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Living Dead Girl

Elizabeth Scott (Goodreads Author)

3.80 · Rating details · 28,239 ratings · 4,095 reviews

Once upon a time, I was a little girl who disappeared.

Once upon a time, my name was not Alice.

Once upon a time, I didn't know how lucky I was.

When Alice was ten, Ray took her away from her family, her friends -- her life. She learned to give up all power, to endure all pain. She waited for the nightmare to be over.

Now Alice is fifteen and Ray still has her, but h ...more

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Hardcover, 170 pages

Published September 2nd 2008 by Simon Pulse

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· 28,239 ratings · 4,095 reviews

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Feb 22, 2010 karen rated it liked it

Shelves: icky-sex, why-yes-i-ya

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 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. the basic premise - although i hate doing plot summaries - is that "alice" (the first-person narrator)is kidnapped when she is ten and physically and sexually abused for 5 years, but when she starts to develop physically beyond her captor's personal preference, he enlists her help in selecting her own replacement. so -ew. and i don't know anything about psychology, child or otherwise, so i don't know the terminology, but she just completely shuts down, emotionally, into a not-quite-stockholm syndrome - she doesn't align herself with him for anything but self-preservation, but she has just given up fighting and does what he wants, because he has made threats about hurting her family etc. so - she has all this freedom to leave the house and go to the park to find this new-child for him, but she can't do anything to save herself, which is very frustrating for the reader.The author gets 5 stars for balls - for tackling the subject matter to begin with and for the ending which i'm sure had some people up in startled emotional flight mode.and as a cautionary tale, it should also get 5 stars, although a teen audience is a little old for the caution, and any younger readers would be traumatized beyond therapy. do not give this book to your 8-year-old. just tell them to stay away from unmarked vans. i just personally didn't connect to it. the subject matter is horrifying, but in the abstract, and this character's shutdown response didn't make me want to save her so much as walk in, splash some water on her and say "snap out of it". when i was little, these were my literary kidnapping equivalents:

and they were way more gentle in terms of what the girls went through, wayyyy fewer forced blowjobs, but it gave me a total sense of confidence - if i got my ass kidnapped, i could get out of it with my cleverness. i used to dream about being kidnapped, and the ways i would elude my tormentors. it's probably a really good thing i was never actually kidnapped, because this here book is probably closer to the reality - feisty kids don't always win, but this might have made me a little more of a shut-in, and may have ruined my devil-may-care years, so i would have lost some good adventure-stories. i didn't personally love this book, but there's no reason it shouldn't be in a library. libraries are full of books. you don't like this one, don't write an angry letter, just go read another one. hell, i'm about to.

come to my blog! ...more

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May 18, 2011 Wendy Darling rated it really liked it

Recommended to Wendy Darling by: Ginny

Shelves: to-acquire-arc-or-pb, adult, tough-subjects, read-2011, realistic-fiction, mature-ya, made-my-heart-hurt, young-adult

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 to Shady Pines Apartmen 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 to Shady Pines Apartments, she lives among ordinary people who don't really see her or don't really want to. Every day Ray cuddles her on his lap and forces her to submit to him, punishing her with his fists and his words if she does anything to displease him. Her attempts to defy him--including one botched escape--are met with out-of-control violence until her resistance is completely beaten down.

This is not an easy book to read. While it is not explicit, the terrible things that Alice is subjected to are not glossed over. I've seen some criticisms that the book goes overboard in describing what she is forced to do, but I disagree. The reality is that there are children out there who have been and no doubt currently are subjected to this kind of torture, and the description and repetition of these acts helps us to understand in some small way what victims have to go through. I never thought the descriptions crossed the line in terms of tastelessness or exploitation.

The author does an incredible job of describing Alice's terror and confusion, as well as her eventual numbness. There are many details worked into the story that have a ring of truth, including the dull repetition of her days watching tv, the anxiety when Ray comes home, the punishments meted out for small infractions, the attempts to keep her small and childlike, Alice's lank appearance and poor circulation from lack of nutrition, etc. Most importantly, the author touches on the way abuse tends to perpetrate more abuse and the awful resignation that Alice begins to feel to her plight.

