Waiting to Be Heard

by Amanda Knox

Amanda Knox spent four years in a foreign prison for a crime she did not commit, as seen in the Nexflix documentary Amanda Knox.

In the fall of 2007, the 20-year-old college coed left Seattle to study abroad in Italy, but her life was shattered when her roommate was murdered in their apartment.

After a controversial trial, Amanda was convicted and imprisoned. But in 2011, an appeals court overturned the decision and vacated the murder charge. Free at last, she returned home to the U.S., where she has remained silent, until now.

Filled with details first recorded in the journals Knox kept while in Italy, Waiting to Be Heard is a remarkable story of innocence, resilience, and courage, and of one young woman’s hard-fought battle to overcome injustice and win the freedom she deserved.

With intelligence, grace, and candor, Amanda Knox tells the full story of her harrowing ordeal in Italy—a labyrinthine nightmare of crime and punishment, innocence and vindication—and of the unwavering support of family and friends who tirelessly worked to help her win her freedom.

Waiting to Be Heard includes 24 pages of color photographs.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, True Crime, Biography, Audiobook, Crime, Biography Memoir

480 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2013

Reviews

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amanda Knox is certainly a polarizing figure.

In 2007 Knox left the University of Washington and moved to Perugia, Italy for a year of studying abroad. The night after Halloween, Knox's British roommate Meredith Kercher was stabbed, brutalized and then left to bleed to death. Knox and her boyfriend of one week, Raffaele Sollecito, reported the murder to the police.

Knox's strange behavior caught the attention of the Italian police, who immediately made her their prime suspect. She was thrown in jail, along with her boyfriend and an immigrant drifter named Rudy Guede, and an international media sensation began. The police claimed that Amanda, her boyfriend, and Guede had tried to force Meredith into a twisted sex game. When she failed to play along, Amanda ordered the men to kill her.

Amanda Knox's trial quickly became tabloid fodder as every bit of her sex life and recreational drug use were aired in public. It helped that she was pretty - "a murderer with the face of an angel." After nearly a year in prison, Amanda and her boyfriend were found guilty of murder. They appealed, but it would be another three years before a higher Italian court would overturn the decision thanks to flawed DNA evidence, allowing Amanda to go free and return to America.

There have been many, many books written about this case, but this book marks the first time Amanda Knox herself has spoken in depth about her experiences.

To be clear, I'm completely convinced of Knox's innocence and I was long before I read this book. The prosecution's theory of twisted, Satanic sex games always seemed insane to me.

Amanda Knox had no previous history of violence or criminal record of any kind. Very few women commit violent crimes. Fewer still commit crimes against other women. The likelihood of a woman with no background of violence or mental illness committing sexual violence against another woman is virtually nil.

Knox's sexual promiscuity and marijuana use have often been held up as proof of her amorality, but the truth is that none of her behavior was particularly unusual for an American college student of her age.

Without overwhelming physical evidence to the contrary Amanda Knox should have always been presumed innocent, and that evidence has never materialized.

At any rate, the Amanda Knox that emerged at the other end of her four year ordeal and imprisonment is not the same girl that tramped off to Italy in hopes of 'finding herself'. In her memoir, Amanda is very critical of that younger self. She paints a picture of a young woman who, despite her attempts to be grown up and worldly, was very naive and dangerously unguarded.

Amanda is also incredibly blunt and honest in her writing. Perhaps it's because she knows that the most intimate details of her life are now common knowledge, but she also comes across as someone with a very forthright personality. She doesn't attempt to gloss over any of the embarrassing details. The first third of the book presents an unflinching self-portrait of a young woman making a lot of mistakes as she comes of age.

Beginning with her questioning by the police and continuing through the rest of the book, Knox's memoir becomes a tale of justice twisted into monstrous injustice. The Italian police and prosecutor pegged Amanda as their prime suspect long before there was anything to support this, and then proceeded to twist every piece of evidence they found to fit their increasingly salacious and convoluted theory of how the murder happened.

They also subjected Amanda to harrowing psychological abuse during her interrogation and then during her time in prison. They completely violated her privacy, 'raiding' her prison cell so they could carry off her personal diary, bugging conversations with her mother and her cell mates and then leaking every juicy morsel to the press.

That's to say nothing of the incident where the prison guard collaborated with a doctor to lie to Knox, telling her she had contracted HIV, apparently in hopes that this would shake a confession out of her.

Amanda truly believed that the fact that she was so clearly innocent would ultimately exonerate her. The prosecutors took advantage of her hopeful idealism again and again. It was not until her initial conviction for the murder of her roommate that she realized her innocence meant nothing to these people.

Knox would spend a total of four years in prison before the slow-moving wheels of Italian justice finally set her free. The fact that she did not give up during this time and give in to bitterness says something about her true character. Instead she continued to study Italian and better herself by becoming very widely read. The woman that emerged from that experiences and from the pages of her memoir is still in many ways an idealist even if her optimism is now tempered by sober-minded realism.

I would say that Amanda Knox did, in the end, do what she set out to accomplish by traveling to Italy: she matured and discovered a great deal about who she really is, even if this did not happen in quite the way she expected.

[Paula · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was okay. Its moderately interesting to hear her side. Lets all remember that everyone accused of murder proclaims their innocence, and this is her story after having years to get it all lined up- and its still wonky. Here's what I took away from it:

1)At best she's an idiot kid who is COMPLETELY self absorbed (like most 20 year old girls) who thinks everyone around her is an idiot too. He's an overzealous prosecutor. The two combine and act like an idiot kid and an overzealous prosecutor who shovel away together until they both dig a hole so deep no one has any idea what's really happening and it makes a huge mess.

2) If you find your roommate dead in a foreign country head straight to the airport, fly home and hire a lawyer because not every system grants the same rights to the accused as America does- GET BACK TO THE USA.

Listening to her whine really doesn't change anything. I'm surprised at how many people rush to her defense, especially based on reading this book. Her story to the police DOES change often, her confession might have been coerced, but even then she blamed someone else who was completely innocent- so she was still attempting to act in her own best interest without realizing she was implicating herself also- throw an innocent man under the bus? what does that imply?. Her alibis story changes, she does act like a total weirdo with something to hide. Then she cant understand when it takes her weeks to tell multiple lies and finally get her story lined up after all the changes and odd behavior everyone doesn't just say, "oh, Amanda, thanks for clearing that up. Sure you can go."

"They tricked me" is a common refrain- Instead of admitting "I never told the truth" she blames THEM for lying to her which caused her to lie to them, etc. Which came first? chicken or egg? When it comes to prosecutors vs accused murderers- most likely the latter. When you have a million instances of AMANDA lying to the police over and over again, blaming innocent people for a murder, re-constitutiong the story over and over to fit what eventually takes place- its kinda hard to buy it when she eventually concocts a final story years after the facts are clear. Everything she said the entire time was false. Maybe a lie, maybe "confusion" as she claims- the basic story is she didn't remember where she was or what she did, and remembered it different if she blamed someone else or tell a story to save her own ass or just deny knowing what happened when her story was accused of being bullshit. - "they made me say it" then I saw the aftermath and got a lawyer and they MADE me say something else and they MADE me say something else- but in reality even though my story changed a hundred times, the one thing that didn't change is I was always "confused" and kinda mostly innocent-ish.

There was plenty to suspect that she might have been involved. My only problem with what happened is that the Italian justice system ALLOWS prosecutors to hold people on suspicion alone for a year while they develop their case. This is reprehensible to me as an American, but you know what they say- when in Rome...

