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3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
Trigger warning: rape
So I didn't read this when this book first came out (with everyone saying this was the next Gillian Flynn) but I have to say that this was a surprising read and for once did not make me want to pull my hair out like many books do with the word "girl" in the title. I actually felt for the protagonist Ani FaNelli. I know a lot of readers didn't like her, but I honestly did when the book starts digging in deeper to Ani in high school and college. Why she can't sleep and what she's searching for even though she's engaged to someone that anyone would call a catch. I also felt for how lonely she was since she really has only allowed one person in her life (her best friend) to see the real her.
"Luckiest Girl Alive" follows 28 year old Ani FaNelli. Ani has a life that many women would kill for. She lives in New York, is engaged to a WASP, and also works at NY Magazine. Ani is focused on being the best she can be at all times and is now pushing to have a wedding that most women would kill for. The book slowly reveals though that Ani is being asked to participate in a documentary. Her fiancée Luke is opposed to her participating and just wants Ani to "let that crap go." But Ani has a need to finally have the real story of what happened to her while attending a private school called Bradley as a teen.
Look, I get why Ani turned a lot of people off. She's the epitome of an anti-hero. To me she's not similar to Amazing Amy in Gone Girl. Amazing Amy just wore a face that was a lie to everyone around her. Ani pushes herself to have the perfect face because she knows what happens when you show weakness around others. Knoll showing us a younger Ani (when she was called TifAni)and her wanting desperately to fit in with the kids at Bradley. That she didn't feel as if she fit in and her mother was just as desperate as she was to be in with the cool crowd. Reading the passages of TifAni and Ani are a messy fit, but I get why now when you get to the different reveals. You know that something had to have happened to have Ani as an adult be all about control. With either her eating, or working out, or how she did her hair, Ani has to control things. When she starts to lose control of her fiancée and wonder about what she really wants in a marriage you start to see TifAni peeking out.
I liked the other characters in this, but not a lot of the adults besides TifAni's mom and Mr. Larson were very developed I thought in the TifAni sections. And the teens were wonderfully written I thought. The Ani sections though with her and her best friend Nell were really good though. I also liked that you could see what drew Ani to Luke, but also was starting to repel her.
The writing to me was more strong when we follow TifAni as a teen. Knoll writes teens very well and the ugliness of high school and how teens often turn into pack animals around anyone that they see as weak.
I honestly liked the ending to this. Probably because Knoll does not tie things up into a nice tidy bow. Life is messy and I think that there's enough context clues there that we can imagine what happens next when the documentary comes out. I know that a lot of readers wanted truth and justice to win the day, but sadly enough, life doesn't work out that way.
So I didn't read this when this book first came out (with everyone saying this was the next Gillian Flynn) but I have to say that this was a surprising read and for once did not make me want to pull my hair out like many books do with the word "girl" in the title. I actually felt for the protagonist Ani FaNelli. I know a lot of readers didn't like her, but I honestly did when the book starts digging in deeper to Ani in high school and college. Why she can't sleep and what she's searching for even though she's engaged to someone that anyone would call a catch. I also felt for how lonely she was since she really has only allowed one person in her life (her best friend) to see the real her.
"Luckiest Girl Alive" follows 28 year old Ani FaNelli. Ani has a life that many women would kill for. She lives in New York, is engaged to a WASP, and also works at NY Magazine. Ani is focused on being the best she can be at all times and is now pushing to have a wedding that most women would kill for. The book slowly reveals though that Ani is being asked to participate in a documentary. Her fiancée Luke is opposed to her participating and just wants Ani to "let that crap go." But Ani has a need to finally have the real story of what happened to her while attending a private school called Bradley as a teen.
Look, I get why Ani turned a lot of people off. She's the epitome of an anti-hero. To me she's not similar to Amazing Amy in Gone Girl. Amazing Amy just wore a face that was a lie to everyone around her. Ani pushes herself to have the perfect face because she knows what happens when you show weakness around others. Knoll showing us a younger Ani (when she was called TifAni)and her wanting desperately to fit in with the kids at Bradley. That she didn't feel as if she fit in and her mother was just as desperate as she was to be in with the cool crowd. Reading the passages of TifAni and Ani are a messy fit, but I get why now when you get to the different reveals. You know that something had to have happened to have Ani as an adult be all about control. With either her eating, or working out, or how she did her hair, Ani has to control things. When she starts to lose control of her fiancée and wonder about what she really wants in a marriage you start to see TifAni peeking out.
