written by Jack
Ketchum
published by Leisure
ISBN-10: 0843960973
ISBN-13: 978-0843960976
reviewed by Adam Armstrong
05.03.2008
Can you finish
it?
The Girl Next Door tells the story of twelve-year-old David
who lives next door to Ruth Chandler and her three sons. After an accident
takes the lives of their parents, Ruth’s nieces, fifteen-year-old Meg and the
young crippled Susan, move in with Ruth and her sons. As the days go by Ruth
begins a slow descent into madness and allows her children and the neighborhood
children to torture Meg. Meg allows herself to be tortured as long as Susan is
left alone. David quickly finds horror in what is going on and in him self for
standing by watching instead of doing anything. When David works up the courage
to do something, it may be too late.
This is one of the
books to read if you’re a horror fan. Ketchum catches the reality in the
fiction and shoves it right through your mind. Loosely based on the true story
of Sylvia Likens and Gertrude Baniszewski1, this book takes its
readers to an edge that they are not quite used to. I must stand and applaud
Ketchum and his tremendous writing on this one. He holds up a mirror and shows
us are primal, bestial side that still lurks within us all. Redefining
pain while trying to make you puke this is a perfect novel.
Pick up ten
copies and hand them out: 5 out of 5
1 “Avenging Sylvia." Time Magazine. 27 May 1966