A review by svangleboyer
The Girl Next Door, by Jack Ketchum
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I find it so hard to do reviews for books with such triggering content, but I will give it a try.
The Girl Next Door is loosely based on an actual event where a woman and her children, even the neighbor kids at times, tortured and raped a young girl until she died. There are some pretty graphic scenes and a lot of cringeworthy scenes so definitely NOT for the faint hearted.
The Girl Next Door does a great job on showing that monsters can be very much human and the lengths that people can and will go to hurt others. The book is definitely heartbreaking and brought me to tears.
Of course, the majority of the characters in this novel are horrible so I can't say that I really loved any of the characters except for Meg and Susan. I do love how Meg continues to be so strong and fight so hard through this horrible experience. I also love the devotion of Meg to her sister Susan, and it was the one shining light through the whole novel.
The Girl Next Door is loosely based on an actual event where a woman and her children, even the neighbor kids at times, tortured and raped a young girl until she died. There are some pretty graphic scenes and a lot of cringeworthy scenes so definitely NOT for the faint hearted.
The Girl Next Door does a great job on showing that monsters can be very much human and the lengths that people can and will go to hurt others. The book is definitely heartbreaking and brought me to tears.
Of course, the majority of the characters in this novel are horrible so I can't say that I really loved any of the characters except for Meg and Susan. I do love how Meg continues to be so strong and fight so hard through this horrible experience. I also love the devotion of Meg to her sister Susan, and it was the one shining light through the whole novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Torture, Confinement, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Mental illness