I liked the other characters in this, but not a lot of the adults besides TifAni's mom and Mr. Larson were very developed I thought in the TifAni sections. And the teens were wonderfully written I thought. The Ani sections though with her and her best friend Nell were really good though. I also liked that you could see what drew Ani to Luke, but also was starting to repel her.
The writing to me was more strong when we follow TifAni as a teen. Knoll writes teens very well and the ugliness of high school and how teens often turn into pack animals around anyone that they see as weak.
I honestly liked the ending to this. Probably because Knoll does not tie things up into a nice tidy bow. Life is messy and I think that there's enough context clues there that we can imagine what happens next when the documentary comes out. I know that a lot of readers wanted truth and justice to win the day, but sadly enough, life doesn't work out that way.
Excellent storytelling. The details the author uses to describe how Ani meticulously changes her life were so interesting. I did not see the twist coming and the ending left me wanting more. Recommend.
What a fantastic read. This book had me so hooked that I read it in one day. The writing is fantastic. There are some sentences that just hooked me, where I had to go back and re read because I thought, "that's awesome." It's captivating, addicting, and satisfying. The book begins with Ani (pronounced aUny) at 28 years old, living what she considers to be the perfect life. She has the rich fiance, and the perfect job, and she's pretty snotty with her nose high up in the air. I began to dislike her, and wondered where this was going...but then the story goes from past to present, and as it does this, I began to see why Ani was that way. Everything makes so much sense. Her crazy mother obsessed with what others think, which of course only means that 14 year old Ani is the same way. She's surrounded by jerks, typical kids who are total little devils. I really like that the story is completely believable. She has such potential but it's all screwed up by a catastrophic, tragic event. It was crazy sad, I really felt bad for every person in the book.... except the mother... I really disliked her the entire time. I wanted more. I have so many questions. I want more from Mr. Larson-there has got to be more there. I FELT it, and that's pretty awesome. I want to know more about the ending too... what was up with that? So what story is she telling now and what's going to happen? I think the book could have been a good hundred pages longer and had this information. It could've been so much better, but I am happy with it anyways.
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Francisca Navarro
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Francisca Navarro
As popular as this book is and with the recent Hulu movie out, I actually managed to stay completely spoiler free what the true storyline was. Knoll did a great job building the characters throughout the story and I really appreciated how she took me as a reader directly into the story through her vivid imagery. At first I wasn't a fan of Ani, but came to appreciate her as a character. I also appreciated Knoll's vulnerability at the end of the book, where she reflected on her own experiences as a writer as her connections with her characters.
It was a little too dark for me, I read about 20% and then read a book summary and stopped reading.
I didn't think I was going to like this. Everything I heard about it made it sound like it wasn't for me but I heard the author as a guest on my friend's podcast and I was intrigued. SO glad I gave it a chance. I really loved it! It wasn't SUPER suspenseful but it was very well told. The characters and storytelling really worked for me. I was hooked and I really enjoyed the whole thing.
'Uniquely disturbing' and 'disturbingly unique' are the two most prominent phrases that enter my mind as I ponder the aftermath of this novel. Certainly not a tale that I had ever encountered before; especially not told through the eyes of such an unsympathetic, blunt narrator. There were many horrifying moments, unpredictable plot-twists, and disgusting analogies within these pages; however, every one of these methods kept me intrigued enough to plow through the remaining chapters. Truthfully, TifAni is not the sort of person that I would enjoy meeting within the mundane moments of everyday life. She is vulgar, selfish, shallow, and epically psychotic; which is one of the primary reasons that this book was able to draw me in, despite its predatory breath as I skimmed a few of the chaotically graphic sentences. I cannot recommend this book, but I also cannot advocate for others not to read it. "Luckiest Girl Alive" is a whirlwind, the likes of which many readers have never experienced; I simply believe that it should be read at the risk of one's own sanity.
It's a good book, although I wouldn't call it my favorite. I wasn't expecting the story line. Easy read.
I've read a lot of hype about this book recently. And honestly, I don't get it. The main character is almost despicable in her treatment of others. Her devastating past has led her to be an insecure *itch who I didn't care for at all. The book read like 2 completely different stories but there was really no connection between the two. It seemed that Ani just carried her last with her and never really tried to move past it.
Not a book I would recommend to others.
Not a book I would recommend to others.
This is nothing like Gone Girl or Girl on the Train but I do think it's more engaging that the host of one-star reviews suggest. I sense the main issue most of these readers have with the novel is its somewhat unlikable protagonist -- she's kind of dead inside (understandably so, once you understand her traumas). I actually liked this book and read it in a single day because I kept wanting to know what would happen next.