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September 2026 - A Day at the Beach
By Kristen · 9 posts · 85 views
By Kristen · 9 posts · 85 views
last updated Oct 30, 2025 11:22AM
What Members Thought
Fascinating, compelling, horrifying! This narrative of Jim Jones and his People’s Temple is not just history but a cautionary tale of what happened when a Narcissistic Megalomaniac finds disenfranchised people to manipulate. I can’t say enjoyment was part of the reading experience, but for marveling at Fleming's great skill. She did a flawless execution, making a difficult subject jump off the page. Her underlining compassion for Jones’s victims adds a layer of humanity to this truly tragic bit
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I’d recommend this to older teens or adults. I’ve tried to read books on Jonestown before and they never stuck with me, but this one did. Fleming is a decorated author in the children’s space, especially in nonfiction writing. This book is yet another triumph by her. It’s propulsive, illuminating, it makes the people feel 3D and lived in (they were real folks with families and lives). It does not shy away from discussing vile events, including adultery, Jones’s pining for people who could not sa
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Thank you to Anne Schwartz Books, an imprint of Random House Children's, and Netgalley for the digital arc.
I finished "Death in the Jungle" a few days ago, and it deserves every single star that it's earned. It provides a chronological narrative of the life events which resulted in Jim Jones developing Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Because of society's inequalities and injustices, he was able to take advantage of those that believed his rhetoric that everyone was out to get them, and they ...more
I finished "Death in the Jungle" a few days ago, and it deserves every single star that it's earned. It provides a chronological narrative of the life events which resulted in Jim Jones developing Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Because of society's inequalities and injustices, he was able to take advantage of those that believed his rhetoric that everyone was out to get them, and they ...more
It is difficult to say I liked anything about this book, as it is about an incredible tragedy, but it is very well written. The author focuses on the thoughts and feelings of the members of the People's Temple, humanizing them, and inviting the reader to understand how they reached their end. This makes the very emotional and engaging, but also makes the inevitable end terribly real. I questioned as I read why young people might want or need to read this story, but Fleming also clearly states at
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Feb 05, 2025
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