Helpful Score: 4
This book is small, short, sparse. Not a lot of pages or words but the imprint of what is written will linger long after you put the book down. I read a lot of thrillers and a lot of YA. I thought I'd probably have read this story before, wondered how this author would approach the topics of child abduction, molestation, rape, imprisonment. Suffice to say that Scott was master of the task. The life of Alice in Ray's prison was hell and terror, fright and pain. She was starved, abused, beaten and repeatedly forced to sexual surrender to a man who was himself abused by a sexual sadist (his mother). Alice no longer hopes for release or for any other life, that dream has been destroyed along with her girlhood. As she grows from a child of 10 to a teen of 15, Ray no longer is happy with her body or her attitude. He wants a new girl and has assigned Alice to help him acquire her. Alice is powerless to resist, beaten down by 5 years of submission and only longs for the substitute to release her from this bond. She can't say NO. The new girl has been chosen and then what will happen to Alice? The last Alice was killed, and yet, that is a release of sorts. No one sees, no one hears, no one there to help.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
Helpful Score: 4
LIVING DEAD GIRL is immediately gripping; even the synopsis draws you in. From there, the story just builds and builds on you, a combination of the horrifying predicament that Alice is in and the spare, unapologetic language that Elizabeth Scott uses to strike a chord in readers. I think the greatest lesson I can take out of LIVING DEAD GIRL is that any abuse victim's psyche is fathomless. This book requires a patient and dedicated audience for its impact to be felt fully, but, when felt, will reverberate with you as strongly as Laurie Halse Anderson's SPEAK does.
Helpful Score: 2
My Thoughts: Elizabeth has done it again! She needs to write faster though because I'm almost through all of her books and I want more dangit! We are introduced to Alice and the details surrounding her abduction. She was only 10 when she was taken by Ray and she was only his second victim. He tells her he loves her and that this is the way its supposed to be, she belongs to him. If she runs away, he'll go hurt her family. She longs to get away from him, far far away. She is tired of everything he puts her through. This book is a quick devastating read. It is heartbreaking in so many ways because the fact of the matter is, this happens in real life. Kids get abducted, kids get abused, kids get hurt. Its just not right!!! I could totally feel for Alice and there were a few times during the story I wanted to run away for Alice! Ray starts looking for a new "girl" with Alice, and Alice fears her time has come to an end. She's 15 now and not what he is "looking" for. Even though this book is heartbreaking, it still needs to be read! So go get yourself a copy today from amazon HERE and read it to find out what happens to Alice.
Overall: Heartbreaking, emotional, but a great story. This book is realistic and you will be sucked right into Alice's life. You will feel what she feels, think what she thinks, long for what she longs for.
Overall: Heartbreaking, emotional, but a great story. This book is realistic and you will be sucked right into Alice's life. You will feel what she feels, think what she thinks, long for what she longs for.
Helpful Score: 1
Wonderful book. Read it in a few hours. The storyline pulls you in and will not let you go. Once finished the characters will stay with you. A horrible story, beautifully told.
Helpful Score: 1
WOW! This was a fast read but in no way a light one. I don't even know what to say here. I'm seriously shocked. All I want to do is go grab my daughter and hold her close and warn her once again to never ever go anywhere with anyone no matter what they say or how helpful they may seem.
It's absolutely terrifying to think about this book....
It's absolutely terrifying to think about this book....
Helpful Score: 1
I got this in the mail today and knew I had to read it right now. I wasn't wrong. This book grabs you from the first page and won't let go. It's about Alice, a teenager who has lived with her kidnapper, Ray, for five years now. The author wrote this book really well and really made me feel the pain and the numbness that Alice feels. Incredibly well written book, and I look forward to reading more from this author.
Helpful Score: 1
This book was entirely too dark and disturbing for me. Quick read but very intense.
This is a YA book? This book is horrifying. A girl is kidnapped at 10 by a pedophile. She is now 15 and has endured unimaginable sexual, physical and mental abuse by him for 5 years. He's not too pleased with her as she is maturing and turning into a woman. He forces her to find her "replacement". The end is stunning. In light of Jaycie Duggard this book was painfull to read.
Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com
I received my copy of LIVING DEAD GIRL right before it came out in September. I read it the same day, and promptly hid it in a huge stack of other books, hoping to forget about it. I didn't. I came across it last week, and sat down and read it again. This time, I knew that, just like before, I'd never forget it, but I finally decided I was ready to write a review on the story.
Alice has lived with Ray since she was ten. Now that she's fifteen, she knows her time with him is about to come to an end. The only question will be how it will happen - whether Ray will kill her, or whether she'll kill herself.
You see, Alice wasn't always Alice. She was once a girl with a mom and dad who loved her, until the day Ray abducted her during a school field trip. Although they don't live far from her childhood home, Alice has only once made an attempt to escape, and that was right after she was abducted. Ever since then, she's become the emotional/physical/sexual slave that Ray has turned her into, and she does what she's told, when she's told.
When Ray sets his sights on Lucy, a replacement girl, Alice couldn't be more thrilled. Her time with Ray is finally, finally coming to an end, and all she can do is experience immense relief. She may have a moment's doubt about setting up a small, young girl to go through the same torture and torment she has endured, but basically, that overwhelming sense of relief is all she can bring herself to feel.
