Title: Living Dead Girl
Author: Elizabeth Scott
Format: Trade Paper
Publisher: Simon Pulse | Simon & Schuster
Pub Date: 2008; this edition: 2009
Read: April 2011
Purchased: during Borders’ closing sale
Why: I had been wanting to read this book for over a year, but having accidentally read the outcome (due to a professional review revealing ALL the important plot points *glares*) I was reluctant, wondering if there was any real point in reading a book whose ending has already been revealed
Fulfills Mini-Challenge? No.
Notes: I’m just going to put this out there right now: if you’ve been sexually abused this book can be triggering. I believe someone described it as “vivid but not graphic” which I entirely agree with, but others disagreed and felt it was graphic. To put it in perspective, we never get details of what’s happening beyond (for example) ‘he pushed my head down,’ but you always know what’s going on. Sometimes it’s more vague than that, but you still know what’s going on.
Review/Thoughts:
This is one of those books that is powerful and disturbing and I can’t in good consciousness recommend it to everyone, but I thought it was extremely well done. It’s not a book you can really enjoy, so you definitely have to be in the right mindset for it. Knowing the basic outcome did not diminish its power, and for that I’m grateful though I still think the reviewer was careless in giving so much away. I know that I sometimes give away plot points, but I always have the good sense not to give away the details of the ending. The book is haunting and if I had to re-answer the 30 Day Book Meme question, a book that makes you sad, this would top Real World. Whether it ends happily or not, you cannot get away from the sexual abuse and the way in which people are blind to what they don’t want to see (their complacency, while not responsible per se, definitely enables this sort of behavior) and the way this girl is irrevocably damaged. The author does not shy away from the girl’s dark side that is a direct result of her abuser, and for that, I commend her. It’s a bold move that probably cost the character some sympathy with those who choose not to understand (some people were so glib in their reviews, making me wonder if they had even tried to understand what it’s like to be in this situation) but I think it ultimately made for a better book.
Final Verdict: 
Just found your blog…love it! I haven’t read this one, but I think you did a great job reviewing it. Sometimes, the hardest books to write about are the ones that you can’t say you enjoyed, but that were so powerful that you can’t not write about it. I like that the author chose to portray the girl’s “dark side.” Adds an intriguing dimension to the story.