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3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
The protagonist of the Luckiest Girl Alive is a woman you love to hate. I guess that could be the reason for so many bad reviews; you could definitely find a lot to be offended by in Ani's many references to class and style. However, I understood it to be compensation for the many bad events that transpired in her life. I think I could relate to TifAni in a way that all women who have at one point in their life been victimized by men on some level can understand. I thought it was interesting to see the journey Ani took to resolve her demons. And I strongly encourage anyone who reads the book to read the postscript matter at the back of the book for a true understanding of TifAni's story.
wow... i was duped into reading this book because netflix turned it into a movie. (shame on me.)
i will not be watching said movie & do not recommend this book because of how carelessly this story deals with very serious issues including, but not limited to: eating disorders, rape, suicide, racial slurs, homophobia, mass shootings, severe bullying, etc.
i will not be watching said movie & do not recommend this book because of how carelessly this story deals with very serious issues including, but not limited to: eating disorders, rape, suicide, racial slurs, homophobia, mass shootings, severe bullying, etc.
For myself, this was a hard read. Not because of the trigger warnings, but because of the writers style. I really just read it to compare to the movie. I am excited to be able to finally watch it. Definitely worth the read, maybe not to buy.
When I first started this book I wasn't sure I liked it or the main character. Although she never became relateable to me, I did find myself invested in Ani's story. I really liked this story of reinvention.
Not sure how I feel about this one! There were some things I enjoyed a lot, and other things that irked me. I'm going to keep it simple and make a list:
Things I liked:
- Jessica Knoll is a fantastic writer. This book had some of the best metaphors and descriptions I've read all year. It's all just artful and beautiful and I loved it. It's especially amazing for a debut novelist who has mainly done journalistic work before. I would absolutely check out future books she writes based on the quality of the writing seen here.
- Ani was unlikable in a realistic way. Our protagonist is not the most likable woman on the surface. She's obsessed with status and the markers of status (her Prada bag, her SUV, her Tribeca address). She says things like "I put on my Lululemon extra small tank top" that kind of make you want to gag. But as we learn more about Ani's backstory and how she became the way she is you begin to understand why she finds such solace and places such importance on things like her brand name clothes and her 'perfect' figure. I found myself rooting for her without ever actually liking her, and I'm not sure if I've ever experienced that before in a book.
- The Women's Magazine: Ani works at a trendy magazine called the Women's Magazine. As she describes the magazine and the kind of articles she writes, I remember thinking "this sounds just like Cosmo", only to find, lo and behold, that Jessica Knoll was a long-time Cosmo editor. I enjoyed the little details Knoll included about what it's like to work in the magazine industry, and the cutthroat nature of the competition.
Things I didn't like:
- There was too much going on. The two traumatic events that Ani endures are big and scary and horrible enough to each warrant their own novel. But trying to do both in the same book felt like neither of them got the same the attention they deserved. All that trauma plus a love triangle, a wedding, family drama -- it all felt like too much for a book that wasn't particularly long.
- On a similar note, I thought the book was trying really hard to be very topical. The two traumatic events felt SO "ripped-from-the-headlines", if you know what I mean. This makes a book buzzier, but I thought the topics were all a bit shoehorned in.
Things I liked:
- Jessica Knoll is a fantastic writer. This book had some of the best metaphors and descriptions I've read all year. It's all just artful and beautiful and I loved it. It's especially amazing for a debut novelist who has mainly done journalistic work before. I would absolutely check out future books she writes based on the quality of the writing seen here.
- Ani was unlikable in a realistic way. Our protagonist is not the most likable woman on the surface. She's obsessed with status and the markers of status (her Prada bag, her SUV, her Tribeca address). She says things like "I put on my Lululemon extra small tank top" that kind of make you want to gag. But as we learn more about Ani's backstory and how she became the way she is you begin to understand why she finds such solace and places such importance on things like her brand name clothes and her 'perfect' figure. I found myself rooting for her without ever actually liking her, and I'm not sure if I've ever experienced that before in a book.
- The Women's Magazine: Ani works at a trendy magazine called the Women's Magazine. As she describes the magazine and the kind of articles she writes, I remember thinking "this sounds just like Cosmo", only to find, lo and behold, that Jessica Knoll was a long-time Cosmo editor. I enjoyed the little details Knoll included about what it's like to work in the magazine industry, and the cutthroat nature of the competition.
Things I didn't like:
- There was too much going on. The two traumatic events that Ani endures are big and scary and horrible enough to each warrant their own novel. But trying to do both in the same book felt like neither of them got the same the attention they deserved. All that trauma plus a love triangle, a wedding, family drama -- it all felt like too much for a book that wasn't particularly long.
- On a similar note, I thought the book was trying really hard to be very topical. The two traumatic events felt SO "ripped-from-the-headlines", if you know what I mean. This makes a book buzzier, but I thought the topics were all a bit shoehorned in.
I really don't know what I was thinking the first time I read this book years ago, and I loved it, but this time, I was seriously questioning if I was reading the same book. I can't remember it being so rich girl wininy like it is in the beginning and only got somewhat decent and manageable towards the end where you start seeing the main plot point of the book but the ending was pretty underwhelming. There were a few funny quotes, but other than that, I found it a really hard read at times.
What do you get when you cross Gone Girl with a typical Lifetime movie? This book. It's good, though, and there are few twists I didn't see coming. Recommended for those who enjoy this type of story.
The first part was a bit exhausting with all the brand name dropping and constant jockeying for social status. I would've dropped it had I not been reading it for a book group, but I'm glad I stuck with it. Alliances and sympathies shift from various characters throughout the book, and in the end, nobody is as good or as bad as you might have originally thought. I suspect those blurry lines will lead to a lively discussion at book group.
This book follows Ani FaNelli, a successful associate editor for a modern women's magazine based in Manhattan, as she is set to marry into the established, moneyed Harrison family. Despite working desperately to escape the demons of her middle-class past in suburban Philadelphia, Ani's determined efforts to maintain a sophisticated facade begin to falter when she faces the darkness of her past life.
This story is a first person narrative that alternates between present-day and 14 years prior, when the troubling events of Ani's first months at the prestigious Bradley School unfolded. Ani, who changed her name from TifAni when she left Pennsylvania behind, is not exactly a likable character--at least not at first. Everything she does is a calculated move to either maintain status or to position herself to advance, and her obsession with food and clothing labels is off-putting.
However, if you can keep reading and get past this, you will start to clue into why Ani does what she does and things start to make more sense. Ani is a strong female character, and as her motivations come to light, it is easier to root for her. That being said, I didn't find this to be a thriller or a page-turner. It was entertaining but not something I just couldn't put down. I would not liken this to Girl on a Train or Gillian Flynn, unless unlikable characters is what charmed you about those stories.
This story is a first person narrative that alternates between present-day and 14 years prior, when the troubling events of Ani's first months at the prestigious Bradley School unfolded. Ani, who changed her name from TifAni when she left Pennsylvania behind, is not exactly a likable character--at least not at first. Everything she does is a calculated move to either maintain status or to position herself to advance, and her obsession with food and clothing labels is off-putting.
However, if you can keep reading and get past this, you will start to clue into why Ani does what she does and things start to make more sense. Ani is a strong female character, and as her motivations come to light, it is easier to root for her. That being said, I didn't find this to be a thriller or a page-turner. It was entertaining but not something I just couldn't put down. I would not liken this to Girl on a Train or Gillian Flynn, unless unlikable characters is what charmed you about those stories.