Just Words on a Page

I want to know who decides how to market books because sometimes they are right on the nose and other times they aren’t even in the same universe….


I just finished Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll and it is marketed as crime-fiction, thriller, suspense, mystery, “the next Gone Girl or Girl on the Train” and while yes it does have a crime in it and have some horrific moments, a small mystery and a bit of suspense- it’s not exactly the same (at least in my opinion). No two books will be exactly the same, there may (and will) be some similarities and I don’t see very many between Luckiest Girl Alive and GG/GotT. That doesn’t mean I didn’t like Luckiest Girl Alive- I did but I think I would’ve enjoyed it more had I not been expecting something along the lines of Girl on the Train. Luckiest Girl Alive was a coming of age-dealing with your past-accepting yourself for who you are type of story- not a thriller.


Ani (TifAni FaNelli) reinvents herself after a horrible (and I mean horrible) high school experience. She’s engaged to one of New Yorks wealthiest men and is working as a writer/editor for a magazine- a far cry from the “poor” girl of high school. A TV studio approached her about producing a documentary about her high school experience- she says yes, much to the dismay of her fiance. Through flashbacks (the novel is told entirely from Ani’s POV) we find out what exactly happened to her during high school. Her fiance doesn’t support/believe/care/trust/want his “image” damaged by her past so he tries to get her to hide certain aspects of what happen from the producers/public. All of this drama culminates (not a very big climax in terms of plot but more along the lines of personal growth) for Ani and she ultimately has to decide how much of her past deserves to be heard.


At first I found Ani an annoying bitch- she judged people based on looks and how much money she thought they had but after learning/reading about her past, it became obvious to me that that was the only way she knew how to deal with people who were “better” than her. As the novel progressed, she didn’t grow or have an “ah-ha” moment where she realized she shouldn’t judge people for what they look like but she did realize that she should stop punishing herself for things she had no control over and that ultimately is what she’s judging people on- the things they/she can control: looks, money.


After writing this review, I think I will reread this book and, now that I know not to expect GotT, I might actually enjoy it a lot more than I did initially.


Overall: 4/5


SRP Goal: 10/20 (half-way there!)