The Girl Next Door

"A teenage girl is held captive and brutally tortured by neighborhood children." This is the log line on the back of the book. Blunt, without pretension, it's less a summary and more a warning as to what lies within. This is not a pleasant read, but it is a memorable and powerful one. Ketchum is a talented writer, terse in his prose and to-the-point. From the beginning of the story he introduces the themes of pain, violence, and torture and continually reiterates them. The neighborhood kids in the Girl Next Door sacrifice earthworms to ants, burn tent worms from trees, and play a deranged children's game eponymously titled The Game. Their world changes when an outsider, a teenage girl named Meg, arrives in their neighborhood. I could explain more, but I'm hesistant. Quite simply, there is little hope in this book or fun-house horror tropes to distract from the violence that ensues. This is a no-BS, raw fictional account of a teenage girl getting brutally tortured for months on end. Reading this novel is like being sucked into a black hole. Dark, unnerving, irresistible, you don't want to stop reading simply because you can't--you feel like it's your duty to bear witness to the horrible things occurring. You feel like you have to finish the damn thing quickly and see it to the dark end. Again, the book is powerful and worth reading but it's not without its faults. Ketchup's writing is streamlined and minimal and it works for the most part. However, the characters aren't quite as well drawn. The teenage girl, Meg, is drawn just enough for us to care for her, but she reads a little thin and quickly disappears as the novel moves along (maybe this is intentional). Don't expect a Stephen King level of characterization. Worth the read, if you can get through it. You've been warned.

It took me a while to write this review after reading The Girl Next Door mainly because, to be honest, I wasn’t sure how to write it without people thinking I’m some kind of psychopath just because I didn’t find it as “horrifying” as many of the other reviewers. But, then I realized that people are gonna think what they want and I really shouldn’t fret about it. So, here goes. I will mention that you should not read this book if you are overly squeamish or if you can’t handle reading about extreme abuse or other brutal situations. I was amazed at how many reviewers said they couldn’t finish the book because of the graphic content, but I can’t help but wonder if they even bothered looking at the book’s cover or any of the previous reviews before reading it. I would think that if you get queasy reading about graphic violence that a simple perusal of the book’s cover/synopsis would be enough to let you know that maybe it’s not for you. But, I digress. First off, I am a huge fan of true crime novels and anything in the horror genre (books and movies), so I did very much enjoy this book as it incorporates both. My favorite movies are the graphic horror flicks such as Saw, Hostel and House of 1000 Corpses, so you can kind of get where I’m coming from. However, although this book was very well-written and extremely descriptive, it was actually not as ghastly as I was expecting, based solely on the previous reviews. Just a good rule of thumb – if you can’t handle these types of graphic movies (mentioned above), then it’s a pretty safe bet you won’t like this book. This particular book was a work of fiction set in suburban America in the 1950s, but it is very closely based on actual events that took place in Indiana in the 1960s. Personally, I find the fact that there are sick people on this earth who can carry out such deprave acts of torture and mutilation on other human beings (not to mention on animals) to be appalling and disgusting. However, abuse like this goes on every day is some part of the world, and refusing to read about it or discuss it does not make the psychopaths go away. If anything, horrific circumstances such as this should be discussed – perhaps those poor girls in Cleveland who were held captive in a house for more than a decade by a sadistic nutcase could have been rescued sooner if neighbors had been willing to ask questions or investigate further when they noticed “unusual” things going on at the house (i.e., nude girls wearing dog collars and leashes crawling around on all fours in the back yard). If you’re not sure what I’m referring to, you should Google the 2013 story of the Ariel Castro kidnappings that occurred in Cleveland, Ohio. Stories such as this should reinforce the fact that the general public needs to be ever-vigilant and not be afraid to report incidents that maybe don’t seem quite right. On a downside, there were lots of issues with transcription of this book to the Kindle electronic format (entire pages/paragraphs missing, etc.). I don’t hold the author at fault for this and I am not factoring it in to my rating, but it definitely caused a distraction for me. (My star rating is based solely on the book’s content, not on the Kindle formatting issues.) Otherwise, I did very much enjoy this book and I have already downloaded several of the author’s other novels.

