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Jun 23, 2011

Wendy Darling rated it:

Is it possible to write a story about a child being imprisoned and make it gut-wrenching and relevant? After the disappointment of various different books I've read recently involving kidnapping and child endangerment, I wasn't sure, particularly when it comes to the YA genre. But after reading Living Dead Girl, I have my answer: it's yes. Resoundingly, unequivocally, yes.

15-year-old "Alice" has lived with Ray since she was 10. Kidnapped from a school field trip and taken t More...

29 comments like (54 people liked it)

Jul 23, 2010

Zosia rated it:

I take it back. Stolen isn’t the most disturbing young adult book out there. Living Dead Girl is.

This book is frightening and amazing, and should absolutely NOT be marketed the way it is. It is about a young girl who is abducted, and who - five years later, fifteen years old, and no longer the ‘girl’ she is ‘supposed to be’ - is aware her captor plans to kill her.

In this story there is rape. Paedophilia. Murder. It is told from the point of view of a girl who has been a p More...

12 comments like (58 people liked it)

Feb 27, 2011

Kristi (The Story Siren) added it

Elizabeth Scott is a genius. A literary genius. I’ve read some of Elizabeth’s other titles, and I find myself wondering, how can these be written by the same person. And I don’t mean that in a Stephenie Meyer/Breaking Dawn way. To have that kind of diverse talent, it is simply effing amazing.

I read this book in one setting. It is truly powerful. The emotion– sadness, despair it’s so apparent it’s freaky. How can I say that I loved a book about abduction, sexual abuse, and suffering? More...

2 comments like (19 people liked it)

Sep 02, 2008

Julie rated it:

This book is amazing. I picked it up on a whim, one of the few YA books we had enough copies of at work for me to borrow. Living Dead Girl tells a chilling story from the perspective of "Alice," a 15-year-old who was abducted at age 10 by a man named Ray, who proceeds to spend 5 years molding her into the perfect object of his desire, both physically and mentally.

The book is incredibly disturbing - as it should be. I wanted the entire time to just run to where she was, brea More...

2 comments like (26 people liked it)

May 29, 2011

Emily rated it:

Well, the book leaves scars I can definitely tell you that much. I didn't know quite what to expect from this book, all I'd heard about it previously was that it's a story about abuse and a very short read (170 pages, large writing in my edition). I'd heard reviewers describe it as 'disturbing', but I didn't dwell on that too much, I assumed that when you've read a couple of Stephen King's books (namely It, Misery, etc.) you'd pretty much got your heard around 'disturbing'.

I was wron More...

1 comment like (13 people liked it)

Jul 23, 2010

Tatiana rated it:

Well, people who have told me that "Living Dead Girl" was a horrifying book were absolutely correct. This is definitely one of the most depressing and scary stories I have ever read. Basically every sentence of this novel is a painful assault on your psyche. The descriptions of daily physical, psychological and sexual abuse are almost impossible to bear.

I have to give Elizabeth Scott kudos for creating a very realistic in its atrociousness story that won't leave anyone unto More...

32 comments like (20 people liked it)

Oct 22, 2008

Tasha rated it:

This is one of the most gripping and brutal novels for teens I have ever read. It is the story of Alice, who was abducted as a 10-year-old by Ray, who has sexually and emotionally abused her for five years. Alice knows that if she tries to escape, her entire family will be killed. Now Ray has started starving her to try to maintain her childlike body, not allowing her to get over 100 pounds. His violence is also increasing as are his death threats. Alice has long wanted to die, but death el More...

2 comments like (13 people liked it)

Dec 10, 2008

Melissa rated it:

I can recognize quality writing when I see it and I have to admit that while I did not like or enjoy (if that is even possible) this book it is well written. This review is not a criticism of the author's writing, she is an excellent writer.

I am usually pretty liberal when it comes to teen books I understand that teen books are often on the cutting edge and pushing the boundaries of comfort for their readers to introduce them to the world we live in.

The reasons for More...

