Piper Weiss

(43) This is the story of a tennis coach for rich Manhattan private school girls in the 90's that ultimately turned out to be a stalker. His obsession with one teenage girl in particular led to the planning of abduction and torture. The writer was also one of Gary Willensky's students at the time and as she writes about what happened, it is clear the memoir is as much about her struggles with mental health, obsession, identity as it is about the crime.

I think I may have the minority view but I thought her writing about her teenage self - the cutting, the obsessions, the frenemies, the anger was very poignant and well-written. She was brutally honest in the epilogue which was brave. I think the real story (for me, at least) is the mental health struggles of teenage girls in this country especially over the last few decades. I actually was less interested in the foiled true crime. To me, the author didn't seem to have any inside knowledge about the perpetrator that could not be gleaned from the newspaper coverage at the time which I skimmed through on-line, despite the fact that she was one of his students. Her palpable wish to have been the favored one - groomed and selected; even as an adult reflecting back was sad. And again, brave for her to endorse. She was not worried about the image of herself she was portraying - that type of honesty in a memoir is refreshing.

The reason for a mediocre rating is honestly the 'true crime' part. It was a bust without spoiling, Oh, that's it. Overall though - promising writing.. This author has potential.… (mehr)

Weiss has created a really interesting twist on your typical True Crime book. The narrative flips back and forth between her research process in 2016 and her memories of knowing and interacting with Gary Wilensky in 90's. I'll be honest and say that I found the chapters taking place in the 90's much more interesting than the present day ones. What makes this book so different from others in this genre is the fact that Weiss was NOT the girl Wilensky tried to kidnap in 1993. She was just another one of his many students, though that doesn't make her any less a victim. To know you spent so much time with someone who has Wilensky's capabilities and mindset, and that you TRUSTED that person is terrifying. The idea that it just as easily could have been her, and the question of why it wasn't has haunted Weiss for years. By the end of the book you begin to question whether the subtitle "A Memoir of Teenage Obsession" is describing Wilensky or Weiss.… (mehr)