Teens’ Top Ten Nominees: Living Dead Girl

“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. ”

Living Dead Girl is a book you will love to hate.

Alice is a fifteen year old girl that has not known a normal childhood since she was ten years old, but Alice is not Alice. She is a shell of her former self. She is a girl without hope. She is an abducted child.

Before Ray, Alice was a normal, happy girl, but now she is a tortured fifteen year old. Ray took her from a class field trip when she was ten years old and every day since she had been his slave. His slave emotionally, physically, and most horrifically, sexually. Every day she does whatever Ray wants her to do so that she can protect her once upon a time family that lives on 623 Daisy Lane. She knows that if she doesn’t do exactly what Ray wants, then both her, and her family, will end up just like the Alice before her, dead.

In this chilling novel by Elizabeth Scott, child abduction is shown in a way that can open your eyes in ways that a newspaper article never could. It teaches about “stranger danger” better than any other source. This book demands attention. It explores the mindset and desperation of Alice in such a way that your heart breaks for her. The writing in this book is so enthralling and intense that it can’t be put down to read later like other books. You almost have to read the book all at once to see what happens to Alice, to see if she ever gets away from Ray, or if she endures her suffering through the very end of her life.

Emily A., ACPL Teen Advisory Board

Living Dead Girl is one of 25 Teens’ Top Ten nominees chosen by teen advisory groups from around the country. Read all about TTT here.