Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The Girl Next Door

3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 · rating details · 6,073 ratings · 626 reviews

A teenage girl is held captive and brutally tortured by neighborhood children. Based on a true story, this shocking novel reveals the depravity of which we are all capable.

ebook, 386 pages

Published February 7th 2011 by Dorchester Publishing (first published November 1st 1993)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Add this book to your favorite list »

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

May 08, 2011 Flannery rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2011, kcls, gr-most-disturbing-read, reviewed-2011

This is a fictional story based on an actual 1965 killing of a teenage girl in Indiana. The girl, Sylvia Likens and her sister Jenny were put into the care of a single mother by her carnie parents. The woman, Gertrude Baniszewski, several of her children, and some neighborhood children tortured and eventually murdered Sylvia. She was forced to endure unbelievable atrocities like scalding baths, the carving of words into her body with needles, repeated beatings, eating feces, and worse. Ketchum d...more This is a fictional story based on an actual 1965 killing of a teenage girl in Indiana. The girl, Sylvia Likens and her sister Jenny were put into the care of a single mother by her carnie parents. The woman, Gertrude Baniszewski, several of her children, and some neighborhood children tortured and eventually murdered Sylvia. She was forced to endure unbelievable atrocities like scalding baths, the carving of words into her body with needles, repeated beatings, eating feces, and worse. Ketchum describes, in graphic detail, what those events might’ve been like, from the point of view of the next door neighbor boy. Teenage Davy lives on a dead-end street and has been hanging out with the same neighborhood kids for his entire childhood. One day, while catching crayfish, he meets Meg, who has just moved with her sister into Davy’s next door neighbor’s home. Meg and Susan’s parents were killed in an auto accident and the only relative to take them in is Ruth, a single mother of three boys. There’s not too much need to go into the plot from here because you all know where it is going. I knew where it was going as well, but that didn’t make it any easier to read.

A few weeks ago, I saw a story on the news about two 48-year old twins in Houston who lived with their mother’s decomposing body after she passed away. I watched in horror as the newscasters described how the grown men frankly told police officers that she had tripped and fell while they were watching the BCS championship and then they just left her there, conscious and able to speak, until she passed a few days later. And the reason that they gave for not calling anyone after her death? Inability to pay for burial expenses. (a judge has not ruled on their mental ability to stand trial as of 5/5/11) What made me think of this story in relation to the book was my wondering about how the hell anyone could ever passively watch someone tortured or slowly dying and do nothing about it. Davy knows that Meg is being tortured and I was fascinated with his reasoning about why everything was happening and whether he should do anything about it. Ruth and other perpetrators of such atrocities must just be mentally unstable...at least I hope that is the case. But there were/are just so many other people involved in crimes like this--are they all mentally unwell? I’d love to be able to say that a crime as atrocious as this could never happen nowadays but it just did again. Angela McAnulty starved, abused, tortured, and eventually killed her own daughter in Eugene, Oregon just last year. There were other people living in the house at the time. HOW? How can these people not report what is going on?

In terms of the book, loosely basing a story on real life events really gives an author an out. I want to say that x,y, and z didn’t seem realistic or probably didn’t/couldn’t happen but I haven’t gone through the notes on the trials so maybe they actually did. I always get a horrible feeling in my stomach when characters tell the police about something and then the police either (1)don’t take them seriously; (2) brush it off; or (3) don’t trust a child and then turn them back over to their abuser. I can’t pretend to know how much work police men and women have but it is horrible to hear of events like this happening and to know that they were absolutely preventable if someone had intervened.

This is a hard book to stomach. I recommend it to no one and everyone at the same time. No one will “enjoy” reading it. A lot of people probably won’t make it through the whole book. It is filled with sick, sick things. But sick things that happened and are still happening, which makes it all the more painful to read. There is a special place in hell for people who torture children.
(less)

