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The Girl Next Door
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
A teenage girl is held captive and brutally tortured by neighborhood children. Based on a true story, this shocking novel reveals the depravity of which we are all capable. This novel contains graphic content and is recommended for regular read
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review
keithlafo
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
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Pickpick

Horrifying, disturbing, and authentic. Ketchum, with crystal clear prose, details the malevolence of silent compliance and the horrors of abuse to a degree that is genuinely shocking. Not sure I‘ll ever read this one again, but it‘ll always stick with me.

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RedCurly
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
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Bailedbailed

I don't know what I thought when I bought this book. I read the half of it but I cannot bare anymore with this poor girl's torcher. I stopped reading this very bloody and violent thrillers about a year ago because it became too much for me.

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JoeMo
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
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Pickpick

I don‘t believe I‘ve ever read a story that left me feeling so uncomfortable and disturbed as this work by Ketchum. The fact that the author based the story on actual events only exaggerated my sense of discomfort. I cannot precisely recommend this book to others, but I give Ketchum credit for telling a truly horrific and gripping tale. Trigger warnings exist to warn prospective readers of books like this.

#bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks Great progress!! 9mo
TheLudicReader This is definitely a dark tale, but I remember finding the narrator strangely sympathetic. 7mo
JoeMo @TheLudicReader You‘re right….it was a strange but well-written balance for the narrator. At times I want to explode on the character…but I found myself questioning myself “would you do better?” I hope I would, but you never really know unless you‘re in that situation. 7mo
35 likes3 comments
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DimeryRene
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
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Mehso-so

Not sure how to rate this. It‘s horrific and violent and sad, but the story is a true one. Obviously liberties were taken and that‘s both better and worse somehow. I think it can be argued that we shouldn‘t capitalize on others trauma, but also can be argued that if someone experienced this, we can at the very least read it and remember her.

20 likes1 stack add
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DimeryRene
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
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Just started. The beginning reminds me of The Virgin Suicides. That tone of looking back and sort of telling stories as a kid, but through the adult filter. I know it will get bad soon.

13 likes1 stack add
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Witchykiwi
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
Pickpick

Been meaning to tackle this one for a while. I went into this thinking it was simply about a girl being kept in a basement and based on true crime. What I got was SO much more than I had bargained for.

Difficult to read at times, beautifully and painfully narrated. A modern classic.

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Outofcontroltbr
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
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Pickpick

Although the content was despicable, it was very well written. I knew where it was going from the first but hopes I was wrong…I was not. It made me feel many emotions such as anger, disgust, fear, hope and more disgust which was the point. Trigger warnings for just about all evils.

9 likes1 stack add
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candc320
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
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Picked up both of these books this week for like $10. Now looking at their ratings/reviews here neither seem to be too popular so I‘m slightly regretting my decisions 😑. But I‘ll still give them a try!

23 likes1 stack add
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khooliha
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
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Panpan

People may well tell you that this book is worth reading, but I do not agree. This reads as real no-thoughts-head-empty torture porn.

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khooliha
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum

I know I just posted about never writing in books, but I did just write "oh fuck off" at the close of a chapter.

BookmarkTavern 😂😂😂 2y
3 likes1 comment
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anniebannanie
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
Pickpick

Such an ugly and terrifying book, but truly well-written.

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Littlewolf1
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
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Pickpick

4.3⭐️ this has got to be one of the most disturbing/triggering books I have ever read. It was good though, and it was terrifying, and it-made me sick. this is not one of those books and I would recommend to just anybody, especially since it deals with kids. If you plan to read it, proceed with caution. This was also one of my #roll100

BookwormAHN I saw the movie it was too disturbing for me to try to read the book. 2y
Littlewolf1 @BookwormAHN there‘s a movie… I don‘t think I could watch it after reading the book 2y
PuddleJumper That's great! 2y
BookwormAHN I don't recommend it. 2y
17 likes1 stack add4 comments
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Littlewolf1
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
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My #roll100 books for January 2022.

PuddleJumper Oo nice! Good luck! 2y
16 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Bertha_Mason
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
Pickpick

Such an accurate picture of the stupid, nasty sexual cruelty of little white boys that it made my whole body shudder with recognition. And such an accurate picture of honest adult struggle to make accountable sense of one's own childhood cruelty and complicity. And such an accurate picture of adult violence as seen and reasoned about by children. An ugly, terrible masterpiece.

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Bertha_Mason
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum

"I‘m not going to tell you about this. I refuse to. There are things you know you‘ll die before telling, things you know you should have died before ever having seen. I watched and saw."
That's the entirety of chapter 42.

