This is one of those books that don’t leave you after you’ve finished reading it.
Trust me on this one.
Read this book about two years back — for a class no less! and I still remember every detail vividly. I was to do a brief book analysis for it, which doubled as a book review… So here it is!
Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott • 2009 • Simon Pulse • 176 pages
“Some books are read and put away. Others demand to be talked about. Elizabeth Scott’s Living Dead Girl will be talked about.”
– Ellen Hopkins, New York Times bestselling author of Crank
Genre/Theme: Child Abuse, Abduction, Pedophilia, Starvation, Teens
Brief Summary: Alice is her name now, though it wasn’t always. Once she was known by another name and she lived as most other girls did. Happy. Carefree. Then she was taken by Ray and everything changed. The story takes place five years after she was abducted and forced to live with a pedophile that constantly rapes and abuses her, and eventually has her go in search of the next “Alice” for Ray to play with.
Evaluation: I cannot make up my mind about this book, whether I hate it and all that it is… or love it emphatically and would recommend it to all that I meet. The theme and overall storytelling of Living Dead Girl compels attention and raw emotion from the reader. I read it all in one sitting; putting it down and picking it right back up again every couple chapters. It was well-written; graphic yet not; disturbing from start to finish; moving and captivating with every page. It was the sort of book you read, understanding what it is about, and yet never expecting what you find as you turn the page and delve into the heart-wrenching tale of a young girl who has been changed forever.
Since the book is technically fiction, it really plunges the knife a bit deeper between it being a graphic retelling of an actual event or the fictional musings of an author trying to get word out to the public about what happens to children who have been abducted and abused. For the awards that it received, I think it deserved every single one and maybe more. As I mentioned before, this book was disturbing, but such a much needed story to be told. 5 of 5 stars!
1-2 things you liked:
- The writing style and first person narrative. Made the story so much more compelling and raw, as though we, the reader, are right there with her every step of the way.
- Short chapters. The effect was just right and kept the story moving without giving any chance for it to drag or linger too long on one terrible thing or another.
- Compelling story. So very disturbing.
1-2 things you didn’t like:
- How I got so engrossed in the story that I couldn’t put it down. I only wanted to read a chapter or two to see if I would like it and ended up reading the whole thing in one sitting.
Would you recommend this book?: YES! Though to whom? I.. really don’t know. I mean, I would recommend this book to anyone because it’s so moving and disturbing and jsknfjknak UGH. I enjoyed the read immensely. I know many people would be highly disturbed by it and might even hate it, but I love this book.
edited by Melissa de la Cruz & Tom Dolby
Reckless Indulgence 