Events unfold quickly, and the ending of the story is not a resolution so much as a beginning to an entire new set of complications.
I hated LIVING DEAD GIRL, in a way that made me love it. With a storyline that could have been ripped from today's newspapers, the feelings and emotions that it will invoke within you are myriad - horror, sympathy, outrage, disbelief. When I heard a similar story in the news about a year ago, my first thought was how a child who had been abducted could so willingly stay with their captor. What I learned through the pages of this book is that fear - the kind of fear many of us have never known, and will hopefully never have to know - is a huge motivator.
Alice lives by fear. Fear of eating something she's been told not to eat. Fear of talking to someone she's been told not to talk to. Fear of bathing when she's not been told to bathe. Fear of saying something, anything, in the wrong way, or at the wrong time, or with the wrong tone of voice. Fear, plain and simple, can cause people to do all sorts of things.
Elizabeth Scott is to be thanked for writing a story that brings the issue of child abduction to light. As Alice says, there are three life lessons: No one will see you. No one will say anything. No one will save you. Unfortunately, she's all too often right. I hope that after reading LIVING DEAD GIRL everyone will see, everyone will speak, everyone will be compelled to save.
Hope for Alice may be gone, but there are many Alice's out in the world, and thanks to this story, they don't always have to live in fear that no one will save them.
I received my copy of LIVING DEAD GIRL right before it came out in September. I read it the same day, and promptly hid it in a huge stack of other books, hoping to forget about it. I didn't. I came across it last week, and sat down and read it again. This time, I knew that, just like before, I'd never forget it, but I finally decided I was ready to write a review on the story.
Alice has lived with Ray since she was ten. Now that she's fifteen, she knows her time with him is about to come to an end. The only question will be how it will happen - whether Ray will kill her, or whether she'll kill herself.
You see, Alice wasn't always Alice. She was once a girl with a mom and dad who loved her, until the day Ray abducted her during a school field trip. Although they don't live far from her childhood home, Alice has only once made an attempt to escape, and that was right after she was abducted. Ever since then, she's become the emotional/physical/sexual slave that Ray has turned her into, and she does what she's told, when she's told.
When Ray sets his sights on Lucy, a replacement girl, Alice couldn't be more thrilled. Her time with Ray is finally, finally coming to an end, and all she can do is experience immense relief. She may have a moment's doubt about setting up a small, young girl to go through the same torture and torment she has endured, but basically, that overwhelming sense of relief is all she can bring herself to feel.
Events unfold quickly, and the ending of the story is not a resolution so much as a beginning to an entire new set of complications.
I hated LIVING DEAD GIRL, in a way that made me love it. With a storyline that could have been ripped from today's newspapers, the feelings and emotions that it will invoke within you are myriad - horror, sympathy, outrage, disbelief. When I heard a similar story in the news about a year ago, my first thought was how a child who had been abducted could so willingly stay with their captor. What I learned through the pages of this book is that fear - the kind of fear many of us have never known, and will hopefully never have to know - is a huge motivator.
Alice lives by fear. Fear of eating something she's been told not to eat. Fear of talking to someone she's been told not to talk to. Fear of bathing when she's not been told to bathe. Fear of saying something, anything, in the wrong way, or at the wrong time, or with the wrong tone of voice. Fear, plain and simple, can cause people to do all sorts of things.
Elizabeth Scott is to be thanked for writing a story that brings the issue of child abduction to light. As Alice says, there are three life lessons: No one will see you. No one will say anything. No one will save you. Unfortunately, she's all too often right. I hope that after reading LIVING DEAD GIRL everyone will see, everyone will speak, everyone will be compelled to save.
Hope for Alice may be gone, but there are many Alice's out in the world, and thanks to this story, they don't always have to live in fear that no one will save them.
Haunting and uncomfortable at times but a very well written story. I love Elizabeth Scott and this is different from her other books, but still fantastic.
Very short but very well written. I had to take a break at work so I could finish the book. Why? Because it was in my head and I needed to know what happened in the end. Was I right? Yes. Will I let you know what the ending is? Nope, go read the book. :)
4 stars out of 5, I would have given it 5 stars but I would have liked the book a bit longer.
4 stars out of 5, I would have given it 5 stars but I would have liked the book a bit longer.
i loved this book. i finished it in one day because it was so gripping. i could NOT stop reading it. it was amazing(:
this book was haunting and horrific.
it's a really important read about the realities that some girls can face in this disgusting, cruel world. But it's definitely not for the faint of heart. because this book pulls no punches.
it illustrates the brutal, ugly and gut wrenching reality of it's situation without pause or concern for delicacy, which, given the subject matter, is as it should be.
a hard read, but one i'm glad i read nonetheless
it's a really important read about the realities that some girls can face in this disgusting, cruel world. But it's definitely not for the faint of heart. because this book pulls no punches.
it illustrates the brutal, ugly and gut wrenching reality of it's situation without pause or concern for delicacy, which, given the subject matter, is as it should be.
a hard read, but one i'm glad i read nonetheless
