Book Review: Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

When Alice was ten, Ray took her away from her family, her friends--herlife. She learned to give up all power, to endure all pain. She waited for the nightmare to be over. Now Alice is fifteen and Ray still has her, but he speaks more of her death. He does not know it is what she longs for. She does not know he has something more terrifying than death in mind for her.

Review:

Alice's story is so unforgettable, even more so than that of other book with a similar feel to this, like Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher.

Everyone has problems at home--I refuse to believe in the perfect family--and some of Alice's feelings you can relate to, like how hopeless and alone she feels throughout the story, even if your situation is nowhere near as horrible as hers. Elizabeth Scott's writing technique in this book is different than those of her other books, but it's still easy to read. Don't let the fact that it is such a short read--one that you could read in one sitting (it is 170 pages)--discourage you from reading it.

This book is about a very disturbing topic, one that many would not enjoy reading about. It contains events such as kidnap, rape, and murder--but not in such a detailed way that its readers are limited to a certain age. Living Dead Girl is not a light read, and cannot simply be read and placed on a shelf.

This book needs to be thought about and discussed. Rather than saying 'I could not put it down,' I will say that this is a novel that MUST be put down. . . and then be picked right back up again! It's so disturbing, but very captivating all at once; I almost couldn't stand to read some parts, but I had to. In this way, it is similar to watching a gruesome abuse scene in a film; it's so awful, so upsetting, but you can't look away. Living Dead Girl should come with a Warning Label: it will grab you and keep you reading into the last hours of the night, and keep you thinking deeply, hauntigly, after the final word.

This book is simply fantastic, and teaches you to be grateful for what you have, no matter how little or much that is. Living Dead Girl is unique in every way, and no similar novels I have read even compare. Some books demand to be talked about. Living Dead Girl is one of those books. A hauntingly fantastic novel, and one that must be read.

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Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Everybody gets to be supermodel gorgeous. What could be wrong with that?

Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. Not for her license--for turning pretty. In Tally's world, your sixtenth birthdsay brings an opperation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive petty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks Tally will be there. But Tally's new friend Shay isnt sure she wants to be pretty. She'd rather risk her life on the outside. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world--and it isnt very pretty. The cruel-pretty Specials present Tally with the worst choice she could ever imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. The choice Tally makes will challenge her world forever.

What i thought: I thought these books were amazing. they are filled with suspense, excitement, and even a bit of romance. This book, the first in a fantastic trilogy, asks engaging questions about the meaning of beauty, individuality, and betrayal. It teaches you how to be a good friend--even when it seems impossible. Tally learns that being beautiful isnt everything--and that even the seemingly greatest of things has dark secrets. . . ones that she never could have guessed. Uglies is HIGHLY readable with an extremely convincing plot that includes futuristic techonology and a disturbing commentary on our current public policies. I loved Tally's character, and felt that Uglies very easily portrayed her. Tally acts tough through out the book, but the deeper you dig, the more you realize that she pushes away a lot of her feelings, and tries really hard not to show weakness, but there are times when it all comes crashing down on her: the guilt, the pain, the loneliness, the isolation, the longing for freedom. . . everything. And she learns that sometimes you need to be able to have someones shoulder to cry on, even when you dont want to admit it.

Westerfeld is a fantastic author, but i think that the begginings of every book in this series was very weak, and that caused many readers to stop and simply toss it onto their shelf--something i have seen first hand. I feel that the begginings of books need to be strong, because if there is a fantastic ending, and a thrilling middle, your readers will never know, if they cannot even get through the first page. I nearly put it down myself, but decided to give it a chance. This happened repeatedly to me during this entire series, and felt that it really ruined the amazing plots of each of these books.

I think that all this book needs is a chance; try not to put it down after you read page twenty-something; these books will not dissapoint. . . so long as you give them time. I really loved this series, despite those few problems.

If you like these, i would recommend Westerfelds other series, The Midnighters (which i LOVED) or Peeps (which i havent gotten up to reading yet) and Unwind by Neal Shusterman.

Grade: A-

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Unwind by Neal Shusterman

“The Heartland War” has been fought and was resolved by the “The Bill of Life.” So human life cannot be touched from birth until you reach the age of thirteen, but then you can be UNWOUND between the ages of thirteen and eighteen. Unwinding doesnt technically end life, but they sort of cut the person to peices and the body parts are taken to hospitals and used for medical transplants (arms, legs, and other things like that are given to people who need them--for large amounts of money, that is). In this distirbing future, unwinding cannot be undone, and once the papers are signed, you are sent to Harvesting Camps, where you are eventually brought to the Chop Shop. . . and well, things happen. BAD things

Three Unwinds are brought together by chance: Connor, Risa, and Lev. Connor's parents want to be rid of him because he's a troublemaker; Risa has no parents and is being unwound to cut orphanage costs. Lev's unwinding has been planned since birth, as a part of his religion (its called tithing) If they can survive until their eighteen birthdays, they cannot be harmed--But when every peice of them, from their hands to their hearts, eighteen seems far far away. . .

Review:

I just finished this book - literally.

The UNWINDing process is so disturbing, but Shusterman does not go into detail about it, for which i am partially greatfull yet disappointed; i would have liked getting more information on it.

The fact that mankind could even AGREE on a process so disturbing is just well . . . there is no word for it other than REPULSIVE. And the fact that they consider it OK since the Unwind is technically still ALIVE. . . it is such a weird ( and terrifying) topic, yet the overall plot is still very realistic.

Throughout the story, Neil Shusterman 'challenges your ideas about life--not just where life begins, and where it ends, but what it truly means to be alive. This story was disturbing with just a touch of hope and some romance mixed in. There is no possible way to descirbe what i thought. But i can some it up in one word: UNBELIEVABLE! And you'll have to read it to find out just how unbelievable it is!

YOU WOULD ESPECIALLY LIKE THIS BOOK IF YOURE A FAN OF: The Host, by Stephenie Meyer

Grade: A-