Elizabeth Scott
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 28
Average rating: 4.0 of 5
For mature readers only, be ready for some deep discussions on this one. 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
"It will be over soon, finally, but the thing about hearts is that they always want to keep beating."
Silent Ray
They call him "Silent Ray" at work. He likes that. He is in control. The police woman in the park likes him, too. They both feel sorry for the skinny, little girl because she doesn't look as if she has anyone caring for her. They agree that it's such a pity the way some children are treated. Ray hates to see them hurt. They're special and magical --- especially little girls. There are people out there, they call them "perverts," who do awful things to kids. Ray has no use for anything like that. He has his own little girl and takes very good care of her. She is his and does anything he says. Yes, he takes very good care of his "Alice." But something is happening to Alice --- she's getting taller, and no matter how little he lets her eat, she's growing. That's just not good. Something has to be done.
Living Dead Alice
Her name isn't really Alice. She used to be Kyla. She was 10 years old and thought the man was being so helpful. Now Kyla is dead because that is the only way to be with Ray. Her heart keeps beating, but it's dead. How can that be? Ray will kill her parents if she runs. If only they knew what happens when the door closes and he takes her. Sometimes he almost kills her and then kisses away the bruises, the bloodied lips, the torn flesh, the bite marks. She belongs to him. He is all-powerful, she is nothing. Ray's charm fools them all, but Alice knows:
"Ray is missing something other than his soul. It's like you see him, and he's a person, but if you look close enough, you can tell that he's not. Like underneath his skin, he's not hollow. He's rotted out."
She wants to be free, away from his hot hands, his grasping and his hurting. No one sees, no one hears, no one does anything to help her. If she dares save herself, what is the cost? Where is freedom? Could it be the boy in the park and his little sister? The police woman? The neighbor? Please, somebody, before it's too late, too late, too late.
Like Robert Cormier, Elizabeth Scott has dared to take a picture no one wants to see. This is, without question, one of the most emotionally difficult reads I've experienced. Any parent will cringe at the flawless way Ray is able to kidnap Kyla. Anyone reading this book will be so horrified they won't want to finish it, yet they will not be able to put it down. Scott's spare language, as she speaks through Alice's character, is powerful, gripping and heart-wrenching. The final page will leave you stunned. For mature readers only, be ready for some deep discussions on this one.
--- Reviewed by Sally M. Tibbetts
Editorial Review:
Once upon a time, I was a little girl who disappeared.Once upon a time, my name was not Alice.
Once upon a time, I didn't know how lucky I was.
When Alice was ten, Ray took her away from her family, her friends -- her life. She learned to give up all power, to endure all pain. She waited for the nightmare to be over.
Now Alice is fifteen and Ray still has her, but he speaks more and more of her death. He does not know it is what she longs for. She does not know he has something more terrifying than death in mind for her.
This is Alice's story. It is one you have never heard, and one you will never, ever forget.
