The title of this haunting novel describes the psychological state of a kidnapped and sexually abused girl. Short, episodic chapters told in blunt first-person narrative detail Alice’s existence with her captor, Ray. Vivid but not gratuitously graphic scenes convey her daily life of terror. Taken when she was ten while on a school field trip, she is now fifteen—and Ray wants a new little girl. Alice, in many ways numb to her physical and psychological imprisonment, aids Ray in his search for the next victim only because she believes that her time will then be up. Ray’s repeated references to “623 Daisy Lane,” Alice’s childhood home, are evidence of his manipulative and threatening ways: From the beginning, Alice feared he would harm her parents if she tried to get away. A gripping story of horrifying criminal behavior stands out because of the insight it offers on Alice’s inability to flee, as well as on society’s inability to acknowledge uncomfortable and disturbing truths. (Ages 14 and older)

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.