I don't understand why my shell keeps living. Breathing. Why won't it listen to me, to the little part I have that isn't Ray, to that tiny once upon a time girl who just wants to close her eyes and never wake up again?

There were so many details that made me hurt with empathy for Alice, not only in relation to her sexual abuse, but also in relation to the way Ray starves her as a means to control her and to keep her from growing up. The descriptions of her sharp hunger after days of eating practically nothing were heart-wrenching. Alice describes tasting a sandwich with "not one, but two slices of...salty cheese and slippery ham and cottony bread, so light in my mouth. I could eat these forever, until the world ended and beyond."

I have a great deal of admiration for the author for writing about this subject with such restraint and sympathy. This isn't a perfect book--I thought the "once upon a time" device was repetitious and not entirely successful--but it is a searingly memorable one that handles a difficult subject with great skill. I don't feel that "serious" books that are primarily about kidnapping and imprisonment are enjoyable for the sake of pure entertainment, and that's the primary objection I have to the fictional books I've previously read that deal with this subject. I go into this more in my review of the disappointing and much-lauded Room, but suffice to say that what I hope to gain from reading about such unhappy subjects are some degree of insight (into both the victim's suffering and the perpetrator's motivation) as well as a great deal of empathy. I got both in spades with Living Dead Girl.

Recommended for adults or mature teens only.

...more

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May 16, 2011 Emily May rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, young-adult

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 wrong. The author draws you in with her unique and just plain strange writing style, despite being weird it's also very effective. It takes us deep inside the mind of a person who has not only suffered extreme physical and sexual abuse (though there's been plenty of that) but has also been so psychologically damaged that her hope is only for death to come swiftly, she is so desperate that she is even willing to sacrifice a young girl to make her suffering end. And, awful as that is, I couldn't hate her for it.

I've read a number of books where the first person narrative is by someone mentally damaged; some work (e.g. The Bell Jar), most do not. Scott's not only worked, but affected me deeply. I could also see how Ray's past experiences of abuse and a loveless childhood had made him the monster he was, he was never meant to be redeemed, but perhaps understood to some extent. The entire story was very fast, very horrifying and completely unforgettable. My first thoughts when I put it down were "I have to get someone else to read this now", despite it not being something I'd normally go about recommending to friends with a casual "enjoy!" thrown in.

It's labelled a young adult novel, god knows why but it is. This book would have given me nightmares a few years ago - and it may well give me nightmares tonight. I don't think for one second that this is particularly a children/teenage story, in fact it's debatable as to whether or not it's actually suitable for them at all. The writing itself is neither simplistic or teen/child-oriented, but deep and complex.

I certainly won't forget this book, whether or not that's a good thing though, remains undecided. ...more

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Oct 16, 2014 Irena BookDustMagic rated it it was amazing

Edit: the pedophile I'm talking about in my review died this year (2019).

I came across this book one day watching some BookTube video named "All Time Favorites". It's blurb got me interested so I bought it but haven't picked it up for a couple of months.

Yesterday, I didn't feel like reading any book I already started but didn't want to commit myself to another one, so this book seemed like an obvious choice because it's pretty short.

I finished this book in a day but it's story will stuck with me ...more

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Jul 18, 2008 Kristi rated it it was amazing

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? Why do you ...more

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Sep 02, 2008 Julie rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: mature teenagers, adults

Shelves: 2008, young-adult, signed-out, fiction, horror

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, break the door down and ge ...more

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May 22, 2015 ✦❋Arianna✦❋ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: dark-romance

“I look wrong.
I look dead.
I'm not, though. I'm only partway there, a living dead girl.
I have been for five years.”