Honestly- even after reading this strictly one sided story- I don't know if she did it- but her story is so full of holes and bolstered by nothing but post adolescent lies that hint to conspiracy theories that are totally unrealistic- I believe it MORE likely now that she killed Meredith than I did BEFORE I read the book. I wouldn't leave her alone with my family... In the end, the preponderance of evidence leads to reasonable doubt- so the system worked. I want to be clear her story leads me ONLY to reasonable doubt and not actual innocence- I don't believe for a second any of it is true.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lesson to be learned from this book: Be VERY VERY careful if you are a quirky individual living in a foreign country, especially if you could be considered to have a unique or atypical personality.

I guess I have to start by saying that I believe Amanda Knox when she says she had nothing to do with the murder of her roommate Meredith Kercher in Italy. There is no real evidence to tie her or Raffaele Sollecito to this horrible crime. The DNA evidence, and the crime scene evidence all points to Rudy Guede, who is serving time in prison for this crime.

Which makes me wonder how this wrongful conviction could have happened to Amanda. Scarily, the one thought that kept coming to my mind as I read Amanda's book is "This girl has aspergers." She is quirky, she has strange reactions in social situations, she has what others would consider inappropriate reactions in stressful situations, she has atypical responses to events, and her mind works in a very unique way that makes total sense to her. So many of the things she did, and the things she thought, and the way she acted just yelled ASPERGERS to me. High functioning, probably non-diagnosed aspergers, or some other similar autism spectrum disorder.

For anyone with any interest in this case, this book is very interesting, and details all the events from Amanda's own point of view. She admits to her sexual experimentation. She admits to smoking pot. These things do not make her a murderer. She admits to her quirky thoughts and behaviors. These things do not make her a murderer.

I just find it very scary that a person could spend four years in a foreign prison based almost completely on their unique behaviors and reactions.

[Elyse Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audiobook.... read by Amanda Knox

So, here’s a funny.
I just finished this book.
I was fascinated with it.... I listened in sauna, the pool, while walking, ‘everywhere’.
I was intrigued as could be.
It was painful visualizing the violation to Amanda’s body on her first day in prison.
I lost it at that part with tears.

I know I’m super super super SUPER LATE....for this ancient international news story about Amanda Knox
I only followed a tidbit of this story when it first hit the news.

So... THE FUNNY?/!
I figured nobody needs another review on this book—certainly not from me.
I guessed there must have been thousands on Amazon.
I went to check.

The first review I read
was a 1 star review.
I’m giving it 5 stars....
BUT THE 1 Star REVIEW ‘was’ RIGHT ON... He, or she, was totally on the mark.
His/ or her heading read:
“Blah, Blah, Blah”
The reviewer said:
“I lost interest early on, making what should’ve been a quick read carry on for months, yes months”...

I’m still laughing here. The book ‘did’ feel like it went on for months.
Yet considering the fact that Amanda spent 4 YEARS in prison....( those months started to feel shorter by comparison).
Appeals court overturned Amanda’s sentence in 2011.

I can also understand the reviewers “blah blah blah”, too.
Honestly, I get it.
It still makes me laugh, though. ( a little harsh perhaps- but funny - and a valid point of view)...
I had a gut physical reaction to that 1 Star review.
I’d felt ZAPPED.... out of my own experience. I don’t ‘feel’ invalidated - but the thought arose.

Here is my side ...
I ‘didn’t loose interested. Yet, I still understand and kinda relate to that one star view.
There were a few times when I questioned if it was necessary for every detail... but my curiosity grew from them. I wondered how Amanda knew ‘every-one-of-them’ to such lengths.
Amanda’s book seemed as if she was not only the memoir author, but also the Italian police, ( the entire Italian justice system), the prosecutor, the defending lawyer, the forensic team, the judge, the journalists, the prisoner, and a prisoner staff employee. Amanda Knox could speak for any of prime people involved in the murder case. I found it unusual. SHE WAS THE ACCUSED!

The prosecutor painted Amanda as a drug-fueled-she-devil-sex-crazed femme fatale - and the media profited for years sensationalizing the story.

A sad - tragic story - a wrongful conviction-interest story — a memoir —and a look at Italy’s criminal justice system.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Waiting to be Heard: A Memoir by Amanda Knox is a 2013 Harper Collins publication.

Often times it pays to wait for all the furor to die down before deciding one what book to read about a true crime story. When this case dominated the headlines, books were pumped out at record speed. But, hearing the story told from Amanda herself was a temptation I couldn’t resist.

This book, as the title says, is a memoir. If you are looking for a debate about guilt or innocence, a breakdown of facts, court drama, or any sort of accounting of the case told by a true crime author, you will not find that here.

This a personal accounting of Amanda’s life, how she was accused, arrested, and put on trial for murder in Italy, her prison experience, court experience, and her personal thoughts while going through this process.

For me personally, I have to admit I did follow the case to some extent. I watched the Dateline accounts, and kept up with news reports on the latest developments, but in all the time this case was making headlines, could never seem to get a vibe from Amanda that would give me a clue as to what kind of person she was.

I often viewed her facial expressions and body language as a person caught in a trap and frozen with fear. She had a haunted and hollowed out look on her face, and often appeared shell shocked, and I confess to feeling sorry for her. I didn’t see the evidence being used against to her be anything but circumstantial at best, and the case seemed based on her stunned and perhaps questionable reaction to the death of her roommate. I didn’t see any concrete evidence against her and still think the against her was flimsy.

The first couple of chapters deal with Amanda’s upbringing and her decision to go to Italy. Immediately, I found myself unimpressed with her. Her tone put me off for some reason, but she didn’t strike me as all that different from the college students that permeate my community. She partied, drank, smoked pot, had various sexual encounters, experimented, took some risk that were questionable, but none of those things was necessarily atypical of a girl her age. She didn’t stop to consider consequences along the way, but at times her actions after her arrest did make me wonder what on earth she was thinking.

The stark contrast in the laws here in America and those in Italy is jolting. The media, of course slanted every single thing along the way, and it is interesting to note that while many Americans were concerned, and felt she was being railroaded, those in other countries, including Britain, were convinced of her guilt.

I suppose it was her age that made her focus on the unfairness of the press, when I felt her outrage should have been toward the Italian court. But, the sensationalism and outright lies the press told really affected her, it seems. Her priorities were skewed at times, too, and it was apparent she simply could not digest the gravity of the situation.

But, by her journey’s end, or at least, as far this book goes with the story, she did appear to have learned a few hard life lessons. However, I never really warmed up to her in a personal way, and found her ‘voice’ was unemotional and so I had a hard time conjuring up any real in depth assessment of her, and I’m sorry to say she came off sounding like a cold fish at times, and somewhat unapologetic for her missteps and for the way her entire family’s life was upended. She says she felt bad, and of course in her position, there wasn’t much she could do, but I never felt her sincerity. However, it is worth noting that Amanda does not make her living as an author, so perhaps her writing style, which is certainly not seasoned, could have contributed to that impression. I’m sure she’s told this story countless times, and so at times it felt as though she was recounting the details by rote.

None of those impressions mean she was guilty of murder, nor does it change my mind about her guilt. There is a viable suspect, with hard evidence against him, and that alone is reasonable doubt. The main thing one could take away from this case, is to never get arrested in another country, because if you do, all bets are off.

There were some insights that only Amanda could relate to us, and this was compelling information, gave us some idea what she went through in the Italian prison and what their laws are like and how the court system worked and her shock at these differences, and her inability to adjust to that and how, no matter what, she couldn’t seem to get it right. It is a relief to know that she was finally released, made it back home, and can now live her life with some semblance of normalcy.

I do wish her well, hope she will make something of her life, and that her family can put their lives back together now that it all finally seems to be over, although not like they would have liked, but for all intents and purposes, they should be able to put this behind them now.