75 likes · like · see review

view all 42 comments

Kathy Your review is fantastic--it provided enough info to warn off the more sensitive and squeamish, while at the same time being irresistibly intriguing t...more Your review is fantastic--it provided enough info to warn off the more sensitive and squeamish, while at the same time being irresistibly intriguing to those of us for whom, for whatever odd reason, are endlessly fascinated with the darker side of human motivations and capabilities. I have often wondered myself about the essential question you bring up in your review, that is, not only how some humans can be capable of such atrocities, but also, and perhaps just as disturbing, **why why why** are those of us who abhor and could never act out such behaviors so addicted to reading/watching/studying the accounts, psychological speculations, and motivations of those who do? Also, of course, the description and analysis of the victim's experience and aftermath? Why do we relish these atrocities?
I don't really think I would fit the description of a hippie type, but my deep personal convictions, philosophy, and spirituality are centered very strongly around the notions of loving one another, adding as much good to this world as possible during our time here, and paying attention and acknowledging the beauty and ultimate truths found in the wilderness and natural world. But at the same time, I recognize that the natural world contains many inherent manifestations of cold brutality--everything from a praying mantis biting of the head of her mate to birds abandoning nestlings to infanticide performed by even higher 'reasoning' creatures such as primates. Certainly we cannot completely separate ourselves from these aspects of the natural world, and certainly there are plenty of evil people who have no qualms or lack that human 'higher moral compass' that prevents most of us from falling to these base instincts.
So the mystery remains, for myself anyway, in the question that asks, "why are some of the most peace-loving and compassionate among us (speaking personally) so addicted to these (especially true) stories of darkest human horror and potential?
I am an information addict through and through; I generally prefer non-fiction to novels or otherwise, especially when it comes to true crime accounts, history and biographies, etc. When I'm not reading an actual book, I am inevitably spending my free time on my so-called 'Wikipedia Safaris', spending hours letting one topic lead me to another and another and another. For some reason, for example, ever since my 4th grade teacher read aloud to the class a book on the Holocaust called "Upon The Head Of A Goat", studying and reading about German history during the periods of WW1 and WW2, and now extending to the division of Berlin and the Cold War, have been consistently at the top of my interests. I'll repeat--ever since I was a 4th grade child! This personal revelation never ceases to blow me away when I really think about it and articulate it as such. This, from a mother who has never even allowed her son to play with or own a toy gun, from one who is terrified and genuinely creeped out by Halloween haunted houses and blood and gore scary (fictional) movies.
Perhaps on second thought, though, I believe it might be the really 'out there' (not sure how else to put it) fictional and supernatural stories and movies that hold no interest for me--perhaps it all comes back to my very low tolerance and ability for suspension of disbelief that causes me to avoid these types of stories and situations.
But how strange is it, that when there is any hint of a true story involved in a violent movie (Natural Born Killers or Silence Of The Lambs comes to mind), or even a fictional account that I can truly buy into the psychology and motivations of the characters (f.e. Kalifornia), I am utterly hooked?
What is it in me that causes me to absolutely devour articles and biographies about notorious mobsters and serial killers? What is it that causes me to spend hours perusing Wikipedia, researching websites and press articles about topics such as E. Fritzl or Whitey Bulger, Jim Jones and Jamestown, Pol Pot, Stalin or North Korea? What can explain my outraged obsession with accounts of modern day slavery and human trafficking? And why, after all this time, are true accounts of life in the bloody first half of 20th century European history overwhelmingly the most numerous on my bookshelf?
Of course, all the obvious reasons apply--inspiration at the human ability to survive and triumph under the worst of ordeals, shock at how depraved and base our human race can become and act depending on a variety of reasons and circumstance, etc etc...but there is definitely some deeper fascination with the topic lurking beneath that I've yet to be able to put my finger on. It truly remains a mystery to me.
Allow me to give an example of how deeply these topics affect me--on a level I could never hope to analyze or explain--I can merely narrate the sequence of events with no speculation as to the actual 'why' behind the emotion. I was fortunate enough to spend some time exploring the wonderful city of Berlin a few years ago, and I was deeply affected by physically **being there** in the actual location of so many of the stories and history I've studied for so long. Most of my time there, the emotion remained under the surface, but on 2 notable occasions I was utterly unprepared and shocked at the sudden and deep reaction I experienced upon confronting 2 situations: the first was in the National German Museum of Photography, where I was lucky enough to catch an amazing exhibition on the life and work of Helmut Newton. In one room, there was a quote on the wall that I didn't fully understand without explanation from my German companion. Without being able to remember the words exactly enough to quote them directly, the general gist of the message had to do with how a photograph can somehow make the inexplicable, the unexplainable, the worst horrors of human capability truly real, truly manifest in one's mind, in a way that words, for the most part, cannot do. He said that of course he was aware of this or that atrocity, that of course he was aware of 'The Death Strip' beyond and between the Berlin Wall, but that these things never became real to him, the horrors never fully internalized, until he witnessed other's photographs or took his own of these infamous locations. I had never heard of the 'Death Strip' before, and when my companion explained to me what it was, I caught myself by total surprise by bursting into violent and uncontrollable sobs and weeping, standing right there in the museum in front of that quote on the wall. As a photographer myself, the truth of the statement hit me in the gut with a sense of innate understanding, but the emotion also ran much deeper than that, again, to that same place within me that I cannot define that serves as the source of my fascination with these topics to begin with. The next day, when we visited the Wall Memorial and museum, and I was able to actually look into the Death Strip with my own eyes and photograph it with my own camera, again, I wept uncontrollably the entire time. The experience shook me to my absolute core, and to this day I cannot find the words to properly articulate or explain my reaction. I can say, though, that it was one of the most deep and significant experiences of my entire life, even though what exactly the experience signifies, I have no clue.
I can say, with certainty however, that the tears and deep emotion were exactly like the sudden tears that sometimes overwhelm me when confronted with an object or idea of ultimate transcendent beauty, such as certain song lyrics when combined with achingly true and beautiful music, or such as how no matter how many times I read 'East of Eden' I never fail to weep at the ending, or more recently, when I was utterly blown away by the new Florence and the Machine song off the 'Gatsby' soundtrack. Knowing and loving that book as much as I do--the entirety of the deep and beautiful love, combined with the shallow human foolishness and ensuing tragedy of Fitzgerald's novel--seemed to be completely and perfectly captured in the beyond amazing power and emotion of her voice, not to mention the accompanying transcendent poetry of the lyrics. I literally sat there stunned, tears running down my face, when I first heard it just 3 days ago. The experience is still fresh and powerful for me.
So...what is it that moves and fascinates me, that shakes me to my absolute core, about these two extremes of human capacity for both good and evil? The base and the divine? The ugliest and the most beautiful? I really don't know. And all these words I've just used to try and describe the phenomenon don't get near to the actual truth at all, at all. But it is the closest I think I've been able to articulate on the topic thus far.
(I certainly didn't intend to write an essay here...somehow your review and the comments got me off on this train of thought and I couldn't help but put words to paper, so to speak, even though this posting is over a year old. Somehow, for some reason, I had no choice but to attempt to make these thoughts concrete with he best words I could find, even if not a soul ever sees or reads or even understands what I've written. As I said at the beginning, why I'm so interested in certain extremes of human nature has always confused me, and somehow a bit of a lightbulb went on over my head, all in a flash, after reading your words and responses this morning. It is still not entirely clear, but I feel a bit closer to elucidation. Thank you for the opportunity.) :)
(Now off to wiki for the true story upon which the book was based) ;)(less)
Apr 30, 2013 07:58am