‘Alice’ is a 15 years old girl who was kidnapped when she was 10 and taken to Shady Pines Apartments. She lives with her captor, Ray, who pretends they are father and daughter. But Ray doesn’t treat ‘Alice’ like a daughter. He abuses her in every way possible, calling her ‘his little girl’, demanding to be a good girl for her daddy. Alice learnt the hard way that sh ...more

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Apr 14, 2009 Trudi rated it it was amazing

Shelves: modern-lit, heart-of-darkness, 2009, twss, pass-the-kleenex, traumatizing, uber-graphic-extreme, woman-in-peril, what-the-bleep

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 shock and ...more

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Aug 09, 2009 Tatiana rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, ya

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 untouched. The despicable ...more

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Feb 01, 2011 Emily rated it did not like it

Shelves: horror, young-adult, tragedy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. UGH. I never had any intention of reading this book until Bitch Magazine posted a list of Feminist YA books on their website this weekend and, much to my surprise, this was on it. I questioned its place on the list, a staffer said they'd look into it, and I second guessed myself. Turns out I was right the first time: this isn't feminist at all. What's more, I'd say that this is the literary equivalent of torture porn, except worse than anything you'll actually ever see on the big screen; this bo UGH. I never had any intention of reading this book until Bitch Magazine posted a list of Feminist YA books on their website this weekend and, much to my surprise, this was on it. I questioned its place on the list, a staffer said they'd look into it, and I second guessed myself. Turns out I was right the first time: this isn't feminist at all. What's more, I'd say that this is the literary equivalent of torture porn, except worse than anything you'll actually ever see on the big screen; this book has no redeeming social value whatsoever.

(Edited a week later to add some thoughts I've better developed since discussing with librarian buddies who both love and hate this book.)

I can't deny that this book will appeal to horror-hungry teens, and as a librarian I have to give it credit for that. But frankly, it is ONLY as a genre horror novel that I can give it credit. Same way I don't want to watch Hostel, I don't want to read books like this. Clearly some people do, so however much I personally might have hated the experience of reading it, I can accept that this is a different strokes kind of thing. But I have a real problem with this book being marketed as anything other than horror. It SHOCKS me that anyone could call this a feminist work.

Does it make sense to say that the bleakness of this book makes it pointless? I just wonder, what does a teen reader, or any reader, have to hold onto at the end? Kyla is already apparently damaged beyond repair when the book begins, completely broken and tragic, but well on her way to monstrous, too: using her own sexuality to control others who she perceives as being weak; viciously mean when she has the opportunity to be; positively gleeful over the thought of freeing herself at the cost of another girl's freedom. It seems to me that with the ending she gives us, Scott lazily skirts around the possibility of recovery, of any possible empowerment or justice. And I'm not someone who thinks every book should have a happy (or even optimistic) ending, I just think that THIS book becomes pointless without one. There's no story here -- this is a completely bleak and voyeuristic snapshot of horrific abuse and NOTHING ELSE, merely something you tell little girls to scare them into submission. I think, in the end, a reader has nothing to gain from this book except for a good scare (which it certainly delivers), and I think that does discredit it, pretty much entirely, as a piece of serious literary fiction.

I will say that I thought Scott's writing was much, much better here than in the very boring and awkward Perfect You (except for the dialog, which this author cannot write at all).

But all in all I was happier person before I read this, and the world was probably a better place before it was written. Yuck. A million yucks. I want a shower.

For a better, smarter captor/captive book, try Room. For a better, smarter abuse book, try Push. ...more

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Nov 30, 2017 Kelly (and the Book Boar) rated it really liked it

Shelves: liburrrrrry-book, nutters, read-in-2017, skillet-to-the-face, ya-for-grown-ups, black-as-mitchell-s-heart

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/

“I decide everything. Remember that.” God and monster all in one, and mine to worship.

First of all . . . .

Well, minus the crying. This was rough, but it takes more than a brutal storyline to get me to squirt some tears (more specifically, my period). Living Dead Girl is about – here I’ll just let the book tell you . . . .

“Once upon a time, I did not live in Shady Pines. Once upon a time, my name was not Alice. Once upon a ...more

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Feb 16, 2012 Lora rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Recommends it for: not going there

Shelves: lib-audiobooks

Here's what I'd like to know: What made Elizabeth Scott go from Sarah Dessen to Ellen Hopkins and back again? Scott's fourth YA offering, Living Dead Girl, is so far removed from her other works that I'm finding it hard to believe they're even written by the same author. Living Dead Girl is raw and repulsive, whereas all of Scott's other stories are sunshine and butterflies swirling over romantic heads.
When an author begins writing, they usually decide what sort of stories they will write most o Here's what I'd like to know: What made Elizabeth Scott go from Sarah Dessen to Ellen Hopkins and back again? Scott's fourth YA offering, Living Dead Girl, is so far removed from her other works that I'm finding it hard to believe they're even written by the same author. Living Dead Girl is raw and repulsive, whereas all of Scott's other stories are sunshine and butterflies swirling over romantic heads.
When an author begins writing, they usually decide what sort of stories they will write most often, what genre they'd like to be best known for. Create a brand for themselves, if you will. I just don't know how Scott could go from this to the fluffy chick-lit stories she writes nowadays.

