Spoiler-Free Review of Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door

Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door is a grim psychological horror tale about a young girl suffering abuse at the hands of her guardian and peers. It is, as they say, not for the faint of heart. What makes this story particularly horrifying is that it's based on the true story of Sylvia Likens.

TGND takes place through the POV of David, a preteen boy who is neighbors with Meg, the girl who suffers the abuse. David seems like a nice boy, right up until the moment he doesn't. I have complicated feelings about how David is portrayed, but I suspect that's the point of his portrayal.

Ketchum's prose is highly readable and authentically boyish without being facile. The short chapters and straightforward writing make this a fast read...if you can stand it.

The story is a slow burn, but once it ramps up it doesn't stop for anything. And you start to wish that it would stop. It wears on you, reading about Meg's abuse. It makes you think of Sylvia, the real girl behind it all.

I've read books about snuff films; I've read books about putting babies in blenders; I've read books about cannibalism. I've read some gruesome things. I don't think I've ever read anything quite so haunting before. This book gave me nightmares.