I was under the impression this book would focus on a serial killer in Detroit in the late 70s. Instead, it’s more the story of Hannah, a housewife nearing 40, who no longer feels wanted by her husband and starts having an affair with a dangerous stranger. I sympathized with Hannah as she tried to find herself, but she made horrible choices one after the other. She was selfish, often putting everyone around her in danger for the smallest bit of validation. Apparently this author is known for creating horrible characters, but I didn’t know that when I first picked this up.

Hannah’s story was the best of the multiple plot lines going on. There was another character who worked as a thug for hire type and his story was crass and pointless. And then there was the serial killer part which was just part of the background. Graphic scenes of Babysitter killing young boys he was literally given by the Catholic priest seemed gratuitous and random. At close to 500 pages, this book tried to do way too much. It was confusing, dissatisfying, and all over the place. I don’t recommend it unless you’re a big fan of JCO.

Thanks to Netgalley and Knopf Doubleday for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Babysitter was so good! This was my first Joyce Carol Oates book (which is crazy!) but I’ll definitely have to start reading her backlist. I flew through this book because I couldn’t wait to see what would happen. It was brilliant. Highly recommend!

Despite expecting more from this book and its author, I still think it was a decent read. However, it has many trigger warnings like kidnap, murder, rape, infidelity, racism, etc so you have to be careful if you decide to pick it up. I doubt the main character would be a favorite character by readers. Relating to her or accepting her actions is hardly possible.

I enjoy a lot of JCO's books. Unfortunately, this is not for me. Her talent is on display but the style is non-linear and often stream-of-conscious and just not one I enjoy. There is a plot, but it plays a secondary role to text and tone and I think many readers will find it slow going. The subject matter here is brutal: sexual assault, violent racism, etc.

I enjoyed reading Babysitter. It is utterly thrilling, and I was captivated almost instantly. I will be adding a copy to my personal library!

I feel...meh about Babysitter. It's my first Joyce Carol Oates book. My mother raved over some of her earlier books, so I wanted to see how she is writing for a more contemporary audience.

I love the concept of serial killers (don't we all?). However, I did have a hard time with how unlikeable the characters were! Yes, this is how they were written, and I respect that creative choice. In the end, though, I like to read books with characters that I can like and root for. It took away from the overall feel of the book.

With all of that being said, it was an enjoyable read. Any fans of true crime or a good, page-turning thriller should definitely grab a copy.

Babysitter
A novel
by Joyce Carol Oates
Pub Date 23 Aug 2022 |
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Knopf
Literary Fiction | Mystery & Thrillers


I am reviewing a copy of Babysitter through Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group and Netgalley:


Disclaimer due to subject matter and strong language not recommended for readers under sixteen!



In the last few years of the. 1970’s, in the wake of unsolved child-killings that have shocked Detroit, the lives of several residents are drawn together with tragic consequences.




Included in this group of people, there is Hannah wife of a prominent local businessman, who has begun an affair with a darkly charismatic stranger whose identity remains elusive; Mikey, a canny street hustler who finds himself on a chilling mission to rectify injustice; and the serial killer known as Babysitter, an enigmatic and terrifying figure at the periphery of elite Detroit. As Babysitter continues his rampage of abductions and killings, these individuals intersect with one another in startling and unexpected ways.



Babysitter is a suspenseful and brilliantly orchestrated as well as engrossing novel. Babysitter is a starkly narrated exploration of the riskiness of pursuing alternate lives, calling into question how far we are willing to go to protect those whom we cherish most. In its scathing indictment of corrupt politics, unexamined racism, and the enabling of sexual predation in America, Babysitter is a thrilling work of contemporary fiction.



I give Babysitter five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

Another unique story from one of my favorite writers. This novel is tagged as horror and though parts are certainly horrific, it could also be described as a thriller or mystery. Drawing on so many of life’s current issues (abuse of children—particularly by the clergy, rape, murder, loneliness, depression, drug and alcohol use/abuse, racial profiling, guns readily available, women seen as possessions, greed, etc,) the story primarily follows 39-year-old Hannah as she struggles with the consequences of trying to give her life meaning. The writing is unusual in using many incomplete sentences and train-of-thought paragraphs but is effective in subtly building suspense. It is really just Hannah that we come to know intimately even while not really respecting her.

Thanks to NetGalley and Alfred A. Knopf Publishing for the ARC to read and review.

I just did not enjoy or understand the writing in this book. I really thought by the synopsis this would be an instant 5 star read but it did not turn out the way I had hoped.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for allowing me to read this ARC!


Content Warning: death (including that of a child), murder, violence, rape (on-page), homophobia, racism, racist slurs, homophobic slurs, victim-blaming, suicidal ideation, child abuse (physical, emotional and sexual).


