the movie has some serious personality issues. Weaved in and out of flashbacks which made it hard to follow. Plus, the story line was so incredibly hard to believe. There are really people out there who do this kind of thing? For a "story"? Makes me want to lock my doors at night.
54111
I realize this is a teen novel, but I couldn't help thinking constantly of 'Under the Banner of Heaven' as I read it. The elements of truth in this book are so utterly bizarre to a mainstream audience that at times it's like reading a fantasy; except that some of these truths are terrible, brutal perversions of an honest faith. The timeliness of reading this while Warren Jeffs is back in the news makes it even more terrifying and compelling.

As a book for teens it's tough going. I agree with other reviewers that the voice of the protagonist, fourteen year old Alva, is way too mature and complex for a girl who only knows how to bake bread and add numbers and thinks that African Americans are walking demons. An omniscient narrative might have made more sense; or simplifying Alva's voice, to reinforce the awfulness of her life, would have been even more heartbreaking. So much exposition, too, was unnecessary. The daily actions of the people in Alva's world would have amply explained what life is like for her. The heavy-handedness of sexuality, rape and abuse pulled me out of the story; I think it could have been handled more obliquely and still had the same impact.

All that being said, I still commend the author for tackling this subject with grace and humanity.
1720556
some of the events are unrealistic, but the story is good.
3566177
It was an interesting story line but I really have a hard time accepting it as factual.