Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

Living Dead Girl is the story of Alice, a young girl who was kidnapped at a young age. Now 15, Alice still lives with her abductor, secluded from the world, and forced to appease his carnal desires. Over the years she has grown up while dying inside herself, yet with growing older her appeal to her captor fades.  He tells her stories of the last girl he had, and how he killed her when she was 15, and then killed her parents as a belated punishment for growing up. Now her torturer wants Alice to help him find her replacement. Her withered emotions resurface as she finds herself elated that her nightmare is coming to an end, worried that the parents she can hardly remember might be killed, and malice towards her replacement. Does Alice, (which isn’t even her real name), have enough humanity left to save the little girl her abductor has his eye on? Or has she been hurt too much and too often so that now she just wants to cause a little pain of her own before she is killed?

As you can probably tell by now this isn’t a book for everyone. At times I felt like I was being bludgeoned while reading it.  I do think it is a good book though. It makes you think about what makes us really human, and how people can survive horrific experiences. It is appropriate for an older audience, ages 16 and up. It does have explicit scenes of abuse. I’d recommend it for anyone who has a strong stomach and is committed to thinking the story over after you’re finished, because the story will stick with you no matter what.

Posted under a librarian reads, review