SICK SICK SICK

So I started reading Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott. I knew what it was about. I had prepared myself for the awfulness that was child abuse in one of the worst situations. Well, I then started listening to a new audiobook. Without thinking about the plot, I started my next interlibrary loan book on cd so I'd have it back in time. Ack! It was Ellen Hopkin's newest book Identical, which also includes child abuse.

It was a very rough time getting through both books. However, I hate starting something and not finishing, so I plowed through. It was also interesting comparing the two. Living Dead Girl focused on child abduction, as well as verbal and physical abuse. The abuse in Identical is parental, and the plot is much more extensive. Both books are extremely troubling and realistic, while having plots at different ends of a terrifying spectrum. It was interesting that while the stories were similar and different, that the stories of the abusers were explained.

***SPOILER*** kinda
A message I enjoyed in both stories was the end of the cycle of abuse. It was apparent in both stories that the abused girls were determined to be the end of the chain of abuse. While the stories were tough to read/listen to at times, the message of strength and overcoming a powerful force (their abusers) made these girls survivors, not just victims.