Detroit, 1977. Hannah Jarrett lives a privileged life; the wife of a wealthy man, the mother of two perfect children, the co-chair of many esteemed fundraisers and charity events. In the midst of her outwardly perfect -- if boring -- life, Hannah suddenly and unexpectedly meets a man who she is instantly drawn to. Calling himself only Y.K., Hannah falls headfirst into an affair that will change the course of her life forever. In another part of Detroit, there's Mikey, connected not only to Y.K., but to Babysitter, the child killer stalking the streets. As Hannah grows more and more suspicious of Y.K., questioning whether he is implicated in the Babysitter killings, everyone -- including Hannah's children and her husband -- will be drawn into the turmoil...

Joyce Carol Oates is adept at crafting stories centered around darkness. Of the several other books I've read by her, they were all similarly filled with themes of lust, hatred, and murder, and while some of them were more successful than others, I knew going into Babysitter that this type of tale was in good hands. Her stories often play with subversion, subterfuge, and nontraditional forms of writing, and so those who are not familiar with her style may find it a bit strange at first -- even I, having not read anything by her in a while, found it a bit jarring at first. However, the longer I read, the more compulsively I found myself consuming this, eager to know what frightening turn the plot might take.

Hannah Jarrett is our (main) protagonist; I would describe her as being squarely in the middle of the events that take place here, as well as the characters who surround her. She, both narratively and as a character, provides a sort of stepping stone, an opportunity for the reader to see themselves in the story. However, like most of Oates's protagonists, she is not likable on principle; she is complex, deeply flawed, and very, very naïve. I appreciated Oates's efforts to show us that while Hannah thinks of herself as being "rational" and "nonracist," she nonetheless continuously insults her children's Filipina nanny, Ismelda, with microaggressions. She projects her insecurities and fears onto Ismelda, the "other," just like her husband, Wes, does, though his is more outwardly aggressive, more "male."

Racism is a big theme in this book, as is fitting, I think, for a novel that takes place in 1970s' Detroit. Present, too, as in all of Oates's novels, are the questions of womanhood, femininity, and how motherhood changes women (for better and worse). Some of her attempts at dissecting racism are better than others but, overall, I think the message here is well-conveyed -- that racism is insidious in its many forms, and that white women perpetuate racism in ways different than their male counterparts (but that all are equally reprehensible). Her discussions of misogyny are incisive and clever, as always.

Now, onto why it didn't quite get the full four stars from me... my main complaint is that, sometimes, I struggled to truly "click" with the story or its characters. Mistakenly, I thought that this novel would revolve mainly around the Babysitter killer, also known as the Oakland County Child Killer, who I do have some prior knowledge of. Instead, this deals mostly with people who are connected to him, both tangentially and more closely, which I found a touch disappointing. The child killings serve more as a backdrop for what's going on in Hannah's life, as well as exacerbating her already heightened fears as a mother. It's important that I mention that while this book does deal with many dark, horrible things, sometimes in graphic detail, I never felt as if Oates was exploiting the real life tragedies that Babysitter committed.

I didn't like Hannah, per se; she's gullible, a bit spineless, not to mention her strange racist assumptions about Ismelda. However, I see the purpose of her story, and I do enjoy the fact that Oates doesn't worry so much about how "relatable" or "likable" her characters are. The story also feels disjointed, sometimes confusing; while this does work well in some aspects, in others, it fails to achieve its intentions. For example, the ending -- I'm still confused about what exactly it was meant to signify, even how much of it is "real." That might work for some readers, but in my case, it left me feeling a bit let down after the rather arduous journey I took to get there.

Ultimately, I think Babysitter succeeds in many of its efforts, but as a whole, it felt like a jigsaw puzzle missing a few pieces. I'd recommend this to Oates's fans, and to anyone who might have a fascination with true crime like I do.

Like others have said after i read the synopsis I was really looking forward to reading it. However it's been one of the hardest books I've read. I couldn't understand half of it and had to reread parts. I didn't enjoy it.

This synopsis sounded so great, but this was so hard to get into. I had to go back and re read sections. I wanted a really dark creepy read and this unfortunately wasn’t it. I struggled with the overall plot of this book, maybe it was the writing or maybe it wasn’t but I really struggled with this. Overall, it was so hard for me to finish.

As intriguing as the synopsis sounded when I requested this book, the writing style was so hard for me to get into and follow along. I had to go back and re-read lines and sections to try and figure out what was being said or trying to be relayed. I wanted a dark, creepy read that was easy to fall into and made you want to stay up late reading and unfortunately this was not the book for that (for me). Based on the ARC ratings, this one was a tougher one for most people with only 3 stars. As much as I want to love every book I pick up, I know that's not possible, and Babysitter fell short for me and I decided to DNF Babysitter pretty early on.

