Scan barcode
A review by dinipandareads
Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll
5.0
I just finished this book and I'm still feeling heated by it. Anything I say right now probably won't make much sense since I'm so *emotional* because this book made me SO MAD! I'm mad at the media, at police incompetency, at how society treats women, at how men are given passes and chances and leniency because "they have bright futures, have so much potential and blah blah bs", and at how pointedly this book shows that after all these years, while so much is different so little has changed. Bright Young Women was just utterly heartbreaking.
Content Warnings:
What Knoll does in this book by taking the narrative away from the serial killer and bringing the focus to the women whose lives were forever changed was fantastic. I don’t know if this has been done before though if it has, I haven’t ever seen or heard of it, but I loved how she rightfully makes this story about the women whose lives were brutally cut short and the women who have to endure and survive in the aftermath of this pathetic man’s actions. The author intentionally never names the serial killer instead calling him The Defendant, taking away the power of his name and again, giving that power back to the women he murdered. Also, just thinking about how such an action would’ve enraged this small, pathetic, beady-eyed pig of a man, brought me so much satisfaction while reading.
Bright Young Women is told in alternating POVs from the time of some of the earlier murders (early 1970s) up to the present day (2021). The first POV is from Pamela, the best friend of one of the sorority house victims and the sole individual who saw the Defendant leave the scene of the crime. The second POV is from Ruth, one of the women whose lives got cut short in the early 70s. A third very important character is Tina who, although she doesn’t get a POV, is the link between Pamela’s and Ruth’s stories. I loved all three of these women and I was absorbed in their stories. As women, they have all experienced so much pain and yet they grew stronger because of everything they endured. They were complex and empowering characters whom I greatly admired and I know I won’t be forgetting them anytime soon. Pamela in particular grew on me a lot and I loved her fight and determination as the story went on.
This isn’t a fast-paced action-crime thriller but it is an in-depth look into stories of the women whose lives got cut short. It’s heartbreaking, agonizing, and infuriating, and there’s an unsurprisingly large amount of justified anger woven through these pages. As we see men be dismissive of and condescending to Pamela and Tina because they are women, so naturally they are not to be trusted or they don’t know their own minds. Also incredulously, although not altogether surprising, we see multiple men be disgustingly supportive of the Defendant and even lament over his wasted potential because he is a man. It doesn’t matter that Pamela outshines the Defendant in every respect, especially intellectually, she is the one who is made out to be untrustworthy while he is the one who is mourned.
The author does not hold back as she dissects the role of the media in sensationalizing and even sickeningly glorifying this man, and highlights the total ineptitude of the police as they fumble not once or twice but multiple times in their handling of his case across multiple states. I have to admit that when I started reading, while I felt horrified by his actions, I was uninvested/indifferent to what I was reading. That completely changed the further I read and the more enraged I became at the indignities, injustices, indifference, and ineptitude displayed by people in positions of power and influence across society. It also made me saddened to think of everything women have gone through over the decades and how still, there is still so much hatred and fear of women even today (frankly, it's incredibly depressing to acknowledge).
I could honestly go on but ultimately, I would just recommend reading this book that gives the bright young women whose lives were stolen a moment more of recognition and respect. I would highly recommend it to those who love reading true crime or crime fiction. This was fully unexpected but it might be one of my favourite reads of 2024. I know for sure this story and its characters will live rent-free in my head for a while to come.
Content Warnings:
Spoiler
Rape, sexual assault, sexual partner violence, murder, kidnapping, misogyny, homophobia, forced institutionalisation/corrective therapy for being queer (lesbian) recounted, predatory relationship and grooming recounted, depictions of griefWhat Knoll does in this book by taking the narrative away from the serial killer and bringing the focus to the women whose lives were forever changed was fantastic. I don’t know if this has been done before though if it has, I haven’t ever seen or heard of it, but I loved how she rightfully makes this story about the women whose lives were brutally cut short and the women who have to endure and survive in the aftermath of this pathetic man’s actions. The author intentionally never names the serial killer instead calling him The Defendant, taking away the power of his name and again, giving that power back to the women he murdered. Also, just thinking about how such an action would’ve enraged this small, pathetic, beady-eyed pig of a man, brought me so much satisfaction while reading.
Bright Young Women is told in alternating POVs from the time of some of the earlier murders (early 1970s) up to the present day (2021). The first POV is from Pamela, the best friend of one of the sorority house victims and the sole individual who saw the Defendant leave the scene of the crime. The second POV is from Ruth, one of the women whose lives got cut short in the early 70s. A third very important character is Tina who, although she doesn’t get a POV, is the link between Pamela’s and Ruth’s stories. I loved all three of these women and I was absorbed in their stories. As women, they have all experienced so much pain and yet they grew stronger because of everything they endured. They were complex and empowering characters whom I greatly admired and I know I won’t be forgetting them anytime soon. Pamela in particular grew on me a lot and I loved her fight and determination as the story went on.
This isn’t a fast-paced action-crime thriller but it is an in-depth look into stories of the women whose lives got cut short. It’s heartbreaking, agonizing, and infuriating, and there’s an unsurprisingly large amount of justified anger woven through these pages. As we see men be dismissive of and condescending to Pamela and Tina because they are women, so naturally they are not to be trusted or they don’t know their own minds. Also incredulously, although not altogether surprising, we see multiple men be disgustingly supportive of the Defendant and even lament over his wasted potential because he is a man. It doesn’t matter that Pamela outshines the Defendant in every respect, especially intellectually, she is the one who is made out to be untrustworthy while he is the one who is mourned.
The author does not hold back as she dissects the role of the media in sensationalizing and even sickeningly glorifying this man, and highlights the total ineptitude of the police as they fumble not once or twice but multiple times in their handling of his case across multiple states. I have to admit that when I started reading, while I felt horrified by his actions, I was uninvested/indifferent to what I was reading. That completely changed the further I read and the more enraged I became at the indignities, injustices, indifference, and ineptitude displayed by people in positions of power and influence across society. It also made me saddened to think of everything women have gone through over the decades and how still, there is still so much hatred and fear of women even today (frankly, it's incredibly depressing to acknowledge).
I could honestly go on but ultimately, I would just recommend reading this book that gives the bright young women whose lives were stolen a moment more of recognition and respect. I would highly recommend it to those who love reading true crime or crime fiction. This was fully unexpected but it might be one of my favourite reads of 2024. I know for sure this story and its characters will live rent-free in my head for a while to come.