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TH3F4LC0N
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
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Pickpick

This was the single most disturbing and upsetting book I‘ve ever read. Definitely not for the faint of heart. Brutal beyond belief. Very well written though. Made a video review on my booktube channel (also TH3 F4LC0N) where I really break it down, but it‘s enough to say here that this book will f*** you up. It‘s a pick, although I can‘t really recommend it since it‘s so extreme. Truly just a stomach-churning book. 😰

Reggie Totally felt the same way. This was the first book where I actually felt complicit in the murder just by witnessing/reading it. 3y
7 likes1 comment
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StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
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Pickpick

Well that was F@#%ed up. Especially since it was inspired by true events.

quirkyreader A film was made from this story. I couldn‘t finish watching it. Elliot Page was in the True Crime version of this story. The true events are even more disturbing. Silvia Likens went through way too much. 3y
TheLudicReader One of the most disturbing books I‘ve ever read. Jack Ketchum really writes stuff you can‘t look away from. 3y
BookDragonNotWorm Everything I've read by him has been insanely brutal! 😱 3y
70 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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Godpants
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
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Pickpick

I have such a vivid memory of my mom reading this book because I remember this cover so well. That book disappeared from our house pretty quickly, which I‘m sure was because this book is FUCKED UP. I didn‘t realize it was based on a true story.

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Godpants
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
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This has been in my TBR pile forever, and whenever I‘m looking for horror novels around October, it‘s inevitably on most lists. Finally listening to this one.

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aperfectmjk
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
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Pickpick

Wow! 😳 You know, monsters come in all shapes and sizes. This was a disturbing look at just how sick some human beings can truly be. 5 stars for the depravity Jack Ketchum created here. #bookspinbingo #Scarlathon2020 #TeamHarkness #cyoreadathon +87

@TheAromaofBooks @StayCurious

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 3y
22 likes1 comment
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aperfectmjk
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
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TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 3y
Reggie Oof good luck! This one is rough! 3y
22 likes2 comments
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Luulit
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
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https://www.luulit.com/product/the-girl-next-door-audible-audiobook-unabridged/

Suburbia. Shady, tree-lined streets; well-tended lawns; and cozy homes. A nice, quiet place to grow up. Unless you are teenage Meg or her crippled sister, Susan.

On a dead-end street, in the dark, damp basement of the Chandler house, Meg and Susan are left captive to the savage whims and rages of a distant aunt who is rapidly descending into madness...

bookaholic1 Awesome book 4y
21 likes2 stack adds1 comment
review
Z_maples
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
Pickpick

This book...I have such mixed feelings about it. The story is engaging and yet it is gut wrenching to read. I honestly almost put it down half way through. The details of events was almost to much. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone who has had a history surrounding abuse, but it is a good book based on real life. I would recommend it, but as I mentioned it must be read carefully because it is very heavy.

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Z_maples
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum

"The worst is missing them, you know? And knowing they won‘t be back again. Just knowing that. Sometimes you forget and it‘s as though they‘re on vacation or something and you think, gee, I wish they‘d call. You miss them. You forget they‘re really gone. You forget the past six months even happened. Isn‘t that weird? Isn‘t that crazy? Then you catch yourself . . . and it‘s real again"

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TheNeverendingTBR
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
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Boy's Life was superb! 👌

Next up is The Girl Next Door, which I received a lot of feedback about.

I'm halfway through and I want to throat punch 95% of the characters ~ if you've read it, you'll understand.

bookaholic1 A great read..read it years ago, and I still have my copy 4y
bookishbitch Based on a true story. Yikes! 4y
TheNeverendingTBR @bookishbitch There's a lot of unmerciful cruelty in this, I was saddened by it; I loved Ketchum's writing though! 4y
74 likes1 stack add3 comments
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Lauranahe
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
Mehso-so

Well, I‘m halfway through and I have to stop. Look, I LOVE horror. It‘s my favorite genre. But right now, I can‘t do this one. I‘m kind of disappointed in myself and my threshold for horror, but it‘s too much. 😔

AshleyHoss820 Honestly, this is one of those books. I (somehow) muscled through, but I wanted to bail SO HARD. There is no shame in knowing when you‘ve had enough! Honestly, you shouldn‘t be ashamed of your threshold, because many horror fans can‘t make it through this one. 4y
Lauranahe I think if I hadn‘t been trying to read it now, with all virus stuff, I might have been able to muscle through it. I just don‘t have the emotional energy for something so dark right now. I mean, I‘ve watched more reality tv these past 2 weeks than in my whole life! 4y
12 likes2 comments
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BaroqueBee
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
This post contains spoilers
show me
Pickpick

I have really mixed feelings about this book, but I think you‘d be mad not to. I think the narrator keeps himself at a distance from the events even though he tries to first person narrate the scenes which makes the novel unrealistic. As a work of fiction based on real-life events it feels very idyllic in the way that events unfold. Overall I feel sick and human after reading this novel. But if you didn‘t, I‘d be worried.

