The Girl Next Door

Rating:
Summary: Real-life horror, not for the faint-hearted.
Review: I'm not sure I can really add much to the other comments here, some of which are really quite eloquent in their discussions of the book. I bought the old paperback copy of the book, way back, a horrendous thing with a skeleton in a cheerleader's costume on the cover--the art had absolutely nothing to do with the story inside, as I was to discover. This was not the first Ketchum I'd read--that honor went to _Off Season_, which, if you've not read it yet, you owe it to yourself to find immediately. No, I came to _The Girl Next Door_ after I'd read a few more Ketchum titles, and I was totally unprepared.

This is easily the most gripping, horrifying, impossible-to-stop-reading book I've ever had in my hands. At the end, I felt so dirty, so complicit in the experience of reading that I threw away the book. Now, that's not a comment on the book or the quality of Mr. Ketchum's writing. On second thought, maybe it is--I've never been in the hands of someone so brutally honest, so able to force me to endure such a horrifying experience as the story he chronicles. This is not a feel-good experience. This is not one of those books where good triumphs over evil. You should not read this book if you're looking for a reassuring, light, easy read.

But if you're ready to look into the dark heart of human evil, this may be the book for you. It is truly a great book--an excellent novel with memorable characters and spot-on writing. But the story is not one you'll shake off easily. It really is something akin to driving slowly by the scene of an accident--you want to see what happened, while at the same time, you dread seeing what happened. If you feel up to the experience, give this one a try.

Rating:
Summary: Will leave you shaken and disturbed
Review: Nothing really shocks me anymore. I read a lot of horror and see a lot of horror films and after a while you've seen and read it all. Nothing really scares you anymore. Or so I thought.

When I read Stephen King's introduction to this book in a collection of King's essays and short stories I knew immediately that I had to try and locate a copy of this novel.

The book starts out peacefully, a boy catching crawfish by the river on a lazy summer day in the 50's and meets the pretty new girl in the area. Lucky for him, he thinks, it turns out she will be living with his best friend next door. Her parents were recently killed in an auto accident and the best friend was the next of kin.

But something isn't right next door, as we soon find out. No, something definately is not right.

It's the kind of book where you hands tremble as you hold the book, where you dread turning the page because you know it will only get worse but you do anyway. It's the kind of book where you almost hate yourself for not being able to put it down but you have to find out what happens next. It's the kind of book where you can't wait to find out the victim has been harbouring a plan all along and you can't wait for that moment of revenge, where good triumphs over evil. Then you think about Sylvia Lykins, the girl whose brutal murder was the catalyst for this book and you realize there isn't always a plan, that good doesn't always triumph over evil and when it does sometimes it's way too late.

It's a horror story all right. And for fans of the genre it's a must read for it will remind you that true horror is happening out there right now, all over the world in basements, seedy aparments downtown, and maybe even in the house right next door.

Rating:
Summary: NEVER HAVE I READ SOMETHING SO HORRIFIC
Review: This is probably the most disturbing and grippings novels I have ever read. It's not a horror novel but a story about realistic evil. The poor girls that are victims of the neighborhood abuse was almost too much to read. Also, Ketchum's style of writing made it seem like you were reading the young boy's journal. Speaking of which, I also felt so sad for him since he had to watch and experience the tortue of these girls. Being young he really didn't know what to do until it was too late. This is a MUST read for everyone and BY FAR Jack Ketchum's best novel.