It is as if Scott just sat down and started typing the most abhorrent story she could think of. Although the discriptions aren't graphic, the reader knows all too well what is happening to Alice, again and again and again .
She is starved in order to be kept small, because when Ray took her she was only ten and is now fifteen. She's allowed to weigh no more than 100 pounds and lives off of mostly yogurt and scraps that he occasionally allows her to have. If it weren't for her sneaking and eating food left by people in their apartment's laundry room and other sorts of hideouts, she'd be dead by now.
She is raped — both vaginally and orally — multiple times each day. She lives to serve Ray, is seldom allowed to speak and her education ended when she fell into Ray's clutches. That is, her normal education. With Ray she has been taught all sorts of nasty things.
As he would have it, they live under the pretense that he is her father, but of course her real parents are long gone. They live at 623 Daisy Lane, and should Alice ever try to escape from her hell on earth, Ray will go to her parents' house and burn it to the ground.
The girl whom Ray had before her, Alice (he names all of his children this; the current Alice's real name isn't revealed until the very end), was killed at fifteen and found floating in the river. The Alice of today figures that he'll surely soon tire of her and pick a new little girl, but every time he threatens her life survival instincts kick in and she begs to be allowed to live. Even though she isn't really living, merely existing.

The fact is, with the blunt news stories and knowledge that most people have, it doesn't take a very active imagination to guess at some of the sick things that happen in this world. Therefore I see no point to this story. And it's supposed to be for a teen audience? I'm sorry but, WTF?
And I understand that bittersweet absolution is the only form of a happy ending that could work here (view spoiler), but if there could be something to learn, to take, from this story — other than that paranoia isn't a bad thing when it comes to your children and that the word overprotective should never be applied to a careful parent — I'd be more inclinded to see the reasoning behind the creation of a story such as this. But as it stands, other than scarring the reader for life, I don't see the relevance of this story.
And I cannot, in good conscience, say that I actually liked this book and its contents. For that reason, I can give it no more than 2.5 stars rounded down to 2. ...more

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Oct 08, 2008 Susan rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: those who like A Child Called It, also possibly Jailbait

Recommended to Susan by: talked about on yalsa-bk

Shelves: ya-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. It's hard to say that I liked this book. I am still mulling over it and find it remarkably disturbing. A fictional account of a 15 year old girl, "Alice", who was not always Alice. She used to be a sheltered, spoiled girl until days before her 10th birthday when she is abducted by a sexual predator named Ray. And she is not Ray's first victim--she is terrified into staying with him, despite the fact that he leaves her alone every day to go to work, because he threatens to kill her family if she It's hard to say that I liked this book. I am still mulling over it and find it remarkably disturbing. A fictional account of a 15 year old girl, "Alice", who was not always Alice. She used to be a sheltered, spoiled girl until days before her 10th birthday when she is abducted by a sexual predator named Ray. And she is not Ray's first victim--she is terrified into staying with him, despite the fact that he leaves her alone every day to go to work, because he threatens to kill her family if she leaves. He killed the last Alice when she turned 15, as a womanly shape is not to his liking. Then he killed Alice's parents, and well before then he killed his own sexually abusive mother.

Now that Alice is 15 she wants nothing more for him to end her life as the living dead girl, the girl who is neither living nor able to die. She is a shell of what she once was. People do not notice her. They have lived in their apartment several years, yet she goes mostly unnoticed. Neighnors even praise Ray's parenting a "different" girl who requires home schooling. However, Ray's plans for her are much more sinister than mere murder. Alice will help him find his next youthful victim, and she will hold her hands while he breaks her in, she will teach the new girl what Ray likes. Initially Alice is more than happy to do this. She is so damaged that rather than being horrifed at this possibily she is anxious to find someone that Ray would rather be with than her, someone to unspoil, show them what the cruel world is like. Alice will steal her food to keep her small - as Alice herself is practically starved to remain a prepubescent 100 pounds who does not menstruate, who does not have hips or breasts.