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sophierayton
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
This post contains spoilers
show me
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Pickpick

Whoa! This book!
I would not recommend this book to anyone because the content is so awful.
However, I thought it was such a good representation of evil and how evil is 'allowed' to happen through the complicity and apathy of others. I found it interesting how Ruth did not actually harm Meg directly too much, but she instructed, encouraged and allowed others to do it. It reminded me of the Stanford prison experiment. Awful but excellent *shudder*

Reggie This book is the most horrific book I have ever read. I actually felt complicit in her murder, like I was a witness to it. I felt so awful after reading this book. He‘s such a good writer but this was a hard book. 4y
8 likes1 comment
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wellreadredhead
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
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Pickpick

This novel is not for the faint of heart. It contains the most brutal monster I‘ve ever read about: Ruth. There is child abuse, both mental and physical, including sexual abuse. This novel is hard to stomach and will anger you in so many ways, but that‘s the point. Children and women are tortured in ways that are inconceivable every day. We must listen (like one character doesn‘t) and speak out (like another eventually learns to do). ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Reggie Oof this book. 4y
BookDragonNotWorm All the books I've read by him have been savagely brutal. 😬 4y
56 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Reggie
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
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LeahBergen And now I want this. What the hell‘s wrong with me? 😆 4y
Reggie @LeahBergen lol Idk but let me just say this has been the only book disturbing enough to make me feel like I was complicit in a murder and I. Felt. Horrible. If that helps you decide...... 4y
LeahBergen 😳😳😳 4y
See All 9 Comments
vivastory Haven't read the book, but I watched the movie years ago & I've never forgotten it. 4y
EyesOnly34 It‘s a rough read. Ketchum knee what he was doing with the ultimate unsettling atmosphere. 4y
Bookzombie @Reggie I love this cover. You described this books so well. I felt horrible after finishing it too. 4y
Reggie @EyesOnly34 @Bookzombie Ketchum knew how to make you care only so he could hurt you. Lol, he was a master horror writer. 4y
EyesOnly34 Yeah!! True! 4y
Leftcoastzen 😁💀 4y
64 likes2 stack adds9 comments
review
ViaggiatricePigra
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Pickpick
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Hope_a
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
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Pickpick

If you still have any faith in humanity – leave it behind. I recommend this book, but I don‘t want to at the same time. It is sick all the way down

More here:
https://theantagonistdiaries.wordpress.com/2019/01/04/the-girl-next-door/

#book #bookreview #bookblogger #blogger

66 likes1 stack add
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Hope_a
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
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It was an amazing year!
Shortest book - ‘The Deal of a Lifetime‘ - Fredrik Backman
Longest book- ‘The Tea Rose‘ - Jennifer Donnelly
Most popular - ‘The Night Circus‘ - Erin Morgenstern
Least popular- ‘22 Scars‘ - C. M. North
More about my #bookyear you can find in my blog:

https://theantagonistdiaries.wordpress.com/2018/12/31/my-year-in-63-books/

I‘m gonna finish this year with Jack Ketchum‘s ‘The Girl Next Door‘. Which one is your last book?

bookaholic1 That book is intense, but such a great read. I never got rid of the book, I still own it. 5y
Hope_a @bookaholic1 Agree. It‘s sick and disturbing and unputdownable at the same time. I‘m gonna write a review very soon, I can‘t stop thinking of the book. 5y
bookaholic1 Still to this day I think about it 5y
37 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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Jamesmelvinmitchell
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
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Pickpick

Not very often where I enjoy a book and not recommend it but this book is very disturbing and made me very uncomfortable. Read it if you want but don‘t blame me for it.

KrystleTheBookSlayer The movie was horrifying, I'm assuming the guessing probably isn't much better. 😨 6y
Jamesmelvinmitchell @KrystleTheBookSlayer you are correct. Amazing to think someone would actually have to go through this. 6y
TheLudicReader The book was horrifying...like a train wreck you couldn‘t look away from. Also, really well written with a fallible and sympathetic narrator. 6y
Jamesmelvinmitchell @TheLudicReader that is a great description of the book. 6y
TheLudicReader I read it ages and ages ago, @Jamesmelvinmitchell , but it‘s really stayed with me. 6y
50 likes5 comments
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brokenpoet
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
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Mehso-so

I read the screenplay version of this, and it was hard work. Whilst I liked the style (brief descriptions of day/night, surroundings, etc then lots of dialogue) the story itself was hard to read. When I got to the end there were interviews with producers and directors as well as some of the cast which were really interesting, but I couldnt get past the subject of the book which is based on the true story of the torture and murder of Sylvia Likens

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BunnieBleaux
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
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7 likes1 stack add
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dragondrool
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
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1. The Girl Next Door, because it's based on a true event, and the most frightening stories are those that are all too real.
2. The Green Inferno, if it's seen-the-whole-thing. But I have also seen parts of The Human Centipede, and it's equally depraved.
3. Accidently eating the foil and plastic square around my iron pill. It came close to doing me in until we finally sorted it out over three long weeks. Good thing I'm scrappy.
4. No tag.

