The Girl Next Door

by Jack Ketchum

book data

454 ratings, 3.98 average rating, 101 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		38%
4		31%
3		20%
2		6%
1		2%

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published

May 31st 2005 (first published 1989) by Leisure Books

binding

Mass Market Paperback, 370 pages

isbn

0843955430 (isbn13: 9780843955439)

description

Features a 3,000 word Introduction by Stephen King!

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08/01/07

Tommy rated it:

bookshelves: 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...more

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04/25/08

Kristen rated it:

bookshelves: horror

Read in January, 2008

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...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)

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06/19/07

Peter rated it:

Read in June, 2007

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 Stan...more

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2 comments

01/05/09

Keith rated it:

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 own...more

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04/27/08

Patrick rated it:

bookshelves: 2008

Read in July, 2008

recommended to Patrick by: Stephen King

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...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)

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01/22/08

Bill rated it:

bookshelves: horror

Read in August, 2005

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 ...more

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05/12/08

Kim rated it:

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...more

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04/22/09

Bryan rated it:

This may be the saddest, most depressing book I've ever read. It reminds me of films like The Grey Zone or Grave of the Fireflies, that are masterfully crafted and emotionally powerful, but so oppressively grim that I hesitate to recommend it.

It's a story about the imprisonment and torture of a young girl by the family she's living with, as told from the point of view of a friend who was forced to witness and participate in the torture. I'm going to spoil the ending because I think i...more

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11/10/07

Jeremy rated it:

Read in November, 2007

recommends it for: horror fans

I've been reading books since I was five years old. I'm 35 now. And during my thirty year-long love affair with books, none have been as sadistic and horrifyingly grim as this one.

Imagine a story that reads like "To Kill A Mockingbird", except with heaping amounts of child abuse and torture.

"The Girl Next Door" grabbed me by the guts and made me watch the hideousness between its covers, much like its protagonist was forced to watch the brutal degradati...more

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07/07/07

Abby Grr rated it:

bookshelves: other-stuff-read

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in June, 2007

I read this on a camping trip this summer and am still, to this day, not sure how I feel about it.
It is NOTHING of what I expected it to be. And I just read the other day that someone is picking up the rights to turn it into a movie. It's a little disturbing.
I feel like if I said it was a good book then I would be an extremely dirty and bad person. I want to say it was bad but it was written well and not cheesy or corny or anything of that nature.
I'm confused...

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3 comments

03/24/09

Jason rated it:

This was quite possibly one of the most vile and disturbing stories I've ever read. It's a testament to how well Ketchum writes that I didn't simply put it down. I felt a little better after reading the note from the author at the end of the book -- apparently he had taken parts of a true life story he'd read about and made a fictional story from it. On one hand, I'm glad this sick story wasn't the invention of someone for entertainment purposes. On the other hand, it makes me question human...more

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07/12/08

Morbideus rated it:

Read in July, 2007

Given the subject matter, the story is told as tastefully and respectfully as I think it ever could be. Oddly enough, the true case this story was based on, is more disturbing than this book, and that says a LOT. Any closer to reality, it would be un-readable... I've been fascinated several times now with Ketchum's ability to really get inside the heads of his villains, this book is no exception.

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10/26/07

Lee rated it:

Read in July, 2004

recommends it for: Anybody that can handle it

Not much really needs to be said about this book that other's have not already said over and over. It is simply put the most disturbing book I have ever read and it bothered me for a long time. Nobody can write as simple as Jack Ketchum and still hold your attention. For a five start book and one of my favorites ever, I will probably never read it again, once was enough but it was worth the ride.

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08/10/08

Trevor rated it:

bookshelves: horror

Read in September, 2008

This book had me feeling like I did when I read Stephen King's novella, The Body, when I was a teen. Ketchum places readers in a bucolic 1950s small-town setting, where the doors are always open and unlocked and how adults treat children is considered private business. It's this sense of privacy and adult superiority over children where the evil and horror is cultivated within TGND.

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03/11/08

Lindsay rated it:

bookshelves: read-horror, top-20-favorites

My absolute favorite book, ever! This book is not for the faint of heart. It has many scenes that are offensive and sometimes even disgusting. Ketchum writes horror books that portray how evil humans can be. Anyone who loves horror and has a strong stomach should read this book. But beware, it stays with you long after you finish it

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4 comments

02/11/08

Jamie rated it:

Read in February, 2008

recommends it for: no one

A friend was talking about this book over dinner and saying how much he liked the writing style as well as the book in general. I didn't see it. In fact, it was nothing more than graphic abuse and torture...written by a male, but about a female. So it felt more like some perverse fantasy than a real book. No more books by this guy. Ugh!

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4 comments

08/01/07

Tressa rated it:

bookshelves: crime-fiction

This book was well written, but I could barely bring myself to get through it. I'm a chicken when it comes to watching or reading about people being physically, mentally and verbally abused, and no one stepping in to stop it. What makes it worse is that this book is based on a true story.

The ending made gave me a tiny sense of satisfaction.

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2 comments

02/16/09

Robert rated it:

(review of isbn 1892950618)

bookshelves: read-in-2009

Read in February, 2009

First, I feel a need to say that the violence in the book, while extreme, is not the reason for the low rating. I've read much, much worse (Hogg by Samuel Delaney), and I can deal with it. What I take issue with here is the amateurish writing, the frustratingly stupid narrator, and the predictable plot.

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07/04/08

Christina rated it:

(review of isbn 0843960973)

bookshelves: horror

By the time I reached the epilogue, I was shaking and crying uncontrollably - that's how strong this book impacted on me. I don't think I've ever had such a strong reaction to a novel. Probably not best to read if you want to continue wearing your rose-coloured glasses. But, my God, I'm so glad I read this.

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03/04/09

Emily rated it:

A decent book, but I was confounded throughout most of it due to its distinct similarity to the film An American Crime, which is based on a true story. The details were virtually identical. This irritated me, until I found out it was a literary adaption of the case. Someone should have told me sooner, because this huge, nagging suspicion that I had been here before sort of ruined the experience for me. It was written well for what it is & moved along at a nice pace. This is definitely an uncomfo...more

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