Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - Luckiest Girl Alive

TifAni FaNelli is one of the most insufferable, self-deprecating, and hateful protagonists I've ever met, to the point I wanted to stop reading the book multiple times. I would close the book and look around like, "Is this bitch serious? And is she going to be like this the entire book?" Fortunately for the author and unfortunately for myself, I am somewhat of a masochist (kind of like TifAni), so I continued reading until the end. Was it worth my time? Not really, but it was interesting to see the story fleshed out.

I understand she was meant to be annoying, but I couldn't breathe being in her mind sometimes. The people who did not finish made the best choice for them. The book is drenched in fatphobia and classism. I can't imagine living the way TifAni does by judging every single person I meet by the shallowest of criteria and basing my judgment of their behavior on that. The book is a never-ending tirade of judgment on the world and the people TifAni interacts with. She doesn't seem to have genuine relationships in her life, and she takes it out on everyone else. She's a miserable person, but she appears to be beautiful, thin, and successful, so what else must she be?

The lesson I took from the book was "Hurt people hurt people." TifAni's experiences are deeply traumatic, not to mention she was brought up by a mother who was jealous of her and a father who couldn't care less. She was doomed from the start, but I still think she had the potential to be a good person. Does she still have that capacity for kindness even though she's never shown much of it before?

The storyline with Mr. Larson was strange. I was hoping that the author was going to take an alternate route and have the "relationship" between the two of them be something that TifAni made up entirely in her mind. I should've realized when he let her sleep in his bed that he wasn't a good person, but patriarchy took hold momentarily and gave him the benefit of the doubt. I should've never done it because they kiss when they meet when she was older. He at least has the mind to tell her that it's wrong and he wants to stay apart, but the fact that he even engages with it makes me upset. She has an intense trauma bond with him that clouds her thinking. He's the only person in her life who comes off as somewhat genuine with their emotions and understanding of her situation, which she acknowledges in the book, making her even more susceptible to romantic delusions.

The author did a good job showing something that was brought to my attention recently while listening to a podcast on Clarence Thomas' life. If horrible events inspire people to become kinder and gentler, they can also make people mean and cruel. More trauma can make them meaner and crueler still.

Content Warnings

laurmarvs's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Content Warnings

vtlism's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I loved this writing, the voice needs to be bottled and the main character development was perfection, nothing 8 thought about her at the beginning was true by the end. I noticed slice/line imagery throughout but would love to know the author's intent with that.

Content Warnings

lovetoread18's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

jjoreill's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Major trigger warnings on this book, it handles some dark content! I found a lot of the descriptive language of this book to be quite abrasive and at times quite off off putting, so it was hard to like most of the characters in this book. For a thriller, I was hoping for a bit bigger twist and a more satisfying ending.

Content Warnings

thisdivinelight's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

scytheria's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

megan_wy's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

Despite Ani’s traumatic past, I found her severely unlikable . The body shaming, sexism, and generally all other negative qualities she exudes, I had a hard time getting through the book. I found it hard to follow at times and overall just didn’t enjoy it. There was a lot of characters and plot lines to follow and it felt very dragged out and all over the place. Would not recommend. :/

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