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erinjeanette's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Homophobia, Sexism, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Forced institutionalization
Minor: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Medical content, and Death of parent
hjb_128's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism and Alcohol
amyvl93's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Bright Young Women is a fictionalised look at the final murders and arrest of Ted Bundy, told from the perspective of women whose lives were changed forever by him - one, Pamela - the president of the sorority shaken by the murders of their friends and the other, Ruth, who is learning to find herself and her identity away from her overbearing mother after the death of her father.
Knoll clearly has a message that she wants to share through this novel - which is that a fascination with serial killers and the rise of true crime risks further magnifying and amplifying men who were not that special, and whose stories shield those of the people whose lives they have either ended or affected forever. Bundy goes unnamed within the text, and his smart suaveness that we've come to hear as a given from numerous stories about him is consistently disrupted through the pages of this novel.
However, Bundy is not the only man who comes out poorly within this novel. There are bad boyfriends, journalists who see the potential of a career gain as of greater importance than reporting the truth, police forces who want to take the most straightforward way out and members of the judicial system who struggle to see a charming man as anything other than a potential victim. Knoll is excellent at building this just pile-up of male incompetence throughout the novel, in direct contrast to the women who are coming together to support each other and never let the truth go. Knoll also brings to life the pain of women with bright lights and lives ahead of them being cut short which are usually buried in our considerations of true crime narratives.
I did feel that there was a lot going on within the pages of this novel though, and did feel like there were opportunities for it to be tighter. The fictionalisation also didn't necessarily always work for me, it was slightly distracting knowing we were talking about a real man but that the women in the story were largely creations. Whilst I'm sure this was out of respect for the real victims, it felt that the narrative was almost saying that their real stories were not of interest enough for a novel to be created about them. I would have almost preferred Knoll to create an entirely fictitious scenario, with nods to Bundy, instead.
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Murder
Moderate: Homophobia, Sexism, Violence, and Grief
uniquelymace's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Lesbophobia, Outing, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
heather_renae's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Sexual assault and Murder
Moderate: Misogyny and Grief
boop123's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Loved the message behind it but at times, it was hard to keep up with the stories since it's an alternating views. I recommend reading this when you have a lot of free time to really immerse yourself to the story since that wasn't the case for me.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Grief
srutiramesh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Murder
Minor: Grief
izzy_v's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I’m not usually a thriller/scary book fan and there were definitely very dark parts of the book but it wasn’t so graphic and detailed or suspenseful that it kept me up at night. I really enjoyed the tone shift away from glorifying the killer, and instead empowering the women involved. Really phenomenal, would read again (which I never say).
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Animal cruelty, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Incest, and Death of parent
taylormunn's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Murder
Moderate: Grief
meaghancook's review against another edition
3.5
Firstly, let me say that I find it incredibly unsettling that the author took real events, real people, real murders, and put a fictional spin on them. If it weren’t for the acknowledgement of a survivor of these horrific events in the acknowledgement section, I would find this completely abhorrent. As it stands, I find it distasteful and off putting, but I have to trust that due diligence was done in an attempt to publish this story responsibly and respectfully as possible. With the mix of fact and fiction, I did find it hard to keep myself immersed in the story. I think this would have been better served as complete fiction merely inspired by true events or total non-fiction written with the input and blessing of those most effected by The Defendant.
All that being said, I loved the writing style enough that this pulled up to a 3.5 stars for me. Some of the lines will stay with me for some time. I hope to read more work by this author in the future that is more solidly in the realm of fact or fiction.
Graphic: Murder and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Grief, and Death of parent