Flannery I often find myself lost in Wikipedia, reading about serial killers, atrocities, and the like. I also grapple with WHY I (and you, and many other peop...more
Apr 30, 2013 09:38am

Jun 21, 2011 Paul rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novels

Here's another long lingering gaze upon our inhuman humanity for everyone who is still labouring under the delusion that there might be a tiny shred, maybe just a single thread, something, anything, of common decency to be found in the vast majority of ordinary people. Jack Ketchum's here to tell you - sorry. There's not.

This novel is based on a real crime which took place in 1965. JK relocates it to 1958 and, creepily, as if this tale needs more creep, which it doesn't, to his home town - to h...more

27 likes · like · see review

Jun 13, 2011 Stephen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ebooks, horror, children-behaving-badly, 1980-1989, freak-families, psychos, favorite-villains, the-creeps

WARNING: For those of you that still have a tattered, fragmentary scrap of optimism for the inherent goodness of people, this book may well rip it from you and shred your faith in mankind. This book is as disturbing as anything I have ever read. This is mostly because the novel slammed all of my soft/weak spots when it comes to violence, including:

1. Torture;
2. Sadism;
3. Violence against children;
4. Violence committed by children; and
5. Prolonged mental abuse.

…and worst of all, this is based on...more

71 likes · like · see review

May 26, 2012 Lou rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, adapted-to-screen, thriller

A shocking story of abuse at the hands of an evil mother.
What was once a harmless game of fun that a group of friends played in a neighborhood turned into a game of torture and abuse.
Executed by the hands of kids ranging 7 to 13 and one wicked woman.
There was one boy who did not want to take part and tried to dissociate from what he was seeing.
The boy also fell in love with one of the girls, who was the person who was receiving the brunt of the violence.
She arrived in the neighborhood just r...more

9 likes · like · see review

Aug 02, 2007 Tommy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror

This is one of the leanest, nastiest books I've ever read. I consume a good deal of horror fiction, but this one really took some fortitude to get through certain sequences. It tells a fictionalized account of the torture and murder of Sylvia Likens. Here's something from the wikipedia entry on the case:

Sylvia Marie Likens (January 3, 1949 - October 26, 1965) was tortured to death by Gertrude Baniszewski (née Van Fossan), her children, and other children from their neighborhood. Her parents, car...more

11 likes · like · see review

Jun 20, 2007 Peter rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: eh... no one. Ted Bundy, maybe?

Why is it always so hard to admit that I like Stephen King? (You see that? Right there! Even then, when I did kind of admit it, I made sure to censor myself, and under-exaggerate how I really feel...)

All right, fine. I love Stephen King. And I promise to spare you any rantings and ravings about how I think he's one of the most underrated writers of our time (nevermind that he's the bestselling novelist in the world), because this is not his book. I'll save it for "The Stand" or "Lisey's Story."...more

13 likes · like · see review

Apr 25, 2008 Kristen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror

Rating this book is one of the most difficult ratings I've done. On one hand, this is an extremely well written book. The characters feel real, you care about the ones you are supposed to care about, and genuinely loath those you aren't. The scenes are set well and it is very clear as to what is happening. Your mind will have no trouble picturing exactly what is transpiring, and that is precisely why this book is so hard to rate.

You don't want to picture what transpires in this book. You don't...more Rating this book is one of the most difficult ratings I've done. On one hand, this is an extremely well written book. The characters feel real, you care about the ones you are supposed to care about, and genuinely loath those you aren't. The scenes are set well and it is very clear as to what is happening. Your mind will have no trouble picturing exactly what is transpiring, and that is precisely why this book is so hard to rate.

You don't want to picture what transpires in this book. You don't want to believe it, you don't want to feel what you will feel, and you certainly won't want to know that it is based in truth. The story itself is horrible. No, not horrible, there isn't a word for what occurs in this book... "sick" doesn't cover it, "wrong" is nowhere near strong enough, "loathsome" can't even summon up the proper amount of disgust. When I was done reading I was a mix of emotion, I was appalled, disgusted and enraged. Actually I was furious, furious enough to want to find someone like the people in this book and truly harm them. I stormed around the house and informed my husband that he needed to start the fireplace so I could throw the book in it. "But it's a gas fireplace, honey" he told me... "Then hand me some matches" was my reply.

The packrat in me took over, and the book was not burned. It's sitting on the floor where it was tossed. Perhaps it's just an emotional topic with me, but the rape, torture, and murder of children should be a difficult thing for anyone to swallow. "The Girl Next Door" takes it to another level, and has the atrocities being carried out... lead and orchestrated by an authority figure, a mother figure, the person we should all go to for protection as children, the person who is supposed to make everything okay with the world, the person who should guide us and love us.

