Luckiest Girl Alive was sent to my by the publisher via Netgalley to read and give an honest review.
Published: May 12th, 2015
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 352
Synopsis by the the publisher:
As a teenager at the prestigious Bradley School, Ani FaNelli endured a shocking, public humiliation that left her desperate to reinvent herself. Now, with a glamorous job, expensive wardrobe, and handsome blue blood fiancé, she’s this close to living the perfect life she’s worked so hard to achieve.
But Ani has a secret.
There’s something else buried in her past that still haunts her, something private and painful that threatens to bubble to the surface and destroy everything.
With a singular voice and twists you won’t see coming, Luckiest Girl Aliveexplores the unbearable pressure that so many women feel to “have it all” and introduces a heroine whose sharp edges and cutthroat ambition have been protecting a scandalous truth, and a heart that’s bigger than it first appears.
The question remains: will breaking her silence destroy all that she has worked for—or, will it at long last, set Ani free?
And now, over to the review!
Luckiest Girl Alive is probably not a book that I would have picked up in the store. I was not really sold on the synopsis when I first came over it and I didn’t LOVE the cover. But after reading some really good (no spoiler) reviews, I decided to request it on Netgalley.
What it turned out to be, was nothing like I ever would have expected it to be.
This book is quite difficult to review without spoiling you guys so that’s why I’m doing it a little different this review, but it is for your own good. Haha!
The thing about this book is that it is brutal and it is uncomfortably honest at times. It takes a look on the pressure for women when it comes to looks, status and career. And what makes this book very thrilling and gripping is the secrets that unravel throughout the books.
It was well written and how it all come together was done really well. It took me a little while to get invested in the story mostly because Ani is not a character that I personally felt extremely connected to in the beginning.
I watched this video prior to reading the book so I was very prepared to not immediately like Ani:
Did Knoll make me care about Ani?
Definitely! I rooted for her even though I did not agree with all of her choices.
Did I see some of myself in her? Yeah, I did. The pressure she’s under is something that I think most women faces at some point.
She was a refreshingly honest character and I really liked that. It made the story into something more than what I ever thought possible. It touches on some extremely heavy subjects that needs this kind of focus.
And the plot twist! Let’s just say that I had to stop reading the section, go back and read it again just to be sure that my eyes hadn’t tricked me.
Some parts I wished were gone even more into depths with and I really would have loved to get to know some of the side characters a little better. Especially Ben. I wish we could have heard more about him.
And I believe Knoll gave it the perfect ending!
Highly recommend if you want to read something a little different, brutally honest and somewhat uncomfortable in a good way.
People are comparing it to Gone Girl. Since I haven’t read Gone Girl I can’t vouch for that, but maybe it helps you get more of a feel to what kind of story to expect of this book.
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This book is also being made into a movie produced by Reese Witherspoon.
Christina de Vries 