It's probably a good thing that this book was not the first I've read from Jack Ketchum. If it had been, I think I would have been very hard-pressed to ever read anything else by him. It's not that it's a cliched story, or poorly written -- quite the opposite, on both counts. Jack Ketchum is a fantastic writer who paints pictures with words, in a stark, simple, appallingly graphic in-your-face savagery that compells you to follow along, even though you really don't want to. His writing, in all three of his novels I've read so far, is like the train that can't stop wrecking, & the reader is nearly forced to keep watching. There are a great many hacks churning out "horror" fiction -- hacks who promise to make you jump, who are proclaimed "shocking" & so on, but who seem incapable of actually Going There. Ketchum not only isn't afraid to Go There, he's not afraid to shove your nose in it. Prior to reading this book, I had read The Lost -- which I found disturbing, but not difficult -- & Off Season, which nearly made me sick. I had thought, however, that in Off Season, Ketchum had gotten it out of his system. He depicted things in that book which no decent human being should even imagine, much less put to paper. But then I read The Girl Next Door. I have to admit ... having just read the single most repulsively grim depiction I'd ever experienced of the BackWoods Cannibals Slaughtering Innocent Vacationers, I really didn't see how a story about child abuse could be more shocking. But then, I read The Girl Next Door. It's instructive to note Ketchum's own words on the two books -- that Off Season was about a family of cannibals, so it can't be taken seriously. The Girl Next Door, on the other hand, is about child abuse -- something that, tragically, happens every day, even in the United States, & not merely among the families of the poor. It's also instructive to note that Ketchum described having written some scenes for this book which, upon reading them, he thought were so disgusting he removed them from the story. Keep that in mind while you read this book ... & you won't be able to stop wondering, "If what they did to this poor child was THIS bad, what the heck did he self-censor?????" It's not a question for which I desire an answer. If you've never before read Jack Ketchum, I urge you to read something else by him first. In particular, I'd suggest you read The Lost, because it's actually a semi-conventional story, even if it is oddly disturbing in ways I can't really define. But it's still semi-conventional. It doesn't contain imagery of such horrific brutality as to make you wonder how the author could even think of such a thing; it doesn't make your stomach clench while you choke back that vile taste. The Girl Next Door, however, will do those things. On the other hand, if reading it makes you hug your children closer to you & love them more than you ever thought you could ... if reading it makes you want to volunteer for child welfare organizations to help the victims of child abuse ... if it outrages you that such human-shaped monsters could even exist in American society ... than I'm glad he was this unrelentingly brutal.

The writing was good. But the subject and some of the scenes were horrific. Lord Of The Flies times 10. Halfway through, a scene so horrific I was physically sick. I couldn't finish the book.