Ketchum follows Ruth's decent into madness through the eyes of the little boy next door. As her mind slowly melts leaving behind any sense of reality, morality and love, she takes with her the three boys she has raised, and eventually drags several of the neighborhood children into her insanity. The focus of her madness is her nieces, and she projects her self loathing, disgust with her sex, and fury with the world into a sick and twisted fantasy of torture and rape on the two little girls that are to look to her as their mother. Her fantasy turns to reality carried out by both her children and her own hand. The reader is spared few details of the goings on... and it is hard to deal with. It is even harder to deal with knowing that this story, though fiction, is based on something that actually occurred. Deciding to read this book is something that is not a casual decision. This book WILL affect you; if it does not then I don't want to know you because you are too close to the people characterized in it.

Back to how do I review this book? Do I rate it on the skills of the writer? If so, then this is a 4-5 star novel? Do I rate it on how well I enjoyed the read? Then it is a 0-1 star novel. Am I glad I read it? I don't know... I was certainly affected by it. Due to the fact that it was successful in evoking such strong emotion from me I will have to give it a 4, but I will certainly not give this book to anyone I know and tell them that it is a "Must Read."(less)

11 likes · like · see review

Mar 16, 2011 Anton rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is revolting. I read it knowing that it would be. If memory serves, the Village Voice once said Ketchum amounted to "torture porn." They were probably talking about this particular novel, which is based on an actual torture-murder in Indiana in which a child was imprisoned in a basement and brutalized by the woman with whom she boarded and the neighborhood kids until she died. My primary motive in reading it was a more or less clinical interest in popular horror fiction, and this guy i...more

6 likes · like · see review

Jan 05, 2009 Keith rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In reviewing "American Psycho," all the other reviews from folks who said they wished the book did not exist struck a chord within me. AP never affected me that strongly, but I knew there was a book I felt that way about...oh yes!!! GIRL NEXT DOOR.

I wish this book did not exist. I wish all the people associated with its publishing had never been born. I almost considered ending my friendship with the guy who lent it to me just because I did not want to know a person who owned it, and that guy ha...more

12 likes · like · see review

Feb 22, 2013 Jody rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013, brutal, crime, cults-and-gangs, family-ties, harrowing, made-into-movies, not-for-the-faint-of-heart, quick-read, read-in-2013, sexual-abuse, thriller, fiction-based-on-true-crime

I'm a Netflix addict and came across the movie version of this book several weeks ago. When I heard it was based on a true case, I was horrified. As a true crime dabbler,who's interest in this macabre genre came about when I was accused of being 'too trusting of people', I was surprised I never heard of the Sylvia Liken's story. It was excruciating to watch and several parts I just fast forwarded through, but I was struck by the idea that a bunch of kids, led by a trusted 'mom', could do such t...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jul 18, 2008 Patrick rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Patrick by: Stephen King

Shelves: 2008

Finally something that lives up to the hype! This book has a reputation as being one of the most disturbing things ever and did not disappoint. Ketchum begins by expertly crafting the idyllic world of 1950's suburbia as seen through the eyes of the white, preteen boy. All of the horrific scenes throughout the book only have their impact because of how authentic of a world he creates initially, the way young boys think, talk, and act. The story is about two sisters who lose their parents in a car...more Finally something that lives up to the hype! This book has a reputation as being one of the most disturbing things ever and did not disappoint. Ketchum begins by expertly crafting the idyllic world of 1950's suburbia as seen through the eyes of the white, preteen boy. All of the horrific scenes throughout the book only have their impact because of how authentic of a world he creates initially, the way young boys think, talk, and act. The story is about two sisters who lose their parents in a car accident, come to stay with their aunt and her three sons, and the boys' friend and next-door-neighbor, who witnesses the abuse of the older girl throughout the summer. There was one incident where the foreshadowing caused me to have to put the book down for a few minutes, because I knew something really bad was going to happen, and this was after a chore-list of reprehensible acts (I watch a lot of horror movies and thought I had pretty much seen it all). I was describing the book to someone, and her response was something about how the author must be insane and in need of psychiatric help to come up with something so vile, so I did a little research and found the book to have been based on a true crime (see: Sylvia Likens), and Ketchum's reason for writing it was because the story made him angry and he wanted to give the victim a heroic voice. It's hard for some people to accept that someone like Stephen King is just a small-town family man, not a satanic baby-eater. Too bad they can't see the merit in something that makes them uneasy or upset, and think anyone who does find artistic value in a book like this must be a sadist or a pervert (which actually is the case for me). They also dismiss certain movies they haven't actually watched as "torture porn," failing to understand the political satire in "Hostel" or the captivating mystery of the first "Saw." (Diablo Cody called for an end to "penguin porn" at the movies in a recent Entertainment Weekly column, and I think that's a much bigger problem facing America.) Anyways, The Girl Next Door will blow your mind if you let it.(less)

4 likes · like · see review

Jul 19, 2011 Debra rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror-supernatural, sai-king-recommends

Stephen King recommended author and book. He says: "Who's the scariest guy in America? Probably Jack Ketchum."
and
"He is, quite simply, one of the best in the business, on par with Clive Barker, James Ellroy, and Thomas Harris."
and
“Ketchum has become a kind of hero to those of us who write tales of horror and suspense. He is, quite simply, one of the best in the business.”

