Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

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. (Summary taken from goodreads)

           Okay, so I volunteer at the library and one wonderful advantage of volunteering is that I often get the chance to order new books. The best part? Once these books come in, I get to check them out first. It’s pretty much a win-win situation. Anyway, I was browsing the catalog when I came across this book. I thought the cover was interesting and the story as well. I hadn’t really known too much about what it was about at the time, so I wasn’t sure what to expect when I ordered it. Well, finally it came in for me and one morning I decided, well, might as well read it. What I didn’t expect was how absolutely disturbing and almost traumatizing it would be.

            Alice, who’s name actually is not Alice, was kidnapped when she was ten by a man named Ray. He wants her to be young forever, to be exactly like the way she was when he took her. So, to make sure this happens, he starves her, makes her walk with a hunch, and wear clothing that is way too small. Alice takes it without complaint, but she’s dying on the inside. All she wants to do is get out and be free.

            It’s hard to describe the characters, because of the way this book was written. Ray was a creep and the reader had to sympathize with Alice. There was no way you could not. Her situation was so heartbreaking. The plot was extremely moving. It’s a short read, one that I finished in a morning, but still amazingly powerful. When I finished this book, my stomach felt weak and I was left with such a disturbed feeling. It’s a real eye opener. Kidnapping and situations such as this occur more often than people imagine. This book definitely did a fantastic job of portraying the lifestyle.

            The writing was what made this book so terrific. The chapters were extremely short. Sometimes they were only a few pages, something they were only a few sentences. The sentences were also short and staggered. It grabs the reader’s attention and stresses the point that was being made. It also made the story a bit…ominous. Overall, the writing style was well done in this book.

            Personally, I would recommend this book, but only if you think you can handle it. It’s extremely disturbing, so don’t say I didn’t warn you. To be honest, overall, the whole concept is sickening. However, it was well written and extremely, extremely powerful. I read it a while ago and I know it’s not new, but still, if you have an afternoon and nothing to read, I would definitely recommend it!