Jack Ketchum is a great writer. He can evoke emotions as no other writer in the genre. Given that, I wish he had given this story a pass. In my view, it would be more at home the desk drawer than it is in print. I remember reading about this case in the newspaper when I was a kid. The story gave no details of course, leaving a hormonal teenager to project his own story line on the case. The papers presented the story as somewhat salacious and the teenage mind is great at imagining the details. In that sense, it kinda sounded like fun except that the girl died. That was not fun so I recall editing that detail out of my version of a headline and perhaps 2 column inches of text. Since then I have been in many places and seen much in war and peace, in poverty and prosperity. Until I read this book, I thought that I had seen the very worst of the human animal, just as I had seen the very best: generosity, nobility, kindness to a stranger and self-sacrifice for another. When I think on it, which I try to do as little as possible these days, I like to tell myself that the good outweighs the evil and that true evil takes place when all forms of traditional, tribal or governmental authority has collapsed. Removed from the fear of punishment or clan retribution, "The Lord of the Flies" scenario depicted the results just about right, although Conrad painted it in sepia tones. Most of all, I have seen women as the primary target, the most desired victims, of the violence that emerges from the dark heart of anomy. With those victims, I have tried to help when I could--which is not often--or simply listen lest their stories be forgotten. Lest they themselves be forgotten with it. I read "The Girl Next Door" with a sense of foreboding which grew into nausea. I was grateful to Ketchum for omitting the details of clitorectomy performed with... I won't write it either. I have my limits as a reviewer just as Ketchum does as a writer. At that point I closed the book and decided not to finish reading it. But then I remembered, even as literature, the victim has a voice and even post-mortem, that person needs to honored by simply hearing the story in full. Never blink, never turn away. So I finished the story. Although I love Ketchum's books, I hated reading "The Girl Next Door." I gave it 4 stars because Amazon does not allow me to give it 4 1/2. It is an extremely well written story. The choice of a first person narrator was brilliant and the decision not to whitewash the boy's choices by painting him as heroic was brave and inspired. The book pulls you in and the narrative drags you, however unwillingly, along with it. No make believe monster, no flesh eating post-apocalyptic ghoul, generates more fear than does the human animal. This book did make me afraid. Not of the monster under the bed, but rather of the hidden monster in us all. I don't recall from the original case if the insane mother had actually been killed at the end. I did not want to go back and research it either. American literature demands happy endings to the darkest of tales and I was glad enough to let this one go.

Ketchum's novel should make you squirm with discomfort, not because it is a horror book, but because it is horrifyingly closer to the real side of human brutality than to those fantastical drafted gore fests we sink our teeth into when our tongues require the taste of terror. There is a novel by Luanne Rice called Stone Heart that crept into the hidden realm of Domestic Abuse without the benefit of rose colored glasses, and left me breathless in the wake of such an emotional journey. "Girl Next Door" took me through that journey again, but this time the passage was darker and filled with unaccountable dread. "How could this happen?" you will say. "Why didn't anybody DO anything?" The tide of emotion you will feel sweeping over you, washing your pity in tears as salty as the ocean and swirling the intense sadness through your soul, will leave you touched by a profound sense of loss. In the 1950's, life was simple for a group of neighborhood children, living in a close knit, out of the way community. David was a boy back then, when Meg and Susan Loughlin move in next door with Ruth Chandler and her three sons, after the death of their parents in a car accident that left Meg scarred and Susan crippled. David doesn't mind playing with Ruth's boys, and often found Ruth to be quite pleasant, in that she would treat the boys as adults and even allow them beer at times. But Ruth had a legendary temper, well known throughout the neighborhood. David is enchanted by Meg, and therefore hangs around more than ever next door, wanting to be near her. Ruth, unstable before, begins rushing down towards the pits of insanity at a noticeably accelerated pace; and makes the Loughlin girls targets for her anger-infused mania. Descending from verbal abuse, to overworking Meg at chores, to her final psychotic imprisonment of the two innocent girls, Ketchum's painting of Ruth in the colors of derangement and lunacy is vivid and realistically unsettling. Ruth slowly begins to allow others to join her in terrorizing the girls, and though David is mortified at the scenes unfolding right in front of him, he does nothing and tells no one about Ruth's basement until it is too late. I will not divulge any further information, but with the story being told from David's viewpoint, you can feel and understand his hesitation and fear, and remember that he himself was still just a child. In this book, you may find yourself wishing that Ketchum was less skilled in his writings, so that you wouldn't find yourself so drawn into the characters and the appalling scenario. This book will make you angry and sad, leave you feeling helpless in your inability to change the outcome, and that is exactly what you should be feeling. You will not walk away untouched. By far, one of the most riveting and revolting horror books I have ever read, well worth the money you spend.