and
Stephen King wrote introduction to 2002 limited edition printing by Overlook Connection. A blurb of his says: "The Girl Nex...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jan 23, 2013 Elke rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novels, own, favorites, horror, review

I accidentally found this title when I was searching for new books by Stephen King, who wrote the foreword of this book. I never before heard of Jack Ketchum, but the description sounded promising, so I thought I'd give it a try. And never was I disappointed - this book takes you in a stranglehold and never lets go until the end. About the story: the girl Megan is hold captive in a cellar and tortured by some children from her own neighborhood. David, who narrates the story, is watching the abus...more

2 likes · like · see review

May 22, 2012 Ken rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

I pretty much read this book in one sitting, something I usually don't do. But, it managed to hold my attention.

It starts out a little uncomfortable to read and then graduates to more and more disturbing levels in fairly short order. You think, okay here's a line that Ketchum won't cross and then he smashes right through that one and then challenges the next. It keeps going until he has put to test about anything you think he could imagine.

I'm not really sure what Ketchum was trying to say (if a...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 22, 2008 Bill rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror

Behold, the holy grail of horror novels is back in print. The Girl Next Door has been on my to-read list since forever, but good luck finding a battered paperback on Ebay for less than $60.
Well, May 2005 it was re-issued. And good thing too. Because this is not a $60 read. The Girl Next Door has gained infamy over the Internet as being the one novel that, no matter how prepared you are for it, it will still shock you.
The violence in this novel is well over the top. And the storyline regarding th...more

5 likes · like · see review

May 16, 2008 Kim rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

About 3/4 of the way through...
I have read a lot of disturbing books, this is definitely one of the most disturbing, it almost makes you feel guilty by even reading it. Wonderfully written & grips you the entire way, even though you are distraught through every page.

Ok I'm finished now. This book was amazingly captivating & wonderfully written, I felt like I was there watching it all. That said, this is officially the MOST disburbing book I have ever read.
I am still shaken, and am now...more

2 likes · like · see review

Aug 02, 2010 Kasia S. added it · review of another edition

No one can say that this story lacks nostalgia; it is however overshadowed by events that are hard to read, moments so painful that sometimes the reader is left in discomfort (but hungry for revenge). Perhaps when it comes to harming kids, certain emotions kick into higher gear, horror stories that involve adults never tug at me as much as stories where defenseless youngsters get the unfortunate piece of life, especially if they were good kids who didn't deserve even the slightest form of punish...more

like · see review

May 23, 2013 Ryland Dinneen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Girl Next Door is one of those books that everything you expect to happen probably will. It is loosely based on incidents in the 60's when a young 16 year old girl was tortured to death by her aunt after her parents both died. Yet the aunt thought it would be a yippity-dandy idea to invite the neighbourhood children to join in the rape and torture. We expect long, trying descriptions of acts to horrible to leave to the imagination, and that is precisely what we are given.

I give it only 3 sta...more

like · see review

Feb 10, 2013 Eric rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After a long hiatus of ignoring books whilst hoarding them I decided to pick-up 'The Girl Next Door'. I tend to get into long bursts of reading only horror novels from time to time, but never read this one. I never even read a Jack Ketchum book, really.

The build up in this book so very important. It reminded me at first of Dandelion Wine, or the movie Stand By Me with its depictions of a simpler time, but before long the surreal innocence crashed head first into a blood-thirsty Lord of the Flie...more

like · see review

Jan 15, 2013 Dan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like · see review

Nov 05, 2012 Tom rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, books-kelly-told-me-to-read, fiction

Just...damn.

There are so many films and novels that wax nostalgic for innocent 1950's & early 1960's childhoods. One of my favorite novels is "Boy's Life," by Robert McCammon, which is just such a story. I have enjoyed many of these, even though they refer to a time that I'll only ever know through these pieces.

There's a great line in the Afterword for "The Girl Next Door": If you lived through the 1950's you know its dark side.

In a small New Jersey town, David lives a fairly typical life....more

like · see review

Oct 22, 2012 Kristopher Kelly rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Okay, now I need like ... a cup of Ovaltine and a mid-80s Tom Hanks film. I just feel like I watched a True Crime marathon and need to scrub the naked depravity from my brain.

Is there a sub-genre of children chained in the basement stories? Because this book is like that, if you crossed it with Lord of the Flies to make it even more unpleasant. I wanted to reach through the page and strangle everyone involved.

Unfortunately for me, when I get angry at a story, I can't help but keep reading.

It'...more

2 likes · like · see review

Sep 04, 2012 Richard Cosgrove rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read this book several years ago, having discovered it, if my memory serves, by way of an interview with Stephen King who had mentioned that it was one of the most disturbing books that he had ever read. As I recall it had come up in an interview discussing the way terrible things can happen in small communities but remain buried beneath the surface, a common thread in much of King's fiction, most notably It, and so I was intrigued. Boy was I in for a pleasant shock.