Over all 3.5 stars

[The Bird Librarian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only had the smallest of ideas about the Amanda Knox trial. I briefly followed the media story and so was under the impression that she was a poor innocent American, stuck in the wrong place at the wrong time. After reading this book, I am still under that impression, but I’m also going to add in some other adjectives…such as stupid, and self-centered and…stupid.

What we get throughout this entire book is Amanda Knox being absolutely incredulous. Over and over again. How could this happen to her? Why did they make such a big deal out of the fact that she discovered her roommate murdered and then made out with her boyfriend in front of everyone? Why is it so weird that she was doing the splits in the police hallway while everyone was crying? Why would she think that the police would possibly consider her a suspect and she didn’t really need a lawyer because she was just being helpful? I know what a lot of you are going to say..She was young and had no real life experiences and this was the first time that she’s really traveled outside of the US…but I don’t care.

She came across as incredibly naive and stupid..and this no doubt led to her being in the position that she found herself in, but I’m not sure that she ever learned anything. I don’t believe that she murdered that girl, and I do absolutely believe that she was a victim of circumstance…but it was her own circumstances. This book didn’t really do her any favors with me, and if anything, reading it I can kind of see why the police arrested her in the first place. Her behavior was bizarre and the tone in the book was that of a petulant child. No, I would never want to be in her position, I think she suffered horribly. But I still don’t care. If anything, I feel bad for the boyfriend! Now there’s someone who got a bad deal.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whether you believe in Amanda Knox's innocence or not this is a compelling story. It depicts all the events in intricate detail proclaiming Amanda's innocence. It opens with Amanda describing life in Seattle before the events in Perugia Italy takes place where her roommate Meredith is found brutally murdered. You get enough insight to form a fair idea of what type of character she is and while she doesn't come across as a psychotic calculating murderer as described by the prosecutors and the media she still displays some unusual characteristics to scratch your head and question what were you thinking Amanda!? I can't say that I'm completely sure she wasn't there in the apartment during the night of the murder but some things still don't add up. I'm glad I listened to this (audio) as it was read by Amanda herself and while she didn't sound overly emotional I could still feel her rationally going through the story and how unimaginably painful it was to relive but also cathartic to write this if she is indeed a completely innocent victim of horrible circumstances. A horror I couldn't even begin to imagine going through.

[Anne · Rating 1 out of 5]

OK so MAjor disappointment.

I've been to Italy , OK, and people are super nice. And it's very modern. This girl tries to make it sound like their court system is in the dark ages or something which they're not. She obviously didn't fit in and is a weird girl. But guess what, that's not all. When they investigated the murder , Amanda Knox didn't stop lying, Casey Anthony style. She said anything she could to mess up the investigation, including blaming a black man that used to be her boss. She was convinced for this and acts like she's the victim. She was convicted of the murder along with her boyfriend, but they got let go on technicalities. But the trial isn't over , there's another appeal they have to return for. But anyway , there's tons of information about the case online and the book adds absolutely nothing new.

This book doesn't belong on a site called goodreads because it's not good, and trust me , you don't want to read it.

[Michelle Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading this book a couple days ago, and I love it so much! I look forward to reading it each night. I haven't felt this way about a nonfiction book in years. It's a page turner. I dream about poor Amanda at night, and I wake up in the morning feeling so bad for what she went through. I never thought she was guilty and never will.

[Kelly Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually listened to the audiobook version from Audible, which was narrated by Amanda Knox herself. I had followed her case casually over the years, and eventually came to believe she was innocent and being railroaded by corruption within the Italian system of justice. This book gave a lengthy, detailed, and very personal account that for me is totally convincing of her innocence. I'm still disgusted at all the haters she has on the Internet, most disappointingly in the USA. Although a difficult story to listen to, if you really care about justice and/or have a young woman whom you love, you would greatly benefit from seeing exactly what can happen. I think young women and men (Amanda's boyfriend was convicted and imprisoned, too) both should read this story to know how horribly wrong things can go. When you're young and naive, you just don't realize how vicious the uncaring the world can be. In the end, though, Amanda achieved victory in being acquitted and set free, and being transformed into a strong and confident woman (albeit with a very high price that was paid, and still is being paid). I have read book sales are disappointing, possibly because the "buzz" about Amanda has long worn off in the public's interest. Again, how disgusting. This young woman deserves our support. Please consider buying and reading her book. And spread the word to your friends.

[Donata · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think this book failed to prove Amanda’s innocence, although it did manage to annoy me.

Amanda portrays herself as a naïve 20 year old girl, and yes that might have been the case, however if she was this gullible why would her parents let her leave their watchful eyes to another continent.

Being a naïve 20 years old is old enough to know better. 20 year olds should know better, age and being too trusting is not an excuse.

In the book, Amanda does try to establish a ‘friendship’ with Meredith before the murder. Most readers understand that a friendship takes time to develop, not weeks or months, friendships take years. Meredith and Amanda were acquaintances and roommates. Their short time of interactions only established an acquaintance’s relationship. Therefore Amanda’s sadness for her acquaintance’s tragedy is deeply over shadowed by her own self-centered concerns after the murder.

One thing that Amanda dose do to the investigation, is hurt it. This cannot be blamed on lawyers, police or Italy. She lied to interrogators, whether on purpose or because of stress, her actions single handedly derailed this investigation. A lie, whether told on purpose or by an unaware person is still a lie, this does not change what it is. This lie is what robbed Meredith of justice.

The Meredith Kercher’s murder will now be remembered as the Amanda knox injustice.

Amanda got involved in something that was beyond her understanding, without knowing the language, the culture and maybe the events leading up to the murder. I find it impossible to believe that a naïve 20 year old, who just lived through this traumatic experience, would not have done the very minimum and looked at her roommates for guidance. Both of Amanda’s roommates were older, and both in a similar situation. Why didn’t Amanda follow their example and got a lawyer or looked at Meredith’s friends and left the county?

There were plenty examples where Amanda failed to use common sense. One example was when Amanda returned home from Raffaele’s and found the front door of the villa wide open. While Amanda has enough reason to not walk home alone at night, she doesn't have enough reason to know that an open door is the international sign of something is wrong inside. Not to mention the blood in the bathroom or the poop.

By her own admission Amanda states that she regrets what she did do wrong; steer the investigation off course and the implication of the innocent man ect ect. Well regret means nothing for the lives she ruined, and should not be taken as a dept paid.

20 year old are old enough to know better, Amanda was independent and smart, and by her admission naive and gullible. Her lack of self-understanding is not enough of an excuse to justify the worst decisions that any innocent person can make in such a short period of time.

I think the reason why this book failed to appeal to my empathetic understanding for Amanda was because I feel it for Meredith, her family and friends. They will never truly get justice for their daughter, family member, and friend. Amanda insured that this will never happen.

[Tom Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Occam's razor prevails. I had previously read The Fatal Gift of Beauty by Nina Burleigh and was eagerly awaiting Amanda's book. Well Done - not the least bit disappointed by her effort. So many people came to her aid - I especially took heart in the goodly Don Saulo Scarabattoli. Now I've looked at a few reviews (I dared not look at any before my own reading) - crazy world out there - this one is good (not about the book but about the case/trial, however it seems that it is the case more than the writing that colors the reviews) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ed-epst...
- it all comes down to the batshit crazy prosecutor Mignini and the all too human attitude of, "I can't be wrong" (not Me, The Crown of Creation). This can be seen in the current austerity vs. stimulus debate in economics - sadly with disastrous results - nothing can change a true believer's prejudice - it seems they only double-down. Oh yes, and doesn't torture/coercion work wonderfully? Amazing to me how the erstwhile waif, Amanda, got it together to produce her book. How can a person read such a book and not think of their own child? (or of their own sweet ass for that matter)

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amanda Knox made worldwide headlines for more than four years. As the American college student accused of killing her roommate Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy she was both vilified and supported. Along with the newspapers and tabloids the line was drawn with two factions quickly forming; those believing she was guilty and those unequivocally convinced of her innocence. Her case spawned media frenzy, online blogs, endless news articles, books and even a made-for-television movie. Despite mounting evidence that she, and then boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, had nothing to do with the murder they were convicted and sentenced to 25 and 24 years respectively to Italian prison. After an appeal and a new trial the verdict was overturned, both Amanda and Raffaele were acquitted and Amanda (very quickly) returned to the United States. This is Amanda’s story in her own words.

