Review: Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

Pages: 170
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Published: September 2nd, 2009
IBSN: 9781416960591

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.

[Synopsis by Goodreads]

Alice (or Kyla - I don't know what to call her) was taken by Ray when she was just 8, on a school trip to the aquarium. Before, her biggest concern was that her friends ditched her because she won't share her lip gloss. Now she's been moulded into Ray's perfect little girl. Waxed smooth, starved down to a little girl's size, and on pills so that she doesn't get her period.

Living Dead Girl is an incredibly sad and scary book. I was constantly putting it down, sick with the story I was reading. Worse was the thought that things like this actually happen. 

Scott's writing style evoked the tormented voice of Alice. She narration pulled at my heartstrings. I wanted to help her. I understood her fear and hate and sadness, and I could even understand her being so frivolous about other little girls' lives. I can't say I'd be a better person under her circumstances.

Though Jake? I didn't at all understand Jake.

The ending was bittersweet, to me. I spoke to a friend about this book, and apparently we got completely different things out of the ending. Either way, it was extremely emotional.

Living Dead Girl is a chilling read, definitely not for the feint-hearted. I give it a 4 out of 5.