The Girl Next Door is, quit...more

like · see review

Aug 13, 2012 James rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

How Stephen King actually liked this book is completely beyond me. The Girl Next Door is one of the most deplorable, disgusting books I've ever picked up. First of all, the writeing is simplistic and immature; anyone who graduated high school can pen something down at this level. The characters are made up of numerous sadistic, sociopaths, two tortured girls, and a rather cowardly boy. Interesting, no? The 'horror' in this book is essentially profoundly disturbing and occaisionally stomach chur...more

1 like · like · see review

May 26, 2012 Cynthia Eaton rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, favorites

I honestly didn't know if this review was ever going to happen. Why? Because I didn't know if I had the cajones to make it through this book. However, I'm proud to say I made it (barely).

If you know anything about Jack Ketchum, you know that his stories are not necessarily scary, but very disturbing and uncomfortable. The Girl Next Door is probably his most disturbing, horrific, stomach-churning, in-your-face-story to date.

You've read the synopsis above, so you kinda have a gist of what the st...more

2 likes · like · see review

May 21, 2012 Miss Ami E. Bowen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: most-engaging-stories, read-60-books-in-2012-challenge

This book is NOT for everyone. True Crime buffs will probably "enjoy" it. I put enjoy in quotations because this is not the type of story that readers will typically enjoy. Unless you have a sadistic/antisocial personality disorder, this book will bring forth a range of strong emotion but none of the will be enjoyment. Unless it's enjoyment of the writing style, etc, but not the matter at hand. This is the first book by Jack Ketchum that I've ever read. I decided to check out his stuff after hav...more This book is NOT for everyone. True Crime buffs will probably "enjoy" it. I put enjoy in quotations because this is not the type of story that readers will typically enjoy. Unless you have a sadistic/antisocial personality disorder, this book will bring forth a range of strong emotion but none of the will be enjoyment. Unless it's enjoyment of the writing style, etc, but not the matter at hand. This is the first book by Jack Ketchum that I've ever read. I decided to check out his stuff after having watched to movie "The Woman" and seeing that it was based on a story by Jack Ketchum and I noticed that Stephen King, a long-time favourite author of mine, has been talking Mr. Ketchum's work up and highly endorsing it. Based on the true story of Sylvia Likens and her younger sister Jenny who were given over to thier carnie parents' friend, Gertrude Baniszewski, after which they both, but Sylvia in particular, suffered greatly at the hands of their sadistic "foster-mother". This book follows the same course. The name are changed and the time-frame is slightly off. Instead of the younger sister having to wear leg-braces due to Polio as in the case with Jenny Likens, Susan Loughton wears leg braces due a car accident that messed up the bones in her legs. Meg and her younger sister Susan are moved in with their distant Aunt Ruth after an accident takes the lives of their parents and the state finds no other relative to take them in. The story is told during the span of a summer from the POV of the next-door neighbor boy David as per his memories of being a child with a type of "Wonder Years/Stand By Me-esque" feel to it. This story takes place during a time in our history,(the 1950s or so),when people didn't get into other's business and we didn't air our dirty laundry in pubic, what went on behind closed doors stayed behind them, etc. David has been living in 1950s Small Town, American since a young child and he's grown up with his next-door neighbor friends and other neighborhood kids for as long as he can remember. He meets Meg and strikes up a gentle friendship. Anyway, I think we all know what this book is all about so it's not a spoiler per say when I write that during the course of the story "Aunt Ruth" will begin to systematically abuse and torture the older sister; Meg, and eventually it escalates into a horror-show of depravity and cruelty and abuse that often resembled something out of the Spanish Inquisition. One thing I noticed was that, although she was taking pleasure for herself every time they hurt Meg, Ruth seemed to truly believe that she was imparting some practical wisdom to her victim and "help" her to not make the same mistakes she did by getting married and knocked up too young. To say she went about it the wrong way would be the understatement of the year! A school-teacher Ruth Chandler/Gertrude Baniszewski would never have been! An engaging read that made me want to check out the real story and compare notes. I find it utterly contemptible that this could have all be avoided had someone, that cop perhaps, taken Meg serious the first time she went to him and gotten her and her sister the hell out of there. But, as I mentioned it was a time of family privacy and no dirty laundry. People had a right to raise their kids however they wanted back then for the most part. I am very glad that we have, nowadays, what's known as "mandatory reporters" of abuse, neglect, molestation and financial exploitation, and that people with certain careers; teachers, healthcare professionals, clergypeople, are required by law to report any suspected case of abuse no matter if the suspension is just a gut feeling or not. And it doesn't matter if you are on the job or your day off or on Summer vacation five hundred miles form work. If you even hear about someone being hurt in any way, you are legally bound to call CPS or the police or both. If only we had the "Mandatory Reporting" law in place back when Sylvia/Meg and Susan/Jenny were being abused in that house in the sfifties. I would recommend this book to True Crime readers. And Jack Ketchum fans. (less)