I listened to this book on audio (read by Amanda herself) and admittedly, I was not expecting a lot when I plugged in the first disc. I was very quickly, very pleasantly surprised. First of all, whether it is her talent, excellent editors or a combination of the two, it is a well-composed book. Amanda tells her story honestly, even the not so flattering parts. She admits to being young and naïve, trying to prove that she is an independent woman … and admits to going about that in a rather foolhardy way. Amanda does not sugar coat her lifestyle, nor does she make excuses for herself. A few times she meanders onto the “in hindsight” path and admits she did not make the best choices, but is there anyone who does not say that exact same thing about some aspect of their life? She writes HER STORY. She does not speculate on what was going on all around her, things she was not privy to from her jail cell. She does not lash out at the Italian officials. She tells the reader about the discomforts of being in an Italian prison, but shares the good things too. This IS her story and she tells is well.

I cannot help but draw comparisons to the book released several months ago by Raffaele. They each tell their story, from two different perspectives. Neither wavers in the facts of the case. Neither blames the other for their circumstances. That indicates, despite their age, the strength of character each possesses which allowed them to get through their ordeal. In my humble opinion, Amanda did a better job of telling her story.

Since I listened to the audio version I feel a need to comment on that as well. Although, always to my surprise, some authors do not do their books justice when they read them, this is definitely not the case with Amanda Knox. I do not think anyone else could have read her words any better. When she speaks about her family her voice holds tenderness and when she reads the more difficult parts you can hear that in the timbre of her voice. In the beginning you get the voice of the young schoolgirl she was as she embarked on her adventure and towards the end you hear the woman she has become.

If you were even the slightest bit captivated by the murder and trial while it was going on, whether you believed her innocent or guilty, this book is a must read.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

More than anything, I wanted to buy this book to help Amanda and her family pay back the outrageous legal bills that they've built up fighting these ridiculous charges. Before I read this book, I recognized it as fact that she was not involved in murder. It is a question of fact who killed Meredith Kercher, after all, not a matter of opinion. Now, it can be a matter of opinion whether someone is convinced about the fact, but to me, this is as obvious a question as that I did not kill Meredith.

So I didn't much learn anything about the case I didn't already know. And I didn't gain any sympathy toward Amanda as I was already about as sympathetic as I could get. What she has been put through, both by the Italian court system and the tabloid media, is unlike anything I have ever seen before (and I'm a criminal defense attorney used to high-profile cases). What I can say about this book is that she as a 25 year-old is an ok writer. (OK is high praise for someone her age from me.) Many people in high-profile situations want to publish books from their perspective. Many need to rely on ghost writers. She did not. I would be curious to see how she would write this same story in 20 years, with more writing experience. But for a fairly inexperienced writer, I thought this was an admirable job of tackling a difficult story. (Though the difficulty in the story has nothing to do with the crime itself, which is a really simple crime. The difficulty is purely in the insanity of the prosecution theory of her guilt and the irresponsible media treatment of her case.)

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never followed this story closely when it was happening, but I'm glad that I read this memoir. Amanda recounts her entire stay in Perugia, Italy, going from hopeful international student to convicted murderer in an astonishingly small amount of time.

When I think of one word to describe her experiences, "horrifying" is the one that stands out. It's incredible, and truly shameful, that the Italian legal system damned her so utterly on so little evidence.

I was wary when her memoir began over how trusting and gullible she sounded...but as the book proceeds, there is a clear arc in which she grows up, becoming a deeply introspective, thoughtful woman who is simply trying to understand how she ended up in such a terrible situation.

This is a difficult story to read for a lot of reasons, but I found it to be completely riveting, and eye-opening that justice is something which can be twisted so wrongfully.

[A B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cartwheels. I really, really, really wanted to know about the cartwheels.



I know it sounds ridiculous, but the part about this horrible crime that first caught my attention was the following: the American girl accused of brutally murdering beautiful English exchange student Meredith Kercher was turning cartwheels during police questioning.

Later, it was convicted murderer Rudy Guede's bad kebab defense that made me wonder WTF is up with this farce of a murder trial. (As someone who lived in Europe for a number of years, bad kebab is a common and very understandable excuse for being sick. It's like eating bad tacos from that sketchy little place in the strip mall that only accepts cash and changes names every month, but 1,000 times worse).

I'd followed Amanda Knox's murder trial and appeal with curiosity and outrage. The above examples represent what's wrong about this trial. It wasn't a horrific murder that caught the public's attention, but rather cartwheels and bad kebab. It wasn't about justice for Ms. Kercher. Instead, it was railroading and ridiculous accusations about Amanda Knox that diverted attention from what should have been the true intent of the police investigation: who killed Ms. Kercher?
Well, there are no cartwheels or bad kebab in this book.

I never thought Amanda or Raffaele Sollecito were guilty in the slightest. It seems more a case of the police refusing to admit they were wrong and using any remotely odd behavior to fit their version of events, which is exactly what Amanda writes about.

For example, Amanda never saw her friend and roommate's body, but her other roommate did. The police compared Amanda's confused reaction to that of her shocked and sobbing roommate. Amanda didn't have very many friends in Perugia and sought comfort from her boyfriend of one week, whereas the other parties had large groups of friends to console each other. And in all honesty, she only knew Ms. Kercher for six weeks. I think her reaction of terror is more understandable than uncontrollable grief.

It's also interesting to read Amanda's explanations for why she behaved the way she did. So why didn't she contact the US embassy or get a lawyer once the police started questioning her? Well, she was scared and wanted to cooperate and help the police find who killed her roommate and never thought she'd be accused. She had nothing to hide, but Ms. Kercher's British friends quickly left the country and Amanda's Italian roommates hired attorneys. You'd think her roommates would have clued her in, but it seemed to me they knew their love of weed would be discovered and needed to use Amanda as the fall guy.

Another example is why she dressed so unprofessionally for court and smiled so often. She was usually smiling at her family, or trying to smile to appear polite and let the court see that she was an ordinary nice girl incapable of murder. Same thing with wearing jeans and pigtails to court. She wrongly thought that if she presented her true self, the court would realize she was innocent. Instead it came off bizarre and disrespectful.

The book is well written and clearly presents the disastrous chain of events that led to Amanda's arrest and imprisonment for 4 years for a crime she didn't commit. Though she writes fondly of her Italian defense team, it does seem she got some bad legal advice along the way (though I understand her lawyers' position that the less she said, the better, given how everything she'd said contributed to her arrest).

And about the cartwheels: they never happened. What did happen was that a police officer chatted with Amanda in the hallway of the police station and asked if she was flexible. She did the splits to demonstrate her flexibility, and sadly at that premise moment one of the interrogators walked by and saw her gymnastics display.

What should outrage anyone reading this book is the attention focused on Amanda and Raffaele instead of Rudy Guede. That worthless piece of trash got only 16 years for raping, beating, and stabbing Ms. Kercher to death. He'll probably be out on parole before so long and will be free to kill again. Please, people, focus on keeping Guede behind bars.