27 comments like (17 people liked it)

Oct 10, 2008

Susan rated it:

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

0 comments like (14 people liked it)

Jul 22, 2008

Becky rated it:

Just when you thought Elizabeth Scott was getting to be predictable...along comes LIVING DEAD GIRL. To clarify, I love, love, love Elizabeth Scott. I have happily read and gushed about her first three books: Bloom, Perfect You, and Stealing Heaven.

If I had just a handful of words to describe Living Dead Girl, they'd be: powerful, haunting, and unputdownable.

It is the story of a girl caught in a nightmare. "Alice." A girl who at the age of ten was reborn.

More...

1 comment like (7 people liked it)

Feb 01, 2012

♣Ðᾰƞƞᾰ♥ rated it:

Do you know that kind of book when from the very beginning it is very very boring, and then - a miracle occurs! The ending is just heartbreaking and really good, comparing to the oh-so bad story? Well, this is one of those books! It started out really bad, until the end. All the great potential the book had was sucked till the very end, so while reading you keep wanting to throw the book away.
The writing, I must admit, is absolutely horrible, and I assume this is seriously one of the worst More...

10 comments like (3 people liked it)

Feb 22, 2010

karen rated it:

I probably would have liked this book more if i were a teenager or a pedophile. I mostly just read this for science. it came up in my collection development class when we were talking about challenged books (that doesn't mean that they are handicapped, but that they have been rarrred at by angry parents and other scared concerned types), but when i heard what it was about - i pretty much had to read it to see how an author handled this situation, because it seemed rough stuff for teen fiction. t More...

42 comments like (43 people liked it)

Jan 07, 2012

Tanu rated it:

Before I say anything about the book I would just like to mention that THIS BOOK IS NOT MEANT FOR TEEN READERS!!!! Why would anyone mark it as young adult, its not like Speak or other books about teen problems, ending with some hope, giving readers something to learn from.. I find it surprising that this book has been marked for reluctant teen readers..I am sure that it will only manage to give them nightmares and make them even more reluctant to ever pick up a book.

Having said that More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Mar 18, 2011

Sloan rated it:

Wow... I’m having a hard time finding adequate words to express how I felt reading this novel, if there even are any. It is such a haunting and unforgettable story. I think I will find that even though I have finished this book, it’s going to linger with me for some time.

Living Dead Girl is about a girl who was abducted at the age of 10. She is now 15 and fears that her abductor, Ray, is going to kill her and seek a younger girl to replace her. Half of her wants the pain to end and More...

2 comments like (4 people liked it)

Nov 12, 2008

Donna rated it:

I had to update this review after reading comments by other people about the book. I hated, hated, hated the ending of this book. I would have given it 3 stars if the ending didn't make me so angry. I haven't been this pissed off at a book in a long time. I realize that a lot of people disagree, and they're welcome to their own opinions. I just did not like it. Does that mean it's not worth reading? No. I liked it up until the end, and it does provoke interesting discussions, so I'm not More...

3 comments like (9 people liked it)

Jun 20, 2008

Adriana rated it:

I read this book in less than a day. It is short, but it packs a punch. Very disturbing, very haunting, and very poignant. It follows "Alice" who has been kept by a sexual predator for the last five years after being abducted when she was 10 years old. The way the author describes "Alice's" unimaginable abuse, without being too gory or sensationalist, draws you in and really makes you embrace her character. The disturbing nature of the book makes you want to put it down, More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Dec 29, 2008

Jennifer rated it:

This is a gut-wrenching read. It made me sick to my stomach. I think I read about 30-40 pages, before I had to skip to the end to find out if there was a positive ending . . . The book is told from the point of view of a young lady who is living with a pedophiliac sexual predator. It's heartbreaking and I think a part of the reader dies with this tormented young lady.

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Feb 07, 2011

Emily rated it:

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

2 comments like (9 people liked it)

Apr 19, 2009

Trudi rated it:

I struggled with how to rate this book -- from 1 star, to 5 stars, to no stars. There is a part of me that regrets ever having picked up this book, and definitely a part of me that (for better or worse) will never forget reading it. My first visceral reaction to it was that Scott had penned an outrageously exploitative, gratuitous book, one so gruesome in parts, and so fully realized, that I felt like an accomplice, aiding and abetting "Alice's" abductor. The book left me reeling from More...