like · see review

Apr 12, 2012 Troy Merrick rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I just finished this title, having just watched its film itineration and another film based on the same crime (An American Crime, also from 2007) and I am intensely curious why it has taken over 40 years for books and films to have been unleashed to bear witness to what Sylvia Likens underwent for THREE MONTHS in Gertrude Baniszewski's (spelling?) basement.
Jack Ketchum's book hearkens back, without a shadow of a doubt, to wanting to take a snapshot of the beauty of youth itself and to this poor...more I just finished this title, having just watched its film itineration and another film based on the same crime (An American Crime, also from 2007) and I am intensely curious why it has taken over 40 years for books and films to have been unleashed to bear witness to what Sylvia Likens underwent for THREE MONTHS in Gertrude Baniszewski's (spelling?) basement.
Jack Ketchum's book hearkens back, without a shadow of a doubt, to wanting to take a snapshot of the beauty of youth itself and to this poor, innocent girl in particular, as a backdrop against the harsh reality of what mankind is capable of conjuring up. Ruth Chandler loathes poor Meg Loughlin because she represents all that she no longer is.
I remember being a dopey kid maybe 10 or 11 and one of my dad's friends from work came over. While they talked about whatever it is they did (stuff I talk about now, now that I'm his age) I sat on the swings with my dad's friend's daughter, who was a few years older than me, just like Meg is to David, and the whole time my heart is pounding. This thing of beauty is talking to me, cares to hear what I have to say. I was in awe. We talked for about 15-20 minutes, the whole time puppy love is roiling throughout me, and I can't imagine, cannot possibly fathom being able to see what David sees in "The Girl Next Door" and not doing something to prevent it FAR faster than he does. I simply can't.
Yet, there the court transcripts of the Sylvia Likens/Gertrude Baniszewski case are, lying there on the courtroom steps, staring you in the face. These things happened. For months. Her kids, the neighbors' kids, they all got involved. What in God's name can explain that?
It didn't make reading "The Girl Next Door" any easier nor did it make watching its film version more palatable either. I literally cried reading the book, watching the film, and watching An American Crime, and went on a warpath on YouTube with soulless bastards whose contribution after seeing the film, clips etc. was "WTF LMAO." I just want to punch someone in the face.
I know beauty. I know innocence. I know life comes away and snatches it away without warning all the time, in every state of the union. I just can't stomach the idea that obliteration of youth and enjoying all that it is to be a beautiful girl can take this shape whether it's via reality, book or film.
Troy Merrick
(less)

like · see review

Feb 19, 2012 Joana rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller

„Ihr glaubt, ihr wisst, was Schmerz ist?“ - ja, nach diesem Buch weiß ich es.

Ich habe selten ein Buch gelesen, das mich so erschüttert hat wie dieses.
Wäre es fiktiv, wäre es schon schrecklich, aber mit dem Wissen, das sich all dies genauso ereignet hat im Amerika der 60er Jahre, wird das Lesen zur Qual.

Ein Mädchen wird in die Obhut einer Pflegemutter gegeben und was als Beschreibung eines harmlosen Sommers beginnt, entwickelt sich schnell zum absoluten Albtraum. Im Keller gefangen ist Meg ihrer...more „Ihr glaubt, ihr wisst, was Schmerz ist?“ - ja, nach diesem Buch weiß ich es.

Ich habe selten ein Buch gelesen, das mich so erschüttert hat wie dieses.
Wäre es fiktiv, wäre es schon schrecklich, aber mit dem Wissen, das sich all dies genauso ereignet hat im Amerika der 60er Jahre, wird das Lesen zur Qual.

Ein Mädchen wird in die Obhut einer Pflegemutter gegeben und was als Beschreibung eines harmlosen Sommers beginnt, entwickelt sich schnell zum absoluten Albtraum. Im Keller gefangen ist Meg ihrer Pflegemutter, deren Kinder und den Kindern der Nachbarschaft hilflos ausgeliefert. Sie wird gedemütigt, geschlagen, verbrüht, verbrannt, vergewaltigt, gebrandmarkt, über Wochen und Monate hinweg. Von Tag zu Tag steigern sich die Grausamkeiten, denen sie ausgesetzt wird und jeder macht mit, keiner hilft - bis zum bitteren Ende.

Ich habe schon viele Thriller und Horrorbücher gelesen, aber keines war so eindringlich wie dieses, keines hat mich so ins Mark getroffen wie dieses und keines hat mich auch noch lange nachdem ich die letzte Seite gelesen habe, so verfolgt.

Das liegt nur zum Teil daran, dass ich wusste, dass es sich um eine wahre Geschichte handelt (wen sie interessiert, der kann nach Silvia Likens googeln), zum großen Teil lag es jedoch an der Sprache des Autors. In kurzen, hämmernden Sätzen beschreibt er was passiert, so eindringlich, dass man als Leser einerseits gefangen ist und das Gefühl hat, man steckt selbst in diesem Keller, andererseits fast gar nicht mehr weiterlesen möchte, weil man die Brutalität, kaum noch ertragen und hilflos zuschauen muss.

Einerseits hofft man mit Meg und will so schnell wie möglich weiterlesen, um zu sehen, ob sie dem Albtraum entfliehen kann, andererseits möchte man das Buch einfach nur in die Ecke schmeißen und ganz viel Abstand zwischen sich und diese Wörter bringen.

Doch es ist nicht nur dieser Widerspruch, der das Buch auszeichnet, es ist die Beschreibung der Täter, die einen aufhorchen und nachdenken lässt. Man fragt sich, wie konnte das passieren? Wie konnten Kinder zu Folterknechten werden und daran auch noch Spaß haben?

Ketchum trifft dabei mit seinen Sätzen mitten ins Herz. Er schafft es tatsächlich, dass man sich selbst fragt, wie man als Kind in dieser Zeit, in dieser Umgebung und in dieser Situation reagiert hätte. Konnte das tatsächlich „einfach so“ passieren? Was muss passieren, damit "es" passiert? Wird man selbst ein Stück zu David (dem Jungen aus dessen Perspektive das Buch erzählt wird), wenn man weiterliest?

