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labunnywtf 's review for:
Luckiest Girl Alive
by Jessica Knoll
Hi. Come on in. Have a seat, here's a cup of tea. Now, let me explain to you why you need to pre-order (or, depending on the date you're reading this, go pick up) this book.
First and foremost, please understand that it took me a few times of running through the ARCs on Netgalley before I requested this title. The cover art just didn't do it for me, made me think romance, fluff, air. Not my style. But then I looked a little closer, read the description, popped onto GoodReads to see what was up with this book with a tragically unfortunate cover.
And I got intrigued.
I turned it into an at-work book. To be read on my computer during down times, or when mindlessly filing. And at first glance, it wasn't something I wished I had on my phone or tablet, to take home with me and devour.
But slowly, ever so slowly, it took over. And it's the first book in an extremely long time that I stayed awake to finish. And I lay awake afterwards because I couldn't stop thinking about it.
Reason Number One you need to get this book: Ani. The grown-up version of our narrator. You will hate her. She is shallow. She is a Super Bitch, one of those The Devil Wears Prada clackers who judges everyone she meets, and holds her power over them with intense self awareness. She knows she's a horrible person, and she crafts her world meticulously to make sure no one else does.
You will hate her.
Keep reading, though. Because when that facade starts to crack, when you see the bone and marrow beneath, it is so mesmerizing. This is when you start to get pulled in, really pulled in. You start to ask why.
Reason Number Two you need to get this book: TifAni. The 14-year old version of our narrator. God, if there were ever a more unfortunate name for a child. Why would you ever think it was a good idea to subject a child to this name.
You will not hate her. You might not particularly like her, but there will not be the visceral dislike you had for her adult counterpart. But she starts out as an average 14 year old, and depending on how far removed you are from her age, you might find her trying.
This story bounces back and forth in time between Ani and TifAni. And it tells you everything in tiny hints. Hints that make sense eventually, but it's not until you get to these reveals that you realize the hints existed in the first place.
Reason Number Three you need to get this book: You will think you know what's coming. You will laugh at your own assumptions when you find out you're so very wrong.
I will not spoil this book for you. Not because, "Don't you dare let anyone spoil this book for you!!" because that is a trope that is so overplayed as to be laughable. I won't spoil it because this roller coaster ride has to be felt all on its own, without warning.
Jessica Knoll needs to be commended for this writing. There are so many pot holes this book could have fallen into. So many turns it could've taken, that I was silently begging it not to take. Apparently, Ms Knoll and I are familiar with similar books, because she knew the pot holes I was worried about her falling in, and swerved around them so deftly. Every expectation I had disappeared. Every cliche I expected, it was like she was laughing at me. I love it.
This book is being compared to Gone Girl. Don't listen to that. It's in a league all on its own.
First and foremost, please understand that it took me a few times of running through the ARCs on Netgalley before I requested this title. The cover art just didn't do it for me, made me think romance, fluff, air. Not my style. But then I looked a little closer, read the description, popped onto GoodReads to see what was up with this book with a tragically unfortunate cover.
And I got intrigued.
I turned it into an at-work book. To be read on my computer during down times, or when mindlessly filing. And at first glance, it wasn't something I wished I had on my phone or tablet, to take home with me and devour.
But slowly, ever so slowly, it took over. And it's the first book in an extremely long time that I stayed awake to finish. And I lay awake afterwards because I couldn't stop thinking about it.
Reason Number One you need to get this book: Ani. The grown-up version of our narrator. You will hate her. She is shallow. She is a Super Bitch, one of those The Devil Wears Prada clackers who judges everyone she meets, and holds her power over them with intense self awareness. She knows she's a horrible person, and she crafts her world meticulously to make sure no one else does.
You will hate her.
Keep reading, though. Because when that facade starts to crack, when you see the bone and marrow beneath, it is so mesmerizing. This is when you start to get pulled in, really pulled in. You start to ask why.
Reason Number Two you need to get this book: TifAni. The 14-year old version of our narrator. God, if there were ever a more unfortunate name for a child. Why would you ever think it was a good idea to subject a child to this name.
You will not hate her. You might not particularly like her, but there will not be the visceral dislike you had for her adult counterpart. But she starts out as an average 14 year old, and depending on how far removed you are from her age, you might find her trying.
This story bounces back and forth in time between Ani and TifAni. And it tells you everything in tiny hints. Hints that make sense eventually, but it's not until you get to these reveals that you realize the hints existed in the first place.
Reason Number Three you need to get this book: You will think you know what's coming. You will laugh at your own assumptions when you find out you're so very wrong.
I will not spoil this book for you. Not because, "Don't you dare let anyone spoil this book for you!!" because that is a trope that is so overplayed as to be laughable. I won't spoil it because this roller coaster ride has to be felt all on its own, without warning.
Jessica Knoll needs to be commended for this writing. There are so many pot holes this book could have fallen into. So many turns it could've taken, that I was silently begging it not to take. Apparently, Ms Knoll and I are familiar with similar books, because she knew the pot holes I was worried about her falling in, and swerved around them so deftly. Every expectation I had disappeared. Every cliche I expected, it was like she was laughing at me. I love it.
This book is being compared to Gone Girl. Don't listen to that. It's in a league all on its own.