So, Alice finds 6 year old Lucy (whom Ray will call Annabelle) at the park. She also meets Barbara, a police woman who has taken notice of her frail appearance. Over several days time, she seduces Lucy's stoner brother Jake as a distraction so that Ray can take her. But the numbness begins to wear off, and Jake notices Ray watching her and she weakly asks for help. In the end, Jake returns with a gun when Ray tries to grab hold of the screaming Annbelle. He shoots him, thinking himself the hero until he realizes that he's also shot Alice in the stomach -- before dying she tells Jake her real name (which the reader finally learns is Kyla) and address and she collapses underneath Ray's weight and is "finally free".

A devastating as it is, there really was no other way for this story to end happily. Alice is damaged beyond repair, I don't see how she could have recovered and lived a normal life after the 5 years of sexual, physical, and mental abuse she was subjected to. I'm just glad that Ray met his end and that ultimately she met her end because of him it wasn't by his hand.

...more

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Feb 18, 2010 Rachel rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya

Terrifying. The ending wasn't what I'd hoped for, but not because it was bad. Because it was real. ...more

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Oct 18, 2009 Arlene rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2010, shock-n-awe

This is truly a horrific book; one that I want to forget, but probably never will.

The writing is superb, but the content is beyond my cognitive comprehension…truly disturbing, haunting and poignant that propelled me to a level of angst I wasn't prepared to experience. I was warned to proceed with caution on this book and being the curious person that I am, I didn't listen. BIG.MISTAKE. The story was about a 10 year old girl that was abducted from a school trip by a sexual predator. After five ye ...more

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Oct 01, 2016 Elle (ellexamines) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: z-2015reads, 4-star, mystery-suspense

Living Dead Girl is one of the most disturbing books I've ever read. It's memorable in its scariness and in its realness.

The protagonist has been the victim of sexual abuse by a much older man for years. Her only hope is to draw another girl into her fate and await her own murder. The author draws you in with an interesting writing style and suspenseful tone, keeping you hooked to the end. Her usage of a dry narrative style with less punctuation really added emotion here.

But this isn't just a ...more

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Sep 13, 2014 Aj the Ravenous Reader rated it liked it

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

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Dec 08, 2008 Melissa rated it did not like it

Recommends it for: I'm not sure I could recommend it

Shelves: with-reviews

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 which I gave this book only ...more

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Jun 13, 2017 Dannii Elle rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mysterious-miasmas, adult-books-read

Heart-breaking! Review to follow.

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Feb 22, 2012 Penny rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya-fiction

A difficult book for a mother of three little girls to read. Frightening. Devastating. Heartbreaking. I hate this book because it made me feel so much, too much. Reduced me to genuine sobs, as if I was mourning the passing of a loved one. This story will haunt me forever. I am able appreciate Living Dead Girl for these reasons.

Regardless of the content, the subject matter, Living Dead Girl is well-crafted. Every word has a purpose, every sentence deliberate. The imagery is in-your-face, brazen, ...more

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Mar 12, 2017 Razan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

That was so horrifying and heartbreaking !!!
And it's so sad that these things do happen in real life and some of those criminals getaway with it T^T ...more

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Jun 30, 2011 Shayantani rated it really liked it

“no one would listen. I could have screamed a million times in a million voices and no one would have ever heard me. I did,every time I left the apartment, with every step I took out in the world. All those cries, and no one ever heard them” Alice..

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Oct 22, 2008 Tasha rated it it was amazing

Shelves: teen

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 eludes ...more

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Apr 25, 2013 Rebecca marked it as dnf

Shelves: dark

OK....so. DNF

I love twisted, I love dark, I love a mind melt. But not like this...never ever like this.
APPARENTLY THIS IS YA WHAT THE FUH WORLD?? WHY??

My face reading this...