I liked this book a lot. It’s written in JCO’s trademark style, bleak language, a sense of stark reality. It took a few chapters for me to get into the flow of the book. The story is told from Hannah’s point of view. I struggled to like her. She seems so vapid and near-hysterical at times but quite fascinating. I had a love/hate thing for her. I didn’t like her but I also didn’t hate her. At times it wasn’t clear if Hannah was describing the truth or a fantasy or part fragmented reality. The book is very dark at times as Hannah’s bizarre affair becomes threatening and the Babysitter closes in.

I am not sure what I just read. Long, drawn out & tedious, I often felt anxiety trying to get through these pages. Entirely too many similes. Extensive use of the word “wraith.,” for no discernible reason. Unfortunately, I found myself wanting the book to be over. I kept waiting for something to happen & pieces to fall into place, but that never happened. We are left wondering about every single character, from Hannah to Wes & Y.K. to the Babysitter. I’m so confused and after nearly 500 pages, I was hoping for way more.

Babysitter was my first novel by Joyce Carol Oates and while I’ve heard good things about this author, ultimately this book was not for me. I found that the points of views and chapters were a little abrupt and jumpy and it made it hard to follow along with the book. This book was also a little more gruesome than I was expecting and it seemed a little all over the place.

Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday for the advanced reader copy.

This week’s headline? Don’t tell mom the babysitter’s killing people.

Why this book? Love Joyce Carol Oates and books about serial killers.

Which book format? ARC

Primary reading environment? Parents’ guest room

Any preconceived notions? If I don’t like this I will rage.

Identify most with? None

Three little words? “courage is required”

Goes well with? Hotels

Recommend this to? A few of my friends

Other cultural accompaniments: https://latestnews.fresherslive.com/articles/why-were-there-so-many-serial-killers-in-the-70s-get-to-know-about-the-golden-age-of-serial-killers-327633

Grade: 3.75/5

I leave you with this: “Never look too closely into the motive of a smile. And — Never look back to where a smile has gone. … And take care where you smile.”

📚📚📚

In 1970s Detroit, white children are being abducted in rich neighborhoods and then murdered by a serial killer given the moniker Babysitter. The book description on goodreads says it’s an “exploration of the riskiness of pursuing alternative lives” and I couldn’t agree more.

I haven’t read anything by JCO in years so I can’t remember if this writing style is standard for her, but the narration came across as non-human - even during the Hannah chapters. This book’s pacing was also odd. I found myself moving through it rather quickly but it felt so slow and dragged on. This is one of those books that I don’t think it benefits to read on an ebook because looking at the pages is daunting, as it’s 1029 pages long but maybe that’s just me.

Babysitter is now available.

tw: murder, rape, infidelity, racism, kidnapping, homophobic slurs

Let me preface by saying this is the first Joyce Carol Oates book I've read but I know she has high praise for her other books. The other books are on my list, I swear but I just haven't gotten to 'em yet. That being said, Oates seems like the kind of author you need to be used to in order to fully appreciate and enjoy. The premise of this book sounds so interesting and it made me think I was getting into something way different than what it is. ALAS! That wasn't a completely terrible thing.

I was a little intimidated by the high page count when I saw it (>400 pages to me is high! Don't judge!) so I hesitated a bit in starting my reading. When I finally did start, it took a while for me to get into it / enjoy it. For the first 30% or so I was ready to DNF it but then something would happen and it would suck me in and I'd keep going. I'd credit that to some of the really short chapters with only one or two pages. It kept my interest peaked and my reading pace quick of which I appreciate.

There's some pretty random and quick POV changes and it sort of bounces all over. I finished the book and I'm still not entirely sure what happened in the end. The writing style is unique - I see a lot of people complaining about the use of parenthesis but I didn't mind them much. This is a book you have to take your time with and much to my detriment, it was a book that I didn't really want to dedicate a whole lot of time with. Maybe that's why I'm still a little hazy on what actually happened in this book.

If you're a fan of Joyce Carol Oates, you'll probably be much better off than I was getting into this. There's some really great commentary on sexism, racism, and classism that I found interesting. I can't say this book made me super eager to read other works of hers but it didn't turn me off completely.

Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Listened to about 10% and after reading some other reviews, I agree and felt like this one dragged and wasn't getting anywhere. The premise sounded awesome but I don't think this one is for me.

This book did not work for me. All of the characters were terrible human beings - even the little boy was drawn as unpleasant and mean - and the story was kind of convoluted. It was hard for me to keep track of what was going on.