Title: Living Dead GirlAuthor: Elizabeth Scott
Publish Date: September 2008
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Pages: 176pp
ISBN: 1416960597
Classification: Fiction
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Range: 14 and up
Amazon: $8.99
Annotation: When Alice was ten years old she was kidnapped by a man named Ray. Alice is now fifteen and Ray has been sexually and emotionally abuses her for the last five years of her life. All Alice wants is to die, but Ray has other plans for her, plans that may be more terrifying then death.
Summary: Alice is fifteen years old. She has been held captive and referred to as a sexual toy for the last five years of her life by a man name Ray. She learned very quickly that in order to survive she would have to obey Ray and endure the emotion and physical abuse. All she wants is for this nightmare to be over. She is ready for Ray to kill her as she cannot handle this abuse much longer but Ray has a better idea for Alice. One that just may be more terrifying then death. Half starved and hopeless, Alice must make a choice to offer up another little girl for Ray and hope she will be killed, or suffer at Ray's hands.
Evaluation: Devastatingly sad, this is a story about a teen who was abducted as a child and made into a sex slave. There are many disturbing issues laid out in this novel, all pertaining to child molestation in which leads to psychological trauma. This is a difficult read but memorable. On one hand, I found myself cringing and wanting to put the book down yet on the other hand I couldn’t stop reading it. This story may be grueling for teen readers to understand the decisions made by Alice. I would recommend parents to either read the novel along with their teen or before their teen reads it in order to open discussions concerning the distress Alice goes through.
- Surviving in a violent (and uncontrollable) situation.
- Making a hard decision that involves life or death, and standing behind that decision.
Reason this book was chosen: A haunting and eerie read about a girl that get’s kidnapped at a young age and used for sex till she reached her later teens. Sadly this story could be true (and probably is loosely based on true events). Labeled as disturbing and inappropriate, I wanted to gather my own views on it.
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Author Website: Click HERE
Awards:
Awards:
BCCB Blue Ribbon Book, 2008
ALA Best Books for Young Adults, 2009
ALA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, 2009
