Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll

Luckiest Girl Alive
By Jessica Knoll
Published by Macmillan (16 July 2015)
ISBN: 978-1509814800

Publisher's description

Ani FaNelli is the woman who has it all: the glamorous job, the designer wardrobe, the handsome and rich fiancé. But behind her sharp edges and meticulously crafted facade lies the darkest of pasts . . .

When a documentary producer invites Ani to tell her side of the chilling and violent incident that took place when she was a teenager at the prestigious Bradley school, she hopes it will be an opportunity to prove how far she's turned her life around since then. She'll even let the production company film her lavish wedding, the final step in her transformation.

But as the wedding and filming converge, Ani's past threatens to come back and haunt her. And as her immaculate veneer starts to crack, she is forced to question: will breaking her silence destroy all that she has worked for - or, will it at long last, set Ani free?

My verdict
Luckiest Girl Alive is an intriguing and compelling book. It initially reads as a 'chick lit' novel. But as you turn the pages, you realise that the story goes far deeper.

On the surface, Ani seems to be living the dream - she's highly successful and about to marry well. But you soon discover that underneath that bitchy exterior she's not really the woman she appears to be. She's reinvented herself over the years, running away from her past and a shocking incident that happened to her as a teenager.

By switching between the backstory and the present day, the tension builds up, layer by layer. Until you worry about how the story is going to end. Ani isn't a particularly likeable character, even once you know what drives her. But the question is whether she's the 'luckiest girl alive'?

Luckiest Girl Alive covers a highly topical issue. It's vivid, highly emotional, thought-provoking and very frightening in how real it actually is. It's written with dark and twisted humour. I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did, and by the end I couldn't put it down.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.