Scott, E. (2008). Living Dead Girl. Simon Pulse. ISBN: 97814
16960591. 170 pages. $17.99.
Author Website: http://www.elizabethwrites.com/
Readers Annotation: A girl was kidnapped from a field trip and, after five years of abuse, waits for her abductor to either replace her or kill her.
Summary: She wasn’t always Alice. She used to be someone else with friends and family. Now she is Alice and she belongs to Ray. Everything she does, everywhere she goes, and everything she eats has to be approved by Ray or she will be punished. After five years, Ray has broken Alice’s spirit through several horrible actions. But Alice is getting older and know Ray wants her to help him find a new girl to take home. After scouting out the park, she finds what could be her replacement. Driven by the hope of freedom, Alice learns what she can from the girl in order to help Ray take her. Everything would have worked if not for a nosy police officer and the little girl’s brother. All Alice wants is freedom, and she will get it one way or another.
Reading Level: Grades 8 and up
Interest Level: Grades 9 and up
Review and Evaluation: This is not the first time I’ve read this book. I remember reading it when it was first released because of all the controversy surrounding it. Both my boss and I read it after we put it on the shelf because we were sure that someone would find issue with it. That never happened, fortunately.
Living Dead Girl reminds me of an episode of Law and Order: SVU but without the detectives. We get only Alice’s side of the story. She makes references to her family moving on, maybe having more kids to replace her. As an audience, we don’t get the relief of a cut scene that shows Alice’s parents and the police searching for her. We feel that she is alone and that is the only feeling that Scott allows us to have. It is the only way we can understand and perhaps even justify Alice’s search for her replacement. Whether he lets her go or kills her, Alice will get to be free.
There is something strange about reading a book about a story that shouldn’t happen. I don’t mean in reference to things that couldn’t happen like the plots in science fiction and fantasy books. I’m talking about books that shouldn’t happen, like Living Dead Girl, Boy Toy, etc. As a reader, you get a feeling of helplessness that is difficult to explain. I want to just import myself into the story and rescue her myself. I want to scream and shake the police officer and force her to take Alice with her. There is definitely a direct correlation between the helplessness I feel as the reader and the helplessness Alice experiences in this book.
Subjects/Genres: Eating Disorders, Rape, Realistic Fiction, Toxic Adults, Violence
Bibliotherapeutic Uses: I don’t think that I would recommend this book to teens that have been in similar situations as Alice because I think it would be more traumatic that helpful. I would recommend this book to teens who feel helpless in certain situations. As the story goes on, we see Alice finally getting to the point of wanting to stop being helpless and start wanting to overcome.
Controversial Issues:
Rape/Abuse – This book contains several scenes of statutory rape, some of them more descriptive than others.
- Defense – Scott does not include these scenes for gratuitous purposes. She is showing the truth behind Alice’s situation.
Sexual Content – I’m specifically referring to the scene between Alice and Jake in his car when she offers him sexual favors.
- Defense – This scene was important to Alice’s character development. Here she shows how she doesn’t know how to act with a boy because Ray has altered what she knows as right and wrong.
Booktalk Ideas:
Share the thoughts and feelings Alice expressed when she is kidnapped and why she won’t just run from Ray.
Discuss the meaning behind the title.
Awards and Booklists:
- ALA/YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, 2009
- Iowa High School Book Award Nominee, 2011
Readalikes:
- Stolen by Lucy Christopher
- Sold by Patricia McCormick
- Such a Pretty Girl by Lara Weiss
- A Girl’s Life Online by Katherine Tarbox
- Tricks by Ellen Hopkins
Professional Reviews:
Rutan, L. (2008). Living Dead Girl (book review). Booklist, 15 October 2008.
Staff reviewer (2008). Living Dead Girl (book review). Kirkus, 16 September 2008.
Staff reviewer (2008). Living Dead Girl (book review). Publishers Weekly, 255 (36), 52.
Why I Chose This Book: I read it the second time because it was required for the class, but I initially read it because I wanted to be prepared for any issues at work due to the controversial subject matter.
Young Adult Controversial Titles 