Novelist Jack Ketcham might very well be Satan in disquise. At the very least, he is the devil's advocate. In this story he forcefully throttles your comfort zone and shatters any notions you may have about the overall goodness of humanity. In almost sinister fashion, he guides you to the edge of hell then dares you to turn away. Not intended for the timid reader, this one is a total soul scorcher. The Girl Next Door is loosely based on the unsettling true story of the murder of Sylvia Likens. This adaption takes place in the 1950's suburban America. Just a typical neighborhood that many people can identify with. Meg is a pretty teenage girl that suffers unconscionable mental and physical punishment from her aunt Ruth. Now, any story about child abuse is going to be unsettling. What's even more unnerving here is the fact that several young family members and neighborhood kids witness the graphic torture as Meg is held captive in the basement. Many of them even join in on the horrific treatment of the poor girl. I can hardly think of a more terrible situation. To make matters even more unbearable, Ketcham tells this story from the point of view of a frightened young boy named David. He cares about Meg, but is scared to tell any other adults about the situation. Plus he is strangely drawn to this whole ordeal. With Meg tied up and stripped naked, it eventually moves past the point of his rising sexual curiosity to helpless desperation. Ketcham is a master storyteller. His vivid descriptions of the malicious torture are emotionally vicious, but he leaves much of it up to your darkest imaginations. The roughest part is the fact that we the readers are forced to gradually soak in David's thoughts and his guilt attached to the situation. That's where the book really stands apart from the movie. The events are repulsive, of course, but I remember also feeling guilty because I shared David's fascination and eagerness to return down to that basement. There is never a dull moment in this book. It has some rich character development and fitting dialogue. Plus Aunt Ruth has to be one of the most heinous villans ever imagined. I'm telling you, she's ruthless. Most kids have a natural tendency to usually accept an adult's judgement as being wiser than their own. At least to a certain degree. But the way she is able to basically brainwash these children is flat out scary. Plus, who could actually do this sort of thing to another person, let alone a young teen? Evil knows no boundaries. The Girl Next Door crosses a line that should never be touched, except in fictional books or movies. Some people might feel that a situation this grim shouldn't even be talked about. It will definitely invoke feelings of discomfort and contempt. But, welcome to the real world. Reality often blurs any sense of hope or righteousness. It's unfortunate--really shameful and disgusting--that something like this could ever happen. Once you open this book and start the descent into hell, there is no turning back. The wickedness will be forever emblazoned in your memory banks. Don't say I didn't warn you.

The Girl Next Door is about a young boy who slowly gets introduced to various terrors committed by people he is well aquatinted with. His neighbors and best friends adopt two young girls after their parents' death. The matriarch of the house, Ruth, slowly allows their marginalization turn into torture. The reader is put into the perspective of the boy who witnesses the atrocities evolve from verbal abuse to unnamable acts. He is forced to answer the all important question: when do I become guilty? This book, though it is devastatingly explicit and shockingly grotesque delves into something deeper than what many might call "B-Movie Horror." There is a duality to it that grabs the reader and makes him or her trudge through sick and depressing plot points. First, there is visceral and acute horror. When you read anything by Ketchum, you are ripped out of your world and thrust into his. It isn't a gentle transition. It isn't like nodding off to sleep and awakening in a dream world. It's like falling down from a ladder and being knocked unconscious into a terrifying nightmare. Even the seemingly banal scenes in the novel have a sense of foreboding and suspense that has you investing in characters you have only known for a few pages. From riding on a Ferris Wheel with an older girl you have a crush on to witnessing torture mere feet away, you are strapped in. Ketchum succeeds in both making you want know what happens next while at the same time shaking you back and forth with each event in the story. The voice of the boy is so pitch perfect and so easy to identify with, you begin to wonder what you would be doing in his situation. Secondly, though it seems chaotic and fast paced, there is a slow burning question that the characters are answering in different ways: when does a man become a monster? Each person who is privy to what happens to the victim of the story crosses the line from innocence into culpability. From the ring leader to the passive bystander, everyone is thrust into a decision point. Ketchum shows us that even the most banal, innocent person can become the psychopath read about in the news. Just under everyone's skin, even the skin of a child, is an evil that is just waiting to be let out. The main characters adolescent mind must come to terms with the fact that as each moment goes by he is slowly transforming into a terribly evil human being and then decide if he is going to do anything about it. An important reminder: Although this book has a potent and ultimately important lesson, it is graphic, sick, depressing and likely to make you feel bad. Be careful with it.

