#260 - The Girl Next Door

Suburbia. Shady, tree-lined streets, well-tended lawns and cozy homes. A nice, quiet place to grow up. Unless you are teenage Meg or her crippled sister, Susan. On a dead-end street, in the dark, damp basement of the Chandler house, Meg and Susan are left captive to the savage whims and rages of a distant aunt who is rapidly descending into madness. It is a madness that infects all three of her sons--and finally the entire neighborhood. Only one troubled boy stands hesitantly between Meg and Susan and their cruel, torturous deaths. A boy with a very adult decision to make... I've read a lot of great books lately, but I've just finished one that has to be the most horrifying of them all: Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door. Shit, who needs the walking dead or demons when you can use a monster that tops them all: human beings. In this cult classic we see pretty much the worst of child abuse. It'll kick your ass and fuck with your emotions. It'll leave you asking questions such as why and how could anyone do this to two young girls. Sadly, things like this happen a lot in this world. When you read something like this it just rocks you. A word of caution. It's not a pleasant story to read. Not by a long shot. But while it's horrifyingly real you just can't stop reading. It's a sickening and disturbing journey that'll chew you up and spit you out. The worst is that it was based on real events. It's not for the squeamish. Hell, it messed with my head. What are your chances? 5 out of 5.