I have been a little short on reading lately due to two circumstances. We are the curriculum agent here, so I’ve been pouring over the Approved Textbook List and getting orders in for school. Also, I am one of the teachers for our Bible School this year. We have over 100 students, so it’s a bit of an undertaking to pull it off every year.

Having said that, there are two books I’ve listened to in the last couple months that are worth special mention. Here they are:

The Man in the Rockefeller Suit ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A real-life Talented Mr. Ripley, the unbelievable 30-year run of a shape-shifting con man. The story of Clark Rockefeller is a stranger-than-fiction twist on the classic American success story of the self-made man – because Clark Rockefeller was totally made up.

The career con man who convincingly passed himself off as Rockefeller was born in a small village in Germany. At 17, obsessed with getting to America, he flew into the country on dubious student visa documents and his journey of deception began. Over the next 30 years, boldly assuming a series of false identities, he moved up the social ladder through exclusive enclaves on both coasts-culminating in a stunning 12-year marriage to a rising star businesswoman with a Harvard MBA who believed she’d wed a Rockefeller. The imposter charmed his way into exclusive clubs and financial institutions-working on Wall Street, showing off an extraordinary art collection – until his marriage ended and he was arrested for kidnapping his daughter, which exposed his past of astounding deceptions as well as a connection to the bizarre disappearance of a California couple in the mid-1980s.

The story of The Man in the Rockefeller Suit is a probing and cinematic exploration of an audacious imposer – and a man determined to live the American dream by any means necessary.

This book is definitely worth your time! It proves that truth is stranger than fiction.

The House of My Mother ⭐⭐⭐⭐

From eldest daughter Shari Franke, the shocking true story behind the viral 8 Passengers family vlog, and the hidden abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother, and how, in the face of unimaginable pain, she found freedom and healing.

Shari Franke’s childhood was a constant battle for survival. Her mother, Ruby Franke, enforced a severe moral code while maintaining a façade of a picture-perfect family for their wildly popular YouTube channel 8 Passengers, which documented the day-to-day life of raising six children for a staggering 2.5 million subscribers. But a darker truth lurked beneath the surface—Ruby’s wholesome online persona masked a more tyrannical parenting style than anyone could have imagined.

As the family’s YouTube notoriety grew, so too did Ruby’s delusions of righteousness. Fueled by the sadistic influence of relationship coach Jodi Hildebrandt, together they implemented an inhumane and merciless disciplinary regime.

Ruby and Jodi were arrested in Utah in 2023 on multiple charges of aggravated child abuse. On that fateful day, Shari shared a photo online of a police car outside their home. Her caption had one word: “Finally.”

For the first time, Shari will reveal the disturbing truth behind 8 Passengers and her family’s devastating involvement with Jodi Hildebrandt’s cultish life coaching program, “ConneXions.” No stone is left unturned as Shari exposes the perils of influencer culture and shares for the first time her battle for truth and survival in the face of her mother’s cruelty.

This is a truly sad story, but it’s a bit like a train wreck – you can’t look away. It’s a story that anyone who vlogs or puts their children on social media needs to read. I believe the story has a simple beginning. Ruby didn’t go into this expecting to exploit and eventually abuse her children. Money and fame took her common sense and made for a tragic ending.

While this book covers sensitive topics, it’s not graphic. Shari protects her younger siblings (something she felt her mother didn’t do) and she doesn’t even name them in the book.

Have you read either of these books? If so, what did you think? I would love to know what else you have been reading! Let us know in the comments!

-Eva