Betty Wow, that foil and plastic! If you don't mind me asking, how'd you get it out? Surgery or via the natural way on the toilet? 6y
dragondrool Exploratory surgery. I ended up having a small bowel resection, appendectomy, and gallbladder out in one swell foop. It was quite the adventure. 6y
11 likes2 comments
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AshleyHoss820
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
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Pickpick

⚠️⚠️⚠️I read this book in one sitting, b/c this is the kind of book you read in one sitting. There is no closing this book. No walking away before it‘s finished. Just enough gore to make you squirm, just enough left to the imagination...which may be worse. I‘m going to choose “Pick” ONLY if you can stomach it. It involves horrible violence to children BY children. This whole BOOK is a trigger warning. Worse? It‘s loosely based on real events.

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IamIamIam
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
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Well, shit... my husband's a big fan of his and a bunch of his books are downstairs, waiting for me to get to them. 😔

Bookzombie Wow, I hadn‘t seen this. ☹️ 6y
39 likes1 stack add1 comment
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tricours
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
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Pickpick

Well this was rather grisly. I didn‘t know it was based on true events until I finished it, and would have thought it implausible if I hadn‘t read Mother‘s Day recently. Recommended if you want an unpleasant read! It‘s way more unpleasant once you know all that actually happened.

buecherwurm I just googled what this book is about...this is horrifying! It gave me the chills just to read the wikipedia article, I doubt I would be able to read the whole book. 6y
Reggie I actually felt bad that I read this. It was too much for me. I actually want to read another of his but I don‘t have the balls. I liked this quote though-“I began to learn that anger, hate, fear and loneliness are all one button awaiting the touch of just a single finger to set them blazing toward destruction. And I learned that they can taste like winning.” 6y
tricours @buecherwurm the book wasn‘t worse than the Wikipedia article actually; it‘s written from the perspective of one of the teenagers who are present but not participating in the torture 6y
tricours @Reggie it‘s an interesting illustration of the things people can be made to do in a group though! The mother must have been some sort of psychopath, but all the kids can‘t possibly have been... 6y
36 likes4 comments
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GiveMeYourTeeth
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
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Pickpick

This is the greatest terrible cover for a book I truly love (it's also signed by Ketchum himself!).

vivastory The movie was immensely disturbing 7y
16 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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reneelyons
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
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Pickpick

This book was incredibly difficult to read, and at times I wondered why I was. In fact, Jack Ketchum said his "aim was to make you feel guilty about turning the goddamn page" - as a reader, you feel complicit in the torture of Meg and Susan. As horrific as this book is, the true story of Sylvia Likens is much, much worse. If you take this on, please know that is is extremely violent, explicit, and involves kids.

IBooktrovert I watched the movie and wished i hadn't, loosely based on the sylvia likens story...very disturbing 7y
TheLudicReader I agree with your comments, but I also found David a complex and sympathetic character. 7y
15 likes2 comments
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reneelyons
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
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Help me pick my next read, Litsy! I'm in the mood for something scary, but can't decide which one to go with. Thoughts?

Crysboehne Those both look rather interesting. I've been craving a good thriller/horror read. Let me know which one you chose and your thoughts on it. 8y
CaitlinSiem I haven't read either yet but Bird Box is higher on my list. I've heard a mix of things but it sounds like a good one! 8y
Varshitha Just got Bird box recommended to me, and the plot sounds interesting.. 8y
See All 7 Comments
reneelyons @Crysboehne @CaitlinSiem @Varshitha I started a few pages of Bird Box and couldn't stop, so that is the winner! Thanks for your thoughts :) 8y
reneelyons @Crysboehne Bird Box was fantastic! Check out my newest post for my thoughts :) 8y
Crysboehne Yay! I can't wait to read it! 8y
TheLudicReader The Girl Next Door isn't a horror novel, although it is horrific. That one stuck with me for a long time. 8y
16 likes1 stack add7 comments
review
Renegadeprincess
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
Mehso-so

I couldn't look away and I devoured this book. It was terrifying and brutal. Was it good? Yes. Would I recommend it? Only to those I wish emotional damage upon.

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Renegadeprincess
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
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I'm half way in and this is just so gut wrenching I can't look away. I feel too committed to these characters now to put it down. But dear god these poor girls...

1 like1 stack add
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SupremeCourtney
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
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This book is turning into much more than a horror novel. Surprisingly poignant insights into the psychology of power and what it means to enable evil even if you're not a perpetrator.

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Roberta78
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Pickpick

Agghiacciante

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Alschager
The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum
Pickpick

Outstanding, Captivating, Thrilling, Insomnia inducing and just flat out amazing!!