I actually enjoyed the writing and I wasn't bored or anything, I kind of want to finish it but I feel too much like a sicko- not a judgment of people who have read it at all. I just feel like a voyeur and in this context I have NO DESIRE to read it.
I have kids and maybe this is why....I am used to warnings and usually this m ...more

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Feb 07, 2018 Sierra rated it liked it

Shelves: authors-l-z, young-adult, hardcover, 449-pages-or-less, realistic-fiction, female-authors, 3-stars

This was an okay book, just not really my cup of tea though.

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Sep 20, 2009 Kody Keplinger rated it it was amazing

LIVING DEAD GIRL is amazing, heartbreaking, and beautiful. I was terrified and intrigued. I had to carve a dark place in my heart to store this book, and I will be haunted for weeks.

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Aug 11, 2011 lauren ♡ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 5-stars, genre-contemporary, read-in-2016, made-me-cry

Read this review @ my blog Wonderless Reviews

Trigger warning: This book includes graphic violence and rape scenes and deals with pedophilia.

I often start my reviews by saying, “I’m not quite sure how to review this” but when I say this about Living Dead Girl I truly mean it. This is one of the most upsetting and disturbing books I’ve ever read.

I added Living Dead Girl to my TBR on Goodreads years ago so when I found it out a local library sale for 50c I bought and read it right away. I knew noth ...more

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Sep 29, 2008 Donna rated it it was ok

Recommends it for: Fans of short, depressing books like John Steinbeck's "The Pearl"

Shelves: teen, crime

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 going to ...more

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Apr 14, 2015 pink (not just another shade of red) rated it liked it

Shelves: all-the-26-book-challengr, about-or-with-death-suicide-whatnot, horror-disturbing-morbid

Some books entertain. Some amaze. Some scare. Some bore. The lines are always clear. We almost always know what kind of books we had in hand. We have many ways to help us define them. Genres.Publisher. Author. Reviews. Star-ratings.
This book,however,transcends lines. It's the kind that tears. The kind that gnaws at your subconscious in the middle of the night. On one hand,the writing is excellent and so very effective. The world built solidly. The characters so real you won't be surprised if the Some books entertain. Some amaze. Some scare. Some bore. The lines are always clear. We almost always know what kind of books we had in hand. We have many ways to help us define them. Genres.Publisher. Author. Reviews. Star-ratings.
This book,however,transcends lines. It's the kind that tears. The kind that gnaws at your subconscious in the middle of the night. On one hand,the writing is excellent and so very effective. The world built solidly. The characters so real you won't be surprised if they grabbed you by the hand and pull you into the pages. The plot seamless. If we are only to consider Elizabeth Scotts immense talent this book would easily get a 5star rating.
On the other hand,there's the fact that this must be one of the most disturbing book ever written. Yes, the very dark and dangerous materials were handled so well. But. That's. The. Point. Exactly. This brilliant author did such a spectacular job in creating such a horrific and painful atmosphere of being trapped,abused, and hurt that I feel utterly suffocated just by reading all about it. And the violence is too much. Too much. I'm aware those kind of horrible things are possibly happening to some helpless,little girls somewhere but that just made me more sick. The villain of this book is simply beyond description. He's the kind I'd enjoy killing brutally if he were a real person and standing in front of me. (Though God forbid!!!) Yet the evil of this is nothing like fictional evil, no mutated giant rats invading the earth nor zombies looking like Abercrombie slash Fitch tempting teenage girls to join the dark them to the dark side. No,this is the kind of simple,sick everyday evil. The kind that makes you cringe. The kind that makes you want to close your eyes. It's like that with this book,you know that feeling of being fascinated with a video of a carcrash. All the time I'm going nonono can't take this anymore!but keep on turning the pages. Thank God the book is only a few pages. It's over soon. The last chapter left me stunned.
In my mind I'm screaming You Are Free Now! Please! Stop! You're free...
What? What did you say?
I am free.
Just like that,like a final blow in the gut.