Je ne peux que recommander ce livre bien qu’il puisse être perturbant. Âmes sensibles, prenez garde.

Been 6 months and I'm sure that I'm permanently traumatised. But it's grounded and makes you see the depravity yourself. You ARE the narrator. You see with his eyes. And it's not pleasurable. It's quite literally anti-escapist. Ketchum takes you hostage and makes you read while holding a gun to your face. Turning the pages became very difficult by one point. These pages have some physics defying weight. I didn't wanna read, but I read it anyway and I wish I had read it before. Yes, I don't regret it. I find it rather necessary. The world is not a playground. Or maybe it is, but for the worst of people. I have been sleep deprived and shed a significant amount of tears. The memories of this just randomly hits me out of the blue. Truly the best book I've ever read. I've read around 25 books in the last 6 months but almost nothing leaves an imprint on me now. This numbed me and I can't be scared by anything that has any supernatural to do with it. I read it and forget in day or a week. This....it stays with me for the rest of my life. Quite literally a life-altering read. If you think you LIKE disturbing books, think again because this is not a book you like. If you do, I'd be very scared to be in a 100 squaremiles radius of you. Ketchum has my undying respect. He's THE horror writer. And as Stephen King so well put it to words, THIS BOOK IS ALIVE. And I am alive. Sort of. Something did die in me. My innocence. Lost. Forever in the fiery reality portrayed in this book. I won't recommend it. How can someone? Think of Reading it if you think you're in a good space of mind but I don't know. This is real. It's terrible to say the least. The protagonist is Meg. And she's become my most loved character ever. The antagonist is....no that'll be a spoiler...but the antagonist is my least loved character ever and he/she terrifies me because how real and at large such people are. The real life antagonist got out on bail. That judge is living disgrace for humanity.

怖いながらも、文章のうまさのおかげで読むのをやめられませんでした。酷くて残酷でかわいそうだけど、このようなひどい事件は世界各地で実際に起こってるんだなあ。

Wandering across the internet looking for something worth reading or watching I stumbled upon this book. Triggered by the countless reviews, none of which was less that amazing, I decided to give it a try. I already knew the story and I was eager to know how the author succeeded in making a novel out if it. I had absolutely no clue what I was about to step into. Honestly, it’s been a living hell. Hardly ever I have experienced something so strong. The story is hunting, disturbing it goes right to your guts and makes you sick. It drags you into a bottomless pit of desperation, anger and hopelessness. Being based on real events this true-crime story really has a completely different taste from everything I’ve ever red before. The more you go through the pages the more you want to know. Knowing becomes a strong addiction, you want to know how far the story goes and how bad it turns. It is so stunningly written that I found myself cringing and flinching. All that pain and suffering those poor girls had to go through while kept captive as well as their tormentors are so vivid that you feel you have to turn your head the other way. It is said that no beast is so fierce but knows some touch of pity, yet everyone who met those girls and took part in her agony felt like having none of it. The story is told by a teenage boy next door, the only character you soon start to have some hope he could do something right, taking into action and turn things around. Someone said this book is not meant for everybody but everybody should read it. It well describes the human wickedness and its banality. As for me it’s almost impossible to not rate this book with anything less of 5 stars.

It starts out like a typical coming-of-age story, but things go downhill (or uphill, depending on how you see it) fast once the small abusive gestures spiral completely out of control and turn into pure torture. After reading some reviews, I was a bit hesitant and kept postponing this one — but I’m glad I finally picked it up. I really enjoy Ketchum’s writing, and once I started, I couldn’t put the book down. The story is heavy, but manageable in my opinion (though I might just be a bit desensitized). It’s definitely not for the faint of heart. What really makes this story stand out is how it shows moral values gradually fading under certain circumstances — and how terrifying that can be. The most chilling part of all? Knowing it’s based on a true story.