The Girl Next Door (Jack Ketchum novel)
| Author | Jack Ketchum |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Neal McPheeters |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Crime, Thriller, Horror |
| Publisher | Warner Books, Overlook Connection Press, Leisure Books, Amazon Kindle |
|
Publication date
|
1989 |
| Media type | Paperback, Hardcover & E-book |
| Pages | 370 |
| ISBN | |
| Preceded by | She Wakes 1989 in literature |
| Followed by | Offspring 1991 in literature |
The Girl Next Door is a crime novel written by author Jack Ketchum in 1989. It is about two teen girls who are left in the care of their aunt, and the systematic and escalating abuse both of them and one sister in particular suffer at the hands of their aunt and her children. It is loosely based on the true story of the murder of Sylvia Likens in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1965. In 2007 it was made into a feature film, The Girl Next Door.
The story neighborhood children by allowing them to come freely into her home, play as rough as they wish, and even drink an occasional beer with her.
Ruth's nieces then enter the picture; Meg, a teen girl for whom David develops feelings and Susan, a young girl who was severely injured in a car accident and still experiences complications from it. Both girls come to live with their aunt after the sudden death of their parents. All first when they arrive all seems well. However, Ruth's mental state has been deteriorating over time, and the burden of having two more children to care for seems to accelerate her descent into madness.
Ruth begins verbally abusing Meg, calling her a slut. After an incident where Meg hits Ralphie when he touches her breast, Ruth beats Susan for "being in canivance" with Meg. When Meg tries to tell a police officer about the abuse, Ruth locks her in their bomb shelter and allows her boys to strip her, then leaves her there, bound and gagged all night. She starves her and even allows the other children to burn, beat her and even urinate in Meg's face over the course of months, making them feel that because they have the permission of an adult, their actions are okay and will not be punished.
David soon realizes that he must do something before time runs out and he loses the first girl he has ever loved. However, despite his efforts, his plan to rescue Meg is foiled when Meg tries to bring her sister Susan with her and Ruth catches them trying to leave. As punishment, Ruth allows her son Donny to rape Meg. Willie also wants to rape her, but Ruth refuses to let him, saying it is incest for him to do so after his brother. Ruth then carves the words "I FUCK / FUCK ME" into Meg's stomach, saying she is doing it so no man will ever want Meg. Ruth then takes it a step further and decides she will end all sexual desire on Meg's part and gives her a clitorectomy.
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