A review by samantita
Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll

dark sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Although the themes in this book were heavy, the writing and tenacity of the main character, Pamela, made for an enjoyable reading experience for me. Especially at the end, ending each chapter on such poignant images down to the sentence level was so profound for me. I love the way Ruth's last thoughts were of a normal memory she had with Tina. It was incredibly touching and sad at the same time.

And her line: "I'd have been a real bitch to tell someone no for the second time in twenty-four hours" hits home the message of women being raised to put politeness and men's comfort over their own.

I really appreciate Knoll's effort to show how male serial killers are made out to be superior beings who just chose the wrong path, like the judge in Ted Bundy's case did. In reality, they were incredibly small men who thought they were hot shit.

This novel had the perfect amount of excellent writing, substantive and gripping plot, and developed characters to keep me enthralled from beginning to end.