[Ken · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was mesmerized by the audio book, read by the author. What a story! It's ironic that a young woman seeking adventure, fluency in Italian and maturity, got more than her fair share in a 4 year battle with the Italian legal system for her freedom, after being falsely accused of murdering her roommate.

It occurred to me that she was mistreated in part because she was an American. No doubt the suffering she and family endured should be compensated in some way by that country, and the police officials who interrogated her should be fired.

I'm glad I got to hear the book. I think Amanda Knox should do more Audio Books. She really has a good voice.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such an interesting and informative read. Rock solid 3.5/5.0 stars! I rounded up to 4.0 stars because I could feel Amanda’s pain and suffering, loneliness and despair, hopefulness and dogged determination to prove her innocence and ultimate acquittal.

I never got sucked into all the tabloid drama associated with this case back in 2007 because it seemed like just another O. J. Simpson spectacle so I went into this read free of any preconceived notions or judgements. Without prejudice I thought, “Well dah, of course she’s innocent!” Wrong – not that easy! Holy cow this case felt like it was the OJ Simpson trial on steroids! Although this story is told exclusively from Knox’s perspective and I have not explored other opinions and points of view, my gut tells me she is truly innocent. The Italian prosecutorial and judicial systems engaged in an unholy marriage with the tabloid media to try the case in the court of public opinion; to win a case they knew was bogus from the very beginning. Leaks by the prosecutor to the insatiable and relentless Italian and international tabloid press were unending ... tabloids gone wild! My goodness this kid was railroaded. What a travesty of justice. My impression is Amanda Knox is incapable of killing a fly, never mind her roommate.

Sure enough, following the final appeal in March 2015, Italy's version of US Supreme Court overthrew Knox’s conviction and ruled she was innocent of murder.

The tragedy of this entire affair is the life of 22-year old Meredith Kercher was violently cut short and Amanda Knox gave up four years of her life in prison because Perugia law enforcement and the Italian judicial system refused to accept the embarrassment and responsibility for an extremely shoddy and unprofessional investigation that yielded no definitive or credible physical evidence linking Knox or her boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito to the murder of Kercher. It was a complete fairytale! Compounding the comedy of errors and tragic outcome was the murderer Rudy Guede was identified and convicted but the Italian prosecutor unrelentingly, despite mounting evidence to the contrary, pressed his case against Knox. Clearly the investigators and prosecutors were searching for evidence to fit their version of the crime.

I was unaware that judgement and guesswork in lieu of hard evidence and facts could be used in a court of law to prosecute an alleged crime. Apparently in Italy this is true! Knox’s mannerism at the discovery of her roommate’s body, her miscommunications from her rudimentary Italian and false confession under intense and aggressive interrogation techniques were all used against her despite definitive DNA evidence proving it was impossible for her to be involved in Kercher’s murder. Even her life style choices like recreational pot use and participation in casual sex were used as evidence that she was guilty.

And to top off this three ring circus of Italian justice, Perugia public prosecutor Giuliano Mignini was convicted for abuse of office for allegedly ordering the illegal wiretapping of the phones of various police officers and journalists involved in another case. He was given a 16-month suspended sentence in 2010. It felt like the Italian judicial system was on trial along with Knox – what a farce!

A few observations about this case and Amanda Knox that really fired me up ...

One: Amanda was an extremely naïve, immature 20 year old University of Washington-Seattle exchange student who was very trusting and easily influenced. What were her parents thinking when they allowed her to study abroad? It seemed from the very beginning of the book that this Italian adventure was all wrong for her. In hindsight Knox admitted her naiveté and immaturity got her into trouble.
Two: Where were the United States Embassy personnel during this sham of a trial? At no time during this book is United States diplomatic support or intervention mentioned.
Three: Amanda’s family strongly supported her and spent as much time with her as the Italian authorities would allow during the entire four year ordeal. The family love and support was inspirational!

I finished this book with such empathy for Amanda and sympathy for the family of Meredith Kercher. The circus atmosphere of the trial and the miscarriage of justice was so disrespectful to Meredith and the entire Kercher family and squandered what should have been four of the best years of Amanda’s life.

Amanda Knox, I admire your courage and perseverance and hope you learn and grow from this experience.

I highly recommended this book.

[kylajaclyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Memory is a faulty thing: just ask any profiler of The Beatles. 2007 was a year of self-consumption for me. It was a horrific year for me emotionally and, clearly, for Amanda Knox as well. That is why I had heard her name prior to this book, obviously, but I knew next to nothing about the case. No, I wasn't living under a rock. But depression makes you live in a glass bubble of your own construction. I first really heard about this case when I read an article written by Meredith's sister, Stephanie, in a magazine. I vaguely recall that Rudy Guede was mentioned. Okay, so what did Amanda Knox have to do with this? I thought. It didn't make sense then, and it makes even less sense having now read her book. I didn't want to read this. I wasn't invested in the case. I didn't really know about it. I certainly didn't want to read it since more than half of the book is all about her time in prison. I though it'd be a rather boring read. I was also leery because the last several memoirs I have read have been a bit monotonous and written by those who did not have very much education (not their fault, but still). What a breath of fresh air Amanda is as a writer. Her words are so articulate and so powerful. I wanted to keep reading. But the more I read, the angrier I got. There are things about this case and Amanda's conviction that have to be brought up. Here is what bothered me the most:

On the point of Amanda not showing emotion when Meredith was murdered: This goes back to the infamous video of Amanda kissing Raffaele three times in a row. She stares into space, clearly in shock, for the rest of the video, but nobody showed that part. My mom was also incensed when she saw this case on 48 Hours Mystery. And she straight up told me that had she ever been in the same situation, she would have done the same thing. So does this make my mom a murderer? No! It makes her a H-U-M-A-N. I've kissed my fiancé out of anger, lust, sadness, happiness, and everything in between. Amanda was an American in a foreign country who did not have her parents with her at the time of the murder. Who else did she have to lean on? NOT ONE OF US can say what we would do in this situation UNLESS WE END UP LIVING IT. That so much judgment and vitriol was poured on a 20-year-old for "not showing emotion" and "acting inappropriately" is sickening and disgusting and did nothing to help solve Meredith's murder. I found that I identified (sans pot) almost exactly with Amanda Knox. And that scares me tremendously, because I have also wanted to study abroad forever. Not in Italy, but there is crime anywhere you go. But to know I could be in the same situation at some point in my life and be treated the same way? That is terrifying. Because Amanda was the one lone American in this whole situation. She was loud. She was "sexually aggressive." She was inappropriate, or so everyone said. When I worked in California with ACE in 2010, I had parallel experiences to that of Amanda's. I slept with two men in less than two months. I was called sexually aggressive by non-Americans. I was loud, different, quirky. I can't even read my journal from that time, because it pains to read about how much I was misunderstood. This is why I believe Amanda, and I know she is innocent (besides that the prosecution's case was clearly a joke). Because if she is capable of murder, I must be too. She was taught not to react strongly to sadness. She was boisterous and emotional but not when it came to grief. And, let's be real, she knew Meredith only six weeks. They were friends, but Amanda didn't see the body until later. She couldn't even process that what was happening was real. The Italians are known for strong emotions, and Amanda isn't Italian. Her lack of grief painted her guilty before she even knew she was under watch. It is complete and total crap that she wasn't seen as a person who might have different reactions to Meredith's death, and that these reactions, though different, are no less acceptable.

