Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Luckiest Girl Alive

I could not handle all of the eating disorder and body dysmorphia in this novel. There are pages of this book that could be cut down if we weren’t subjected to paragraph after paragraph about what food Ani is eating or trying to not eat or how much weight she has gained or lost to fit into more equally over-described clothes. It’s just this ongoing neurosis in the novel that doesn’t contribute to the plot or character’s journey. By the end, we’re supposed to believe that Ami is committed to becoming a better person and to getting help for herself, but her disordered eating isn’t really addressed. It honestly kind of felt like the author included all of that to bag on women and how they treat their bodies and the bodies of others.

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collarbonehigh's review against another edition

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slow-paced

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

0.5

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david_brent's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.75

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lifeisaeisha's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

This book if hard to rate because it does some things very well, while failing in other areas.

The good:

it's very hard to talk about
rape and sexual assault, especially as a survivor. So I definitely give the author her props for approaching both that and school shootings,
and depicting them both realistically.
The story was incredibly engaging. Although the characters were largely unlikable and at times insufferable, the plot had me locked in and I couldn't wait to get to the bottom of Ani's story and understand why she turned out the way that she did.
I think it was important to show characters like Ani's mother and
the planned parenthood nurse
. Women who perpetuate patriarchy by dismissing, downplaying, and outright ignoring obvious abuse.

The bad:

Right out the gate we are introduced to Ani's disordered eating, but at no point is it acknowledged as such, or as a thing for her to work on. Both times her best friend bright it up, she dismissed her and moved on.
The plot with
the teacher
was suuuuper unnecessary, and it was never acknowledged how creepy and inappropriate it was.
(A personal gripe, not so much a fault of the author.) I would have liked to see more of how
the documentary turned out and the fallout for Dean
. I understand that Ani's closure came from the face to face acknowledgement of his crimes against her, but it would have been nice to see him finally lose.

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hauntedantiqueshop's review against another edition

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Wildly uncomfortable with the casual eating disorder talk. You're bombarded with it right out the gate and it doesn’t let up. I’m sure it continues to go on in the book, I just am not interested enough in the story to put myself through that.

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peggy_racham's review against another edition

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5.0

I like an unlikable narrator. Especialy if I can understand how they got like that. Taking back control narrative is my niche thrope.

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