Living Dead Girl

Wow. Just, wow. I read this book in one sitting, I just couldn't put it down. The things that this girl experiences from the time she's kidnapped at 10 years old until the time she tells the story at age 15. While reading this book, I had that longing to jump right into the pages and beat the living daylights out of this Ray figure. It's very difficult to get through this story without crying. And, let me warn you, there WILL be tears. For those of us with little sisters, daughters, young nieces, little cousins, or just a big loving heart, this will be a gripping story that you'll never forget. I give it 4 stars for making me cry even a day after I finished it.

Reader reviewed by Nian

I don't love Scott, and honestly, not anywhere near getting there. She
told a compelling story, but is her writing of such great quality where
constant praise is needed? I don't think so. I just think anyone can
tell a story this disturbing (as much as we'd like to think happy
thoughts, people are subjected to their "dark" place) but I'll give
props for the author for trying. It's actually alright. At least I
didn't moan in misery.


It's haunting, addicting (in a clash of good and bad kind of way)
and the topic that the story derives from is so wrong on so many
levels. This is the book you'll read when you'd like another dose of
dark reality. Beware: it might suck you into sudden depression and will
stay for quite a while.


The only problem was the way it ended. That last chapter, although
completely an appropriate ending, just frustrated me. There were so
many questions left unanswered, problems still unresolved. My
expectations never happened: the police woman was actually supposed to do
something, wasn't she? And how the heck did the guy get the gun anyway?
It's little details like these that never get explained that bugs the
hell out of me. I just can't help it. 

Reader reviewed by Lauren

This book was disturbing and frightening and amazing. It takes a really touchy subject and turns it into a gripping story that had me hanging onto every word. I was sort of shocked while reading it but also impressed that Elizabeth Scott decided to write about this racy subject and in such an elegant (though graphic at times) way. Very good read for mature teens. I wish I would have picked this up sooner.

Reader reviewed by Sab H.

This story was utterly disturbing; so powerful and so horrible at the
same time. A moving story about a kidnapped girl who has been living
with her captor for five years. It's painful to picture this, to
acknowledge how unfair life is for some people. It was really hard for
me to get through the pages, so helpless to do anything, just keep
reading. Scott's incredible writing steals you away into this girls
life, to her terror, it let you in in her fear.

The cover is
just as disturbing as the book. I loved it. How messed up can a human
being be? How can awful experiences change you, shape you? This book is
for strong heart-ed readers, but I dont have enough words to praise this
book, it's just unbelievably amazing. I don't think you'll ever read
anything so unforgettable. Definitely a must-read.

Reader reviewed by Nikki

This book, at times, was hard to read. The detail was so bold. Things in this book, it shouldn't happen in real life. However, the things this book features, it's not all completely fictional. It happens in real life. It's hard to know that. This book really opens the eyes of readers of all ages. It's a sad story. It's so realistic. The feelings the main character shows in the book is overwhelming. You'd think the author is writing about something that's happened from experience! It's an extermely powerful read!

Reader reviewed by Kaycee Joy

  Ten year old Alice was kidnapped by Ray, a disturbed and abusive man. She has learned to give Ray what he wants in
order for her to survive, but she no longer wants to survive, but to
die. Dying is her only way out. She is now fifteen years old and is
getting too old for Ray's liking. She must find a replacement girl for him, so he can finally be done with her. Will she go that low to help him, or will she find help?
  If
you liked books like Go Ask Alice, Lovely Bones, Speak, or other abuse
related books you will enjoy Living Dead Girl. It was very disturbing
to be in the head of such a damaged girl, but you knew how much she
hurt and why she was so damaged. It was a very upseting but good book.

Reader reviewed by SDaugherty

This book is beyond the horror and goes right beyond that to sheer
terror. Is there a category for that? It is extremely well written and
very easy to read. It takes no time at all to be sucked right into
Alice's defeat and anguish. This book is a view into the life of a
child molester from the inside, the victim. It is beyond realistic and
so disturbing that although you will want to put it down, you are so
drawn in that you can't.

Yes for some reason I feel that teens should read this to make them
feel the reality of what can happen to them. That in a matter of
seconds that you entire life can change. The book is 170 pages of fear
and disgusting reality. And as a parent the book is 170 reason why you
should always keep your children close and why we have become the over
protective parents that we are.

Not for the feign of heart at all but a necessary read. I can't tell
you that I enjoyed it nor hated it, but was entranced by it. You will
be too if you decide to pick it up. I guarantee it.

Reader reviewed by Minerva V.

For those of you who have read previous YA novels by Elizabeth Scott...be warned.  Living Dead Girl is not a teenage romance; it is a gripping, dark novel about a fifteen year old girl who has been living with her abductor, Ray, since the age of ten.  Elizabett Scott does not shy away from an intense narrative that at times reads like an intimate dream sequence, or rather, nightmare.  The ugliness of sexual abuse and abduction, as well as the sinister pleasure motivating pedophiles, will be a shock to many readers who have very little knowledge or experience with the subject matter.  Childhood sexual abuse is something you hear about on the news or something that happens to someone else, but through the author's use of the first person point of view, this novel takes your further into the realms of darkness than possilbe on a news report.  It is amazing how raw and brutal the narrative reads and with that in mind, readers will face many instances in the novel inappropriate for anyone under the age of 16.  I mean, I'm a lot older than 16, and I found many of the scenes to be disturbing.  It's not that the scenes are explicit, but the bare, gritty details of those things Alice chooses to share are darkly intimate and painful.  In Alice we hear the voice of an empty, souless body only availbe for Ray, her abductor.  Her mental state has been warped to the point that she will do anything to have someone else take her place.  The only ray of light in this novel is the end, although it is ambiguous and any hope taken from it will be on the part of the reader.  I commend Scott for writing something so compelling and original.  She has graduated from entertaining YA fiction to something more of literary genius.

Reader reviewed by Emma Woods(E.M. Woods)

This is a story of a girl abducted at age ten. She lives with a man who treats her as a daughter. If torturing is what fathers do to their daughters. The events in this book were not what I had expected. Especially toward the end! Overall, it is a great book. I would have wanted a little more after *spoilers* Ray was killed. Who knows if the girl fell in love with Jake, or even made it back to her parents. But perhaps that is where you begin to use your imagination. I would totally not recommend this to anyone under 15, for it is pretty inappropiate at some parts.

Reader reviewed by Liz C.

Three days before her tenth birthday she went on a field
trip to the aquarium. This is the day her life ended. Now, five years later she
is Alice. Her dad is Ray. But she
is not a little girl anymore, and Ray only wants a little girl. She knows he
must kill her and find a new Alice.
The thought excites her. She cant wait to finally go home. The question is;
when is it going to happen?

 

 

Living Dead Girl is both gripping and highly disturbing. Author
Elizabeth Scott takes a subject matter that is highly unappealing to other YA
authors and turns it into a short but beautiful piece of work. The short
chapters and rushed dialog forced you to feel a part of what Alice
was feeling. You could clearly picture her sadness, her hopelessness and her
greed. Though it seems like the decisions she makes are horribly selfish and
cruel, you can understand why she feels this way. The ending was both happy and
sad, and leaves you with a lot of things to think about. The story itself
reminded me of The Collector by John Fowls, a book that holds a permanent
position on my favorites shelf. Living Dead Girl will be placed next to it. It
is a near perfect novel in my eyes. Due to the graphic nature of the story it
is not for everyone though.  People who
have experienced trauma in their life may be triggered by the events that
take place. I also think the author should consider publishing a version that
has a reading guide at the end, as some teens may not know how to gather their
thoughts when the story ends.