Review: As I Wake by Elizabeth Scott

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile

Publication Date: September 15th, 2011

Ava is welcomed home from the hospital by a doting mother, lively friends, and a crush finally beginning to show interest. There's only one problem: Ava can't remember any of them - and can't shake the eerie feeling that she's not who they say she is.

Ava struggles to break through her amnesiac haze as she goes through the motions of high-school life, but the memories that surface take place in a very different world, where Ava and familiar-faced friends are under constant scrutiny and no one can be trusted. Ava doesn't know what to make of these visions, or of the boy who is at the center of them all, until he reappears in her life and offers answers . . . but only in exchange for her trust.

(Courtesy of Goodreads)

This has to be one of the weirdest books I have ever read.  It has gotten a lot of mixed reviews, and I can see why now.  It takes a certain type of reader to like this book, and a lot of fans of Elizabeth Scott's other books will absolutely hate it because it's a bit of a departure.  I didn't love this book, but I didn't hate it.  It was okay, but not anything I'm going to go out of my way to recommend.  Here are some things you should know before reading this book:

• It is extremely confusing for the most of the story.  I THINK I understand what was going on, now that I've finished it, but I'm still not 100% certain.  I know I didn't have a clue until about 90% through.  If you like a book that has you puzzling to figure it out through the entire thing, then this book is for you.
• It's hard to connect with any of the characters because of the fact that you're never sure who you are dealing with, or how they connect with the story, until the very end. 
• The language is strange.  The way the protagonist, Ava, talks to and about herself is very strange and confusing.  Granted, she really doesn't have a clue, herself, but I found it bothersome.  If you are easily frustrated when authors use different styles of speech, you will have difficulty with this book.

If you can get past the above points, then you may enjoy this.  I found it a little too complicated because I read for entertainment and escape, and this book was just way too taxing on my brain.  It was very intense.  It's definitely for a very niche group of readers, that I don't think I'm a part of.   (It does have a fabulous cover though!)

My Rating: ★ ★ ★ 

Grade Level Recommendation:  I think it's fine for Middle School (6th grade) and up.  There's some violence, but otherwise, it's pretty clean.  Ages 11+.

Banned Book Showcase: Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Publication Date: September 2nd, 2008

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.

(Courtesy of Goodreads)

This book has been both challenged and banned for being "inappropriate".  Disturbing? Yes.  Inappropriate for teen readers? No.  Yes, this book is graphic; everything about it is just wrong, but these types of things happen in real life and just because we don't want to acknowledge them doesn't mean they aren't.  Perhaps a teen who had read this at a point in life where he or she can relate to the protagonist, won't turn a blind eye later on in life if they come across a child who is in a situation that is "not quite right".  Actually, I think the part of this book that I found most disturbing was not the despicable actions the abuser (although they were BEYOND disturbing), but the utter lack of initiative on the parts of the adult bystanders who knew something wrong was happening to this girl, but did NOTHING about it.  This book was horrifying and it was not one I enjoyed reading, but it was well done and it wasn't sugarcoated.  One challenger did so because it had an "unsatisfactory ending".  I don't want to spoil here, but these type of stories don't usually have satisfactory endings.  This story was gritty, raw, and entirely realistic; I honestly don't know how Elizabeth Scott was able to write it so well.  I rate it highly because of how well it is done and how engaging it is, but for the record, I hated this book every minute I was reading it.  My stomach stayed in knots the entire time because all I could think about was, "This could be my daughter.".

My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★  

Grade Level Recommendation:  On one level I say that this is a high school book.  It is very complex despite it's small page count.  It is graphic and horrifying.  On another level I think to myself that if the protagonist had read this at 11, when she was abducted, she probably would not have been.  I can't really make a call on this one.  Like many of these books on sensitive topics, I feel that the parent should read it first, and decide when the right time for their kid to read it is.  For my kids, I lean toward 8th or 9th grade.

**Don't forget to enter my giveaway for the Banned Books Week Giveaway Hop HERE**