On the point of Amanda implicating Patrick and Rudy continuing to lie: If there is one thing I know, it is that people will do anything to keep a conspiracy theory alive. Just look at all the websites about the "death" of Paul McCartney that are still kicking. There are people that will fight to the end to prove that Amanda is a sex-crazed maniac, just because they have no one else to target. People don't want to believe that one person is capable of so much evil and violence. Lincoln's assassination is one example of this. But let's think for a moment: if Hitler was capable of orchestrating the death of millions and millions and millions of Jews, couldn't Rudy be the ONLY PERSON to have killed Meredith? If Charles Manson could incite the bloodbath he did in the 1960s, couldn't Rudy be the ONLY PERSON to have killed Meredith? People forget that Rudy's first statement said that Amanda and Raffaele were not at the house. New evidence during her appeal had an inmate of Rudy's testifying that Rudy did commit the murder with a friend - but he did not name Amanda or Raffaele as that "friend." So perhaps Rudy didn't act alone, but I know people didn't initially want to believe it wasn't Amanda because how could Meredith have POSSIBLY been killed when she knew karate? Well, it's not doing any favors to Meredith to paint her as a superhero saint. You can't fight against pure evil that is determined to kill you. Meredith fought for her life, but sometimes it isn't enough. Just because she knew karate doesn't mean there just HAD to be two or three people there to take her down. Bad things happen to strong people. Self-defense is good, but it isn't always enough. Besides, Amanda doesn't know karate. In what world could she have overpowered Meredith for this sex-orgy from hell?

Patrick being implicated has been discussed ad nauseum. It is clear in many books of fiction and non-fiction how easy it is to persuade a person of things that didn't happen (2+2 = 5, anyone?). The police wanted Amanda convicted from the moment Meredith's body was found. How convenient that they didn't record their interrogation of her. That she implicated Patrick is unquestionably wrong. But, once again, having never been in the same situation, who are we to pass judgment? Amanda has served her jail time for her false confession. The rest needs to die, so that Meredith's second killer, if there is one, may be brought to justice. The fact that everyone has been ignoring that Guede's DNA was on EVERYTHING in Meredith's room, including Meredith, is preposterous.

On the point of Amanda being sex-crazed: Oh, my god. As a Women's Studies major, this truly upset me the most. The prosecution's whole argument was that Amanda and Raffaele and Rudy led Meredith to participate in a sex orgy gone wrong. The basis for all of this was that Amanda had slept with three men in her short time in Perugia, with four lovers prior back at home. That's seven lovers total. I've been with 13 men since losing my virginity at 21 and I am frightened that, once again, this could someday make me a "killer" too. Raffaele's lovers were not called into question. Amanda having a gag-gift bunny vibrator was suddenly proof that she was a demon seed. Meredith had plenty of casual sex, too, in those fateful six weeks before she was murdered. Being the victim in this situation made her exempt from being called a whore (neither of them are, by the way). This happened in 2007, but that a woman's sexual encounters could become the whole basis for a prosecution's argument at that point in time tells me something about the state of the world we are living in. I don't see Italy as uber-conservative compared to the U.S., but the head prosecutor, Mignini, certainly was (and is). Meredith's second killer might never be found due to his irrational reasoning.

On the point of Amanda continuing to make mistakes until her appeal: Show me one 20-year-old who doesn't fuck up on a consistent basis, and I will call your bullshit. Though someone on here brought up the possibility of high-functioning Asperger's, I can't see that as the reason. I have been as supremely naive and immature as Amanda was. That's what this boils down to. Not to mention that, at that point, she had elementary knowledge of the language and customs of Italy. She was totally out of her element. My brother has Asperger's, and I can see the reasoning behind people thinking that Amanda might as well. She doesn't seem, to most, to be as adept with other people as most of us are. But, again, who are we to criticize just because someone is different? It's easy to say someone is a killer because they are different. But science and reason must be examined before all else. Amanda had a normal life before Perugia. She doesn't have the history of a sociopath or killer. Furthermore, she had absolutely no reason to kill Meredith after knowing her only 6 weeks. No history of violence doesn't make a person have the outburst of violence and insanity that Amanda was said to have on the night Meredith was killed.

To the Kercher family: You are correct, Meredith is the victim here. And it sucks that in high profile cases that the victim often becomes an object or an after-thought. People research Ted Bundy and not the beautiful, accomplished women that he killed. However, I urge all of you to think back to the JonBenet Ramsey case (which I'm sure must have been high-profile even in England). Her parents were accused and mocked and made out to be murderers to the detriment of the investigation. It has never been solved because the media insisted on blaming her parents (and even her brother!). If Meredith's murder is to receive full closure, we must move past the idea that Amanda and Raffaele had anything to do with it. John and Patsy Ramsey did not react as they were "supposed to," and they were ostracized from that point forward. Again, it is ridiculous to expect the same display of grief from every person. I hear that you are all happy that Amanda's case is now being reviewed in Italy AGAIN. You still cling to the original statement that Rudy was arrested but only because other people were involved as well. Since unidentified DNA was found at the crime scene, and Rudy has admitted to inmates that there was a friend present at the crime scene, it has become clear that this probably was a two-man killing. But that all of you cannot understand that Amanda was in the wrong place at the wrong time is unfathomable. The prosecution's case that this was all a sex orgy would never stand up in an American court. Amanda knows she was wrong to not be more careful of her actions in the beginning and not show remorse. She misled the case in the beginning, and she has served her time. She has since put things right with Patrick. Let us get justice for Meredith and move away from the lies and accusations of who Amanda Knox is supposed to be. That this case has gone on so long is beyond ridiculous. Your loss of Meredith is unimaginable and clearly the healing has not yet begun. But you can't make puzzle pieces fit where they don't go. As long as Amanda is constantly tried, Meredith's true murderer will never be found.

[John Devlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my fucking Gawd!

Low IQ has great explanatory power…and I’m looking at the Italian police here.

The Media spends two years building Amanda up as a depraved sex kitten and then two years pimping the injustice angle…their houses should be razed, their land salted so nothing ever grows there again.

I read the monster of Florence so this ain’t a one-shot of Italian corruption and ineptitude…Caesar would weep.

Knox’s courage and obduracy and optimism in the face of this Italian travesty is inestimable…

Italia infame!

If I was Italian I’d be deeply ashamed.

[Sam Arnold · Rating 5 out of 5]

When writing this review it was important for me to review the book rather than the case. Whatever my personal opinion on the case and the guilty, not guilty plea I am going to try to leave out.

There are times at the beginning of this book where I wondered if the author was trying to portray herself as too nice. However as the book progresses this becomes a sincere and honest portrayal. The author is not afraid to show her weaknesses and errors. It is however important when you read this book to take into account that this is Amanda Knox's story so it will clearly be bias at points. Although throughout the book there is enough fact rather than emotion for you to get a good idea of some of the facts of the case although maybe bias. If the author is to be believed there are some discrepancies in her case and these are supported through the internet and media if you wish to research further. There are parts that are hard to believe especially over some of the statements that were obtained. Never being in this position however, leads me not to be able to fully comment on that. As the book progresses the legal court proceedings can be a little monotonous and boring but, then I am led to remember that this actually happened in person to most of the people portrayed in this novel. There are even parts of this book that could be considered a tribute to Meredith Kercher.

It is clear that there is great passion about this book. Recently whilst updating my progress to Twitter I was trolled by a supporter of the Kercher family. Every comment I posted there was a comment. Whatever your view on the case I urge you to read the book and make your own opinion which is an extremely well written account of a tragic case.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though this book did not offer new or revelatory insight into the murder of Meredith Kercher and the subsequent trial, it was compelling to finally read about the circumstances from Amanda's perspective. In addition to the details of her life in Italy and her involvement in the investigation and legal proceedings, she describes her time while incarcerated and her emotional state during the traumatic 4 years. She admits to her mistakes and attempts to justify her behavior without sounding like she's making excuses. I thought Amanda's transformation from a naïve twenty year-old into a stoic and mature young adult was apparent. She was obviously deeply affected by her interrogation by police, which led to her one crime of slander, accusing an innocent man of Meredith's murder. Amanda doesn't come off as a saint, she admits she doesn't believe in God, she understands her own flaws, and I think she addresses that in this book.