So... I'm wondering how could this one possibly be nominated for all those children's and teen's stuff reading selections and such because personally I won't advise anyone below 15 to read this without adult supervision or something. But I still can't find it in my heart to give it lower than 3 stars because Scott is such a talented writer. So three stars. More like 2.5.....Ok,3. ...more

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Dec 21, 2008 Arminzerella rated it liked it

Shelves: suspense-thriller, young-adult-fiction, dark, rape, abduction, horrifying, sexual-abuse

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. When “Alice” was a little girl, she was taken by a stranger while she was on a field trip to the aquarium. The man, Ray, offered to reunite her with her classmates, but ended up taking her to his car and bringing her to his home. There, he sexually abused her as his mother had once abused him. When she’d told him who she was and where her parents lived, he threatened to murder them if she ever told anyone what he’d done to her. Alice had to live with this man until she was fifteen. By then she w When “Alice” was a little girl, she was taken by a stranger while she was on a field trip to the aquarium. The man, Ray, offered to reunite her with her classmates, but ended up taking her to his car and bringing her to his home. There, he sexually abused her as his mother had once abused him. When she’d told him who she was and where her parents lived, he threatened to murder them if she ever told anyone what he’d done to her. Alice had to live with this man until she was fifteen. By then she was growing into a young woman, which made Ray angry. He wanted her to stay a little girl forever and forced her to wear children’s clothing, starved her so she wouldn’t grow or menstruate, and sent her out to have her body waxed so that she’d remain smooth and hairless. Alice only wants Ray to leave her alone and she doesn’t really care how she achieves that goal. So, when Ray suggests that Alice help him find a new little girl to play with, she’s all for it – anything to redirect his attention away from her. She selects a girl at the park for Ray and they begin planning how they’ll take her. A tiny, fragile hope blooms in Alice that Ray will let her go once he has a new distraction.

This was one of the most chilling things I’ve read in a long time. Alice’s situation was both terrible and painful, and while the acts her captor committed on her mind and body weren’t detailed in all of their graphic horror, it was bad enough to imagine what took place between the words. Alice loathes what she has become and does everything to make herself unattractive to Ray – without making him so angry that he punishes her. It doesn’t matter, though. Everything makes him angry, and whatever he does to her is punishment – whether she’s actually been bad or not. His “love” is punishment. The depth of Alice’s apathy is frightening. She’s truly been turned into some kind of warped husk of what she used to be.

When Alice convinces Ray to take the little girl in the park, it’s incredibly creepy just how willing she is to sacrifice that child’s innocence and happiness to save herself. And not even to save herself for anything. She has no plans to better herself, no plans to find help, no plans for her future except to get away from Ray. Up until she tells the girl to run, it seems that Alice is trapped in the vicious cycle of abuse (and if this were a V.C. Andrews novel, the sequel would bear that out), and that she is going to be its next perpetrator. Alice’s would-be savior shoots Ray as he comes for Alice and the little girl. Ray goes down, but so does Alice. And this is her dream ending – relief, bliss, final release. She’s so destroyed that only death brings her the peace that she longs for. I wondered (hopefully, you will, too) whether Alice could have made it on her own if she’d gotten away, gotten some kind of help. There’s a cop who gives her information about a center for girls who are in some kind of trouble, and readers will hope that she somehow finds the courage to go there, to get the assistance she needs. But Alice has made her attempts at reaching out, and the adults in her life up until this point have all failed her. Is she now so broken that she’ll never be able to live a normal life? Probably. That’s saddest of all.

Teens (especially teenage girls) will probably eat up this cautionary tale. And then, cast quick looks over their shoulders as they scurry past the shadows. This is the stuff of horror – all the more horrific because we know that it happens. Children disappear all the time – many to unknown fates. It’s almost impossible not to be affected/moved by this book. It will (and should!) horrify you. ...more

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About Elizabeth Scott

Elizabeth Scott

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Hey there, I'm Elizabeth. I write young adult novels. I live just outside Washington DC with my husband and dog, and am unable to pass a bookstore without stopping and going inside.

All right, and I can't leave without buying at least one book.

Usually two. (Or more!)

My website and blog are at elizabethwrites.com, and I'm also on twitter, tumblr, and facebook ...more

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Quotes from Living Dead Girl

“I have been smashed and put back together so many times nothing works right. Nothing is where it should be, heavy thumping in my shoulder where my heart now beats.” — 231 likes

“Grace is my favourite church word. A state of being. Something you can pray for. Something God can grant. Something you can obtain. Perfection is out of reach. But grace -- grace you can reach for.” — 139 likes

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