3 comments like (12 people liked it)

Oct 04, 2008

Diana rated it:

Keep in mind the stars indicate how much I liked a book, not necessarily how good it is. This horrifying book is incredibly powerful. It tells the story of a girl kidnapped by a sexual predator just before her 10th birthday. It gave me nightmares and made me depressed probably because it is far too real. I would recommend this only for people who can handle reading about the very darkest side of life.

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jan 13, 2009

Terri rated it:

This book goes beyond dark... it's the most disturbing book I ever read, yet I found it compelling. I didn't want to continue reading, but I had to find out what happened to "Alice." I wanted so badly for there to be a happy ending while all the time knowing that a story such as this one never ends happily... the mental scars run too deeply.

"Alice" was abducted by a child predator while on a school field trip at age 10 and has been a victim of Ray's sexual, menta More...

0 comments like (8 people liked it)

Sep 16, 2011

Tyler rated it:

This was a good book with a lot of things you had to infer, a lot of good descriptions, and really good imagery. Too good imagery, actually. I don't know if I'll ever forget what happened in this book. I can't get that name out of my head, Kyla Davis. She lived at 623 Daisy Lane. I cannot get her name out of my head. I can't get that adress out of my head. And I can't get her story out of my head either. Stories are made up, and they only work when you know the end. She thought she knew her end More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 26, 2009

Suzanne rated it:

Elizabeth Scott does a masterful job of building horror and suspense. This book was an upsetting read especially to the mother of a daughter (as I am), and I found myself skimming the more-graphic parts. A departure from her previous work, Scott's Living Dead Girl will haunt readers for a long time.

3 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jul 09, 2011

Shelley rated it:

This is such a deeply moving, disturbing, troubling, and emotional book that each and every parent of a small child, or teenager less than 18 years of age should be required to read and keep on their bookshelves to read again. I'm not sure that marketing it for the younger audience is a good thing or a bad thing. I would say that if they were to read this, then read it with an older relative so that they can talk it out when the book is done. Teenagers have a short attention span and will defini More...

5 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 21, 2008

Barky rated it:

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

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jun 17, 2011

Katya rated it:

Read it, and now I want to crawl into a corner with my thumb in my mouth.

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*shudders* Even in June, this book still gives me the chills.

Ok, the reason why it took me so long to review this one is because I felt like it spoke for itself. There are never two opinions that are alike, of course, but I think this book was pretty straightforward about its message and didn't need me throwing my tw More...

7 comments like (3 people liked it)

Oct 02, 2011

Shanyn rated it:

Elizabeth Scott is one of my favorite authors. I knew that Living Dead Girl was a darker read than Scott's other novels, so when I found it at the library I set it on my desk for a little while to make sure that I was in the right mood before reading it - I think this was a wise decision.

It's not a long book by any means, and for that I am grateful - I was unable to stop reading for any reason until I reached the end because it was so heart wrenching. I knew that if I stopped reading More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 31, 2009

Staci rated it:

I read this story in one day not because I was in love with it, rather because I needed it to end. Don't take this the wrong way. It was a good book, but the subject matter made me uncomfortable and sick to my stomach. I know that this happens to kids, both boys and girls, all over the world. I realize that there are sick and twisted people that walk among us. But this book brought these people off of the pages and into my world. The book starts out fast and furious and never lets you go. I foun More...

1 comment like (6 people liked it)

Nov 21, 2008

Lee Anne rated it:

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

6 comments like (2 people liked it)

Sep 15, 2008

Rachael rated it:

When Alice was ten years old, she was kidnapped by a stranger, a man named Ray. Of course then, her name wasn’t Alice. She was a little girl with friends, family, and a life, but now she has lost it all in exchange for Ray. For five years, Alice has endured physical, mental, and sexual abuse, but there’s nothing she can do about it. She has no way of escape from this life, not even death, or else the family from her old life, her life before Ray, will be killed. Alice is stuck in the empty life More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

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