A review by cady_sass
Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I have mixed feelings on this one - 3 stars seems too low, 4 stars seems to high, 3.5 still doesn’t seem right 😂
The writing here, I feel, is really solid. The narrative of bad things sometimes also happen to bad people is an interesting take - the protagonist here is an insufferable sociopath, she has very little redeemable qualities and everything she does/says makes you not want to root for her. But, at the end of the day, her trauma is STAGGERING. At what point does it become understandable that you’re a terrible person when so many horrible, unfathomable things have happened to you? For me, this is more of a character study than a thriller. Goes without saying that there are many, many trigger warnings here. Many reviews have said this is like Walmart Gone Girl and I think that’s probably selling it a bit short and doing a disservice to the book, since Gone Girl is a dark and twisted thriller through and through, which this is not.
The writing here, I feel, is really solid. The narrative of bad things sometimes also happen to bad people is an interesting take - the protagonist here is an insufferable sociopath, she has very little redeemable qualities and everything she does/says makes you not want to root for her. But, at the end of the day, her trauma is STAGGERING. At what point does it become understandable that you’re a terrible person when so many horrible, unfathomable things have happened to you? For me, this is more of a character study than a thriller. Goes without saying that there are many, many trigger warnings here. Many reviews have said this is like Walmart Gone Girl and I think that’s probably selling it a bit short and doing a disservice to the book, since Gone Girl is a dark and twisted thriller through and through, which this is not.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Violence, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Cursing, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship