Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

Scott, Elizabeth. Living Dead Girl. Simon Pulse, 2008. ISBN-10:1-4169-6059-7


Summary
Alice is getting close to her fifteenth birthday and she is worried. She is not the first girl that Ray has kidnapped and named Alice. Even though Ray gives her too little food and forces her to wear children's clothes no one can deny that Alice is no longer a child. Ray killed the last Alice. Maybe if Alice can get Ray a new little girl she can avoid his abuse. Thus, Alice has a goal- find a new Alice.

Evaluation
Living Dead Girl is a terrifying story about a girl who is kidnapped and sexually abused by her captor. The entire story, the girl is cognizant of the situation. She doesn't rationalize her captor's behavior and acknowledges her own psychological defenses. She has no escape, physically or emotionally. While the story is thrilling and dramatic, it is also realistic. Well written, and exciting. The ending is satisfying.


Reader's Annotation
Alice lives with Ray at Shady Pines apartments. To the other tenants, Ray is the doting father, caring for his disabled daughter, who seems slow and never looks at anyone. But Alice was not always Alice and Ray is not her father. Alice was kidnapped when she was 10 years old and although she knows who she is and how to get home, she is terrified that running away would put her family in danger. Ray likes to tell Alice that he knows about her family and would hurt them if she was a bad girl. So Alice stays. She even agrees to find a new "Alice" when Ray gets upset that Alice is growing up.

Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness
Dealing with trauma, especially sexual abuse


Genre and Subject
Realistic fiction.
Kidnapping, sexual abuse.

Why I read it
The story of Jaycee Dugard has been in the news lately and this seemed timely.