This week is Elizabeth Scott week for Just Contemporary {find out more about Just Contemporary HERE} and so I decided I'd post my review of Living Dead Girl. It's the only Elizabeth Scott book I've read so far but I'm very eager to read more!
Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott
Hardcover, 170 pgs.
Published September 2, 2008 by Simon Pulse
Reading Level: Young Adult
Source: Library
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 he speaks more and more of her death. He does not know it is what she longs for. She does not know he has something more terrifying than death in mind for her.
This is Alice’s story. It is one you have never heard, and one you will never, ever forget.
Living Dead Girl was a fast read, but not exactly an easy read. It was horrendous and difficult to watch what was going on and I often had to take breaks just because it was such a heavy and difficult subject matter to read about. However, I do think it's an important story to be told, no matter how difficult or horrendous it is.
This book is 170 pages and many of those pages are just one paragraph. It's sparse but hauntingly beautiful. I absolutely loved the writing and it fit the story perfectly. It just made us feel and believe everything so much better.
It's hard to review this book because I just don't have much to say about it. I really liked it but I wasn't a big fan of the end. It felt a little fast and abrupt. The thing is, I do think it fit the story so I don't know that it's really right to not be happy with it. Overall I do recommend this book, though I think I would have a hard time recommending it to younger teens. I would say it's definitely for the more mature readers. And parents who read this will be sure to watch their kids just a bit more closely and maybe be more quick to report suspicious behavior. I definitely recommend it to adults. If you do pick it up you can expect a quick read, but one that will be certain to stick with you for years to come.
Great review. I read this one and couldn't review it (personal read). I just didn't know what to say about it. Horrible, yet very real.
ReplyDeleteOh wow this sounds very emotional! I love the sounds of the premise though. Sounds like a book I'd really like but I'd have to be in the mood for. Great review! :)
ReplyDeleteGiselle
Xpresso Reads
Holy cow, this one sounds so hard to read! But, wow, what an amazing story. This is definitely NOT one I'd feel comfortable recommending to my students, even though I know there are some who would love to read it. I think I'll let them discover it on their own...Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteI totally want to read this one!!!
ReplyDeleteFabulous review, Candace. I loved this book, but you're right. It's powerful, and it's definitely mature material. Fantastic mini review :)
ReplyDeleteI think hauntingly beautiful is a phrase that has been catching on for books lately. I have been saying a lot of things are hauntingly beautiful. I heard about this book a long long time ago but never picked it up, sounds like I will have to fix that.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great review.
I really liked this book. I would say I loved it, but that word just doesn't seem right for such a horrifying book. It's definitely haunting and beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on this one. It's a great book, truly it is. But it is so, so difficult to read. I wanted to turn away at times because it was just so hard to get through, but then I couldn't stop reading it too. Elizabeth Scott is an incredible writer and this story is just a testament to her skills. Great review.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I didn't actually like this book. At all really... I read a lot of tough Contemporary and this wasn't my first abuse/kidnapping book. And I just didn't feel anything while reading it. There were a few scenes here and there that I was like- Ok, now the book will get good, but it never did for me. I heard all these RAVE things about it before picking it up and was left wondering what all the fuss was about.
ReplyDeleteI was actually extra disappointed, b/c IMO, writing a book about this subject matter NEEDS to be painful for the reader and this one just felt like it was trying too hard.
I've felt that way about all the 'tougher' Scott books I've read too, although not about her lighter Contemp.
*shrugs* Glad you were able to appreciate it more than I was.