Mind you, Amanda is not Shakespeare, but her writing is articulate and engaging. She presents the events and facts in a rational manner while conveying her own emotional reaction to her ordeal. For readers like me who have been following this story for the past several years, this is what we've been waiting for and it doesn't disappoint.

[Jazzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm probably one of the very few who have not heard of this case. But this book totally convinced me of one thing: Amanda and Raffaele are innocent.

Amanda's perseverance for truth and justice is truly remarkable. The book left me a lot of emotions: angry with the incompetence of local police and absurdity of the prosecution team; saddened with how the media are easy to tear someone in public, fabricating lies and stories just to sell; and most importantly, inspired for Amanda's courage to find her way back into the light.

You go, girl.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love true crime and think you know everything about the murder of Meredith Kercher, I still highly encourage you to read Amanda Knox’s memoir. Amanda was vilified in the media, and this book does a good job explaining why she acted the way she did, and what happened behind the scenes that the public was not aware of. I’m in law school for criminal law so I found the sections on her interrogation, the trial, and the Italian legal system fascinating (and horrifying)! Amanda covers the events leading up to the murder, the investigation, her time in prison, the trial, and a bit after the trial so it really is a unique memoir getting a full behind the scenes look.

I honestly can’t even imagine being wrongly imprisoned for years and going through what she went through; I really admire Amanda’s strength and candor. It’s a little long but worth the read. Our criminal justice system in America may not be perfect, but after reading about the horrors and unfairness of Italy’s legal system, I’m even more appreciative for innocent until proven guilty and our constitutional protections for interrogations and trial.

[Bel Rodrigues · Rating 4 out of 5]

Que livro.
Que experiência difícil foi concluir essa leitura. O leitor passa por uma montanha-russa de emoções e é cada vez mais difícil digerir a história de vida da Amanda. Mesmo que ela seja uma figura interessante de se analisar, é bom lembrar que — antes e acima de tudo — ela ainda é uma pessoa.

Vou falar mais sobre ele no canal, mas deixo aqui minha forte recomendação.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was interested in her point of view and voice. She studied abroad in Italy the same year I did so I remember following the case. Definitely an interesting and sad story. I read it in a few days. It is really just an account of her experience. Not amazingly written but I'm still glad I read it.

[lp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even those who doubt Knox’s innocence can’t deny that she was unfairly villainized. The police and press stole and misinterpreted her journals, bugged her, twisted her words, and spread lies. (For example, it was reported that receipts proved she bought bleach after the murder, but the receipts were actually from before the crime, and were for pizza.)

But Knox made it easy on the corrupt police by making mistake after mistake, though I'm positive she's not guilty of murder. I imagine that while Amanda Knox wrote her book Waiting To Be Heard, she constantly smacked her forehead and said, “Why did I do that?! What was I thinking?!”

1. She didn’t hire a lawyer. The police told her that getting a lawyer would make it look like she was unwilling to cooperate. Hasn’t she seen Law And Order? And everyone deserves to be represented by someone who, oh, I don’t know, speaks the language that will be spoken during the trial. Knox’s Italian roommates got lawyers immediately, and they weren’t even being targeted or interrogated. She should have followed suit.

2. She didn’t cry. Initially Knox showed a lack of emotion, remaining oddly stoic and refusing hugs from Meredith Kercher’s friends. Unfortunately, we live in a world where people judge innocence based on a suspect’s emotions. And many were left wondering why Amanda wasn’t more upset.

3. Then she got angry. When Natalie, one of Kercher’s friends, said she hoped Kercher did not suffer, Knox snapped, “how could she not have suffered? They cut her f*cking throat! Bastards!” In this case, her emotions were not in line with everyone else’s, and people were shocked that she seemed to be lashing out at Kercher’s friends, the same people who would serve as witnesses for the prosecution.

4. She stayed in Perugia. Knox probably could have gone home immediately, but, thinking she could help the police, she stayed in Perugia. The whole time she thought she was assisting the case, well, she was—because she was incriminating herself with all the “help” she was giving.

5. She was weird. According to Knox, she got along well with Kercher. But she notes that when they lived together, she sang loudly (and that everyone thought she was crazy for it) and that once, Kercher had to remind her to brush the toilet after every use. Reading between the lines, that means Kercher might have thought Knox was pretty weird—annoying, even—and lacking in personal hygiene. When Kercher’s friends were put on the stand, they all said that Kercher thought Knox was unusual. They pointed to the toilet brush incident, suggesting the girls were at odds. What may very well have been regular roommate communication issues were interpreted as potential motives for murder.

6. She made bad jokes. In her journal, the one that was confiscated by the police without her knowledge, Knox joked, “I’d really like to say I could kill for a pizza but it doesn’t seem right.”

7. She acted like she was in a musical. The media reported that when brought back to the crime scene in her sanitized booties, Knox jumped out like a Broadway star and said, “ta-daa!” This seemed like more inappropriate behavior from someone whose roommate had just been murdered. Knox says she acted this way because she had just been reprimanded for complaining, and she wanted to appear cheerful.

8. She had a pink bunny vibrator. Before she for Perugia, one of Knox’s friends gave her a pink bunny vibrator to use “until she met her Italian Stallion.” Kercher’s friends claimed Kercher thought it was a tad uncouth that the bunny was on display in the bathroom. (Perhaps it was a British thing.) And prosecution claimed it indicated she was a loose woman. Knox says it was just a gag gift that she never used.

9. She bought red undies. Before she was detained, Knox and her boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito went to a cheap clothing store so she could buy clean underwear, since she was unable to go back to her villa to get her own clothes. It became public knowledge that she chose red. The store clerk reported that it was a “lacy G-string” (Amanda says it wasn’t) and said that after it was purchased, Sollecito said, “I’m going to take you home now so we can have wild sex.” Maybe that story would have been different if she had considered white or grey or nude. Maybe.

10. She implicated her boss. The worst thing Knox did was implicate her ex-boss Patrick Lumumba in the murder. (He had nothing to do with the crime and was cleared.) To be fair, she had been interrogated for hours, and under these conditions, people are known to lie if they think it will get them off the hook.

11. She never remained silent. She claims the police never read her her rights, so she didn’t know that she could just shut up. But instead she talked herself into a hole.

12. She didn’t call the American Embassy. Her aunt in Germany suggested it, but she didn’t think she was in a serious-enough situation to justify calling the embassy.

13. She skipped Kercher’s vigil. A few days after the murder there was a candlelight vigil in Kercher’s memory. Sollecito couldn’t go, and fearing her safety, Amanda didn’t want to go alone. So she skipped. And it just sort of looked bad. (Since she was already under suspicion, it also would have looked bad had she attended.)

14. There wasn’t enough variation in her everyday life. When the police asked Knox where she was, what she was doing, who she was with, etc., she couldn’t remember, because she and Sollecito “had done some variation of watching a movie, cooking, reading Harry Potter, having sex, and smoking every day for a week.” Since she couldn’t remember, her story (and her credibility) got muddled.

15. She thought the prosecutor (Pubblico Ministero) was the mayor. I’m shocked there wasn’t more lost in translation throughout all of this, but Knox, for a good portion of her questioning, thought that the prosecutor was actually on her side, or at least of an impartial party. Oops.