Dieses Buch ist brutal, pervers, wahnsinnig - es lässt einen völlig verstört zurück. Ein Blick in die dunkle Seele der Menschen und das schreckliche Gefühl "mit schuld zu sein".

Wieso sollte man es dann überhaupt lesen?

Weil es solche Bücher geben muss! Es muss Bücher geben, die schonungslos offen legen, was in der Gesellschaft nicht stimmt, die wachrütteln, die Angst machen, die betroffen machen, die vor allem wütend machen! Denn nur so bewegt man etwas in Menschen, bringt sie dazu, wirklich nachzudenken und in Zukunft hoffentlich das Richtige zu tun. Das Buch tut weh und genau das soll es auch.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Oct 21, 2011 Chris rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, suspense

Half-way through I thought that unless Jack Ketchum really is a sick bastard I’d better check up on the background of this story because there’s no possible way he could get away with writing this stuff without repercussions. After my research I was shaken by the fact that much of the torture in this book was based on the true story of Sylvia Likens and the Baniszewskis in 1965. In fact, Jack takes it even further and makes what Meg went through even worse, which really didn’t sit well with my r...more Half-way through I thought that unless Jack Ketchum really is a sick bastard I’d better check up on the background of this story because there’s no possible way he could get away with writing this stuff without repercussions. After my research I was shaken by the fact that much of the torture in this book was based on the true story of Sylvia Likens and the Baniszewskis in 1965. In fact, Jack takes it even further and makes what Meg went through even worse, which really didn’t sit well with my ratings decision. I mean, the real story is horrifying enough, but to cap it off with what they did with the tire rubber? Ugh! Another thing I couldn’t stomach was that the narrator just stood and watched the torture like an indolent slug while most of this was going on. Perverted protagonists who do nothing while their “crush” is being tortured right in front of them just doesn’t compute.

I gave it 2 stars instead of 1 because despite the fact that the appalling events make it one of the most morally disturbing books out there it was still a suspenseful page-turner that kept me strapped to my seat, wanting to know what will happen next. But the interest while reading it is more like the interest one gets when driving by a three car pile-up; you know you shouldn’t, and some part of you doesn’t want to, but you just have to look.

After I read about the Likens case I got all heated and wrote a blog (http://chrisnet.livejournal.com/57718...) about how something like this could happen. It impacted me greatly: what Meg/Sylvia had to endure is unforgettable and the story is truly powerful because these were sweet, innocent girls. Sometimes I wish I’d never read this book, but I guess it’s important to be reminded of the heinous brutality that some people in this world are capable of. I like to think that Sylvia's suffering was not in vain because she's inspired so many people around the world to be courageous and strong in the clutches of a horrendous environment. If you're ever feeling down then just think about what Sylvia went through. Things could always be worse... a lot worse.(less)

2 likes · like · see review

May 10, 2011 Candace Moser rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I gave it 3 stars because I thought it was a decent read, I couldn't put it down and read it in one night. But this book is heralded as a horror classic. What a joke. There is no horror here. Just a well written fictionalized account of the torture of a young girl based on an actual crime (the case of Sylvia Likens). Graphic and uncomfortable does not equal horror.

It was recommended to me because I like horror and gore. People try to recommend me "the most horrible/awful/traumatizing" books they...more

4 likes · like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Consensus: Most disturbing book ever?	46	316	Feb 19, 2013 09:29pm
The Goodreads Dar...: The Girl Next Door - Jack Ketchum	3	13	May 22, 2012 04:46pm
Horror Help	9	47	May 03, 2012 08:28am
Books Stephen Kin...: The Girl Next Door (May Contain Spoilers)	8	56	Apr 21, 2012 10:08pm

combine
Other Editions (20)

More editions...

Genres

Horror

275 users

Thriller

40 users

Mystery > Crime

24 users

Crime > True Crime

18 users

Suspense

14 users

Sociology > Abuse

13 users

Mystery

11 users

Horror > Splatterpunk

8 users

Adult

7 users

Novels

7 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

The Summer I Died
by Ryan C. Thomas
Survivor
by J.F. Gonzalez
Let's Go Play At The Adams'
by Mendal W. Johnson
Endless Night
by Richard Laymon
Pressure
by Jeff Strand

About Jack Ketchum

Jack Ketchum is the pseudonym for a former actor, singer, teacher, literary agent, lumber salesman, and soda jerk -- a former flower child and baby boomer who figures that in 1956 Elvis, dinosaurs and horror probably saved his life. His first novel, Off Season, prompted the Village Voice to publicly scold its publisher in print for publishing violent pornography. He personally disagrees but is per...more

More about Jack Ketchum...

Books by Jack Ketchum

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About The Girl Next Door

6 trivia questions

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from The Girl Next Door

“As though all the world were a bad joke and she was the only one around who knew the punchline.” — 13 people liked it

“The dialogue is solo now. I don’t talk. No matter who’s in bed with me I never do. My thoughts slip off into nightmares sometimes but I don’t share them. I have become now what I only began to be then—completely self-protective.” — 2 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: The Girl Next Door
avg rating	preview: The Girl Next Door Goodreads rating: 3.95 (6073 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11298044-the-girl-next-door?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348475499l/11298044.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11298044-the-girl-next-door?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum[/url]

The Girl Next Door

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website