Reviews with content warning for Body horror - Bright Young Women

This novel is a great study of (complex) grief, survivor’s guilt, trauma, romantic and platonic love, difficult or absent parenting, and, most interestingly to me, female rage.

Do not take any of these themes lightly. If you are as disturbed by misogyny and violence as any functioning human should be, be prepared to be even further disturbed by this book. So, for this one, beware of the trigger warnings before reading.

With that in mind, let it be said that Jessica Knoll does not glorify violence against women - herself a survivor, she handles the dark moments with as much care as I imagine one can for a story centralized on the aftermath of surviving a serial killing spree. Specifically, Knoll flips the perspective of a classic crime story on its head, instead working to connect the women and survivors left behind to deal with the trauma of losing a loved one under such horrifying circumstances.

Conceived and written in a thriller-like pace, the novel is refreshing in its take on the famed Ted Bundy murders. Like Pamela, one of the main characters - an intelligent, brave, bright young woman full of integrity - expresses it, he was merely another man preying on women. A far cry from the charming mastermind the media made him out to be, but rather a man who sought to control and overpower the women in the world that shone brighter than him. A classic case of incel before the word was even conceived, and he was nothing special - there have been and are still many more men like him out there in the world. Scared, disturbed, and unintelligent who lash out their anger at the world through gruesome, unwarranted acts.

A great and relevant read that provoked female rage in me and an even stronger belief in women’s ability to heal through communication and community. Would recommend others to pick it up, though with care - given the traumatic nature of the story, it will definitely not be everyone’s cup of tea.

The book could perhaps have been trimmed a little or still left a couple of loose threads that I perhaps would have liked to have had explored further. It’s a strong 4.25/5 for me at the time being!

Content Warnings