[Krycek · Rating 3 out of 5]

In November of 2007, Amanda Knox, an American college student studying abroad in Perugia, Italy, was arrested, along with two others, for the murder of her roommate, Britisher Meredith Kercher. Kercher's murder was an international news event in the truest sense (consider that the suspects were an American, an Italian and a guy from Cote d'Ivoire, and the victim from the UK, and the crime occurred in Italy). It probably wouldn't be much of a stretch to characterize Knox's trial as the "trial of the century," at least as far as the century has progressed. It was a pretty big deal.

I won't go into the details of the case since all of that is readily available on the internet, but to sum it up, Knox had been incarcerated since her arrest until she was acquitted of the crime in appeals court in 2011. For a year of her incarceration she was held without charge. In total, she spent four years in prison for a crime that she did not commit. All during this time, she found her character sexualized and demonized by tabloid media hungry for torrid sensationalism. Waiting to Be Heard is Knox's memoir of that experience.

The case was a big deal in my area, Knox being a Seattle native and a University of Washington student. I was a grad student at the UW at the time and had other things on my mind than following the news, but her case always seemed a bit off to me. While I'm generally skeptical on claims of innocence in real-life crime cases, Knox's alleged motives just seemed too bizarre, too far-fetched to make any sense. I didn't really think that she had any direct involvement in Kercher's murder.

Waiting to Be Heard was published in 2013, two years after her acquittal. Knox does a fairly decent job of telling her story, even if sometimes her writing seems rather unsophisticated, sometimes embarrassingly so with such blandly obvious observations as "Prison is a hard raw place, where people think of themselves first and where compassion is often forsaken." Her narrative is often repetitive, especially when she gets emotional and her attempts at sounding sincere sometimes sound as if she's trying too hard.

To her credit, however, Waiting to Be Heard appears to have been written by Knox herself without a co-writer and, despite my minor complaints above, is a satisfactory personal account of her experiences. The first half is a little bit of a slog to get through, but the narrative picks up in the last third when Knox approaches her final trial and we get into the finer details of the case.  I understand that her intent is to tell her side of the story and not to necessarily create a masterpiece of literature. To that end, she succeeds.

I did learn some things from this, though. One, the Italian legal system, while basically similar to ours, is significantly different. For example, if they judge you a danger or a flight risk they can incarcerate you for up to a year without charging you. Juries consist of six members and are not screened for bias (and I get the impression from Knox's narrative, though she didn't specifically say it, that her jury was not sequestered and could be, thus, influenced by media). While courts do get it wrong sometimes here in the US, I find it hard to complain about the system overall in comparison to the Italian legal system (as least from what I know of it).

Secondly, as bad as paparazzi and tabloids are in the US, they are way worse in Europe! At least that is my impression, judging by the way the Kercher murder case was sensationalized. The real-life murder of Meredith Kercher was sad and senseless; the tabloids made it a lurid, trashy affair, capitalizing on the prosecutions bizarre claims of satanism, sex games gone wrong, drugs, etc. 

All in all, the whole case was a massive train wreck, filled with Keystone cops and self-serving prosecutors. The shame of it all is that if the investigation had not been handled so incompetently from the beginning the Kercher family, as well as those of Knox and Sollecito, would have been spared all of this unnecessary anguish.

Waiting to Be Heard, overall, is a satisfactory work and worth a look, if only to read Knox's perspective of the case and her incarceration. For those following the case, it is a must read, of course. 

[Solor · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found shameful that this woman is allowed to make money out of this terrible story.

I am not blaming Knox of murder because she sleeps around, has a pink dildo or does cartwheels when she is at police station interrogated for the death of her flat-mate.

The objective facts are more damning than anything else. I am bewildered how people rushes into declaring innocence when the amount of inaccuracies, lies and suspicious behavior is overwhelming. Obviously a powerful PA machine is at work and this book is part of the Propaganda to distort the truth and attack the prosecution, the justice system and ultimately, the whole cultural texture of a Country like Italy.

- The original story that Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito told police was that they were at Sollecito's apartment on his computer. This alibi is contradicted on several fronts. Most importantly Sollecito would not confirm that Knox was with him the night of the murder for four years doing so only near the conclusion of the second trial.

- She was in the waiting room when Raffaele withdrew his support for her alibi. The police then asked if she would be willing to answer some questions. Confronted with the fact that Raffaele was now claiming that she was not at his apartment on the night of the murder, Amanda Knox changed her story, saying that she was at the cottage when the murder happened, and that the murderer was her employer Patrick Lumumba. He was arrested and spent two weeks in jail, before his alibi was confirmed.

- The purpose of staging the burglary was to divert suspicion from the residents and explain how a stranger gained entry. Amanda Knox was the only person with legitimate access to the cottage in Perugia that night.

- A witness saw the three accused together on the night of the murder, meters from the cottage where the murder happened.

- Amanda Knox lying about Meredith's door locking-habits yo delay discovery of body. The door to Meredith's room was locked. This would have required that Rudy turn and face the door to lock it. Rudy had blood on his shoes but his tracks lead directly out of the cottage, and there is no evidence of any footprints compatible with him having locked the door. These missing footprints indicate that someone other than Rudy locked Meredith's door.

- Meredith was murdered beside her closet, but sometime later her body was moved to the middle of the room. At the police station, and before this had been discovered, Knox said that Meredith had been killed by the closet. Meredith's friends repeated this revelation to police.

- During emergency call to police, Raffaele states that there has been a burglary but is adamant that nothing has been stolen. He had no way of knowing this.

- A series of footprints in Amanda Knox's room, and in the hallway between her and Meredith's room were discovered when luminol was applied. This established that someone with blood on their feet walked between the two rooms. These footprints are compatible with the bare feet of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito but not Guede.

- A knife was recovered from Raffaele's apartment that contained the victim's DNA on the blade, and Amanda Knox's DNA on the handle. Later he claimed that Meredith had come over to his apartment, and that while he was preparing dinner he accidentally pricked Meredith with the knife. The explanation turned out to be a complete fabrication. Meredith had never been to Raffaele's apartment, and he had never cooked her dinner.

- The DNA of Raffaele Sollecito was found on the bra hook of the victim.

[Debbie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have been to Italy a number of times, even visiting Perugia in 2006 for the Eurochocolate Festival. Perhaps because of my fondness for Italy, possibly due to my time in Perugia, or maybe it just stems from my interest in reading mystery/crime fiction, but I have been invested in this case since the get-go.

Like so many others, I incessantly followed the media reports, TV coverage, and also read another book on the case. The book Angel Face, by Barbie Latza Nadeau, was much more thorough, and as a reporter fluent in Italian, Ms. Nadeau was in the courtroom and able to translate while at the court proceedings to put all of that information and those details into her book on the trial/case.

In Waiting to Be Heard, you learn a little background for why Amanda was in Perugia at all (basically an Italian immersion course in Perugia as a precursor to a year of studies in Rome). It is a very easy read, but I am glad that I could check it out of the library as it won't be a book I need to read again or have sitting around on my shelves...

The book just came out yesterday,and I did not feel like I had to read it all to "get" Amanda's side of the ordeal. Simply put, she was a college student that was a square peg. She dove headfirst into life on her own once she landed in Italy and started doing plenty of things outside her comfort zone by choice.

Much like in her interview with Diane Sawyer, Amanda is well spoken at times, reflective at times, and at other times she is VERY prone to making snap decisions that she regrets.

I am sure everyone has drawn/will draw their own conclusions about Amanda's involvement in Meredith's death. If you already have an opinion on the matter, I doubt her book will dissuade you of it.