Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

On the outside, Alice is Ray's daughter. They live in a small apartment, and he homeschools her. The neighbors don't ask questions, and they don't know the truth. They don't know that Alice is not the girl's real name and that Ray is not her father. When Alice was ten years old, Ray kidnapped her from an aquarium. Threatening her with the her parents' death, Alice has been forced to endure physical, emotional, and sexual abuse for five long years. Now that Alice is fifteen, she's too old for Ray's little girl fantasies. Alice knows her death is imminent, but what she doesn't know is Ray's plan for her, one far worse than death.

I can't really say I enjoyed reading this book, due to the disturbing subject manner. It's hard to like Living Dead Girl, because of the abuse that Alice has to endure. Fortunately, it isn't overly explicit, but I would only recommend it for mature, older teens. On the other side, I think this is an important book to read. You get to see a glimpse into the life of people who are sexually abused and see how they feel. Elizabeth Scott, as always, did a wonderful job portraying Alice. This book was written a little different than her other books, with shorter sentences. Some might say book was of a lower reading level, but readers need to remember that Alice is still only as smart as a ten year old, so her vocabulary and sentence structure would be limited. The theme reminded me somewhat of Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, but I can't make any direct connections because I haven't read the book. Living Dead Girl also showed the reader how an abused little girl could still be strong and courageous, and how the abuse did not break her spirit.

6 out of 10.