Summer Beach Read Pick: Luckiest Girl Alive

Luckiest Girl Alive
by Jessica Knoll
Simon & Schuster
2015
352 pages
ISBN: 9781476789637

Deeply engaging and complex, Luckiest Girl Alive is often compared to Gone Girl in the press. I'm not sure why this happens. Is it because both books have a woman who is good at manipulating situations, partners and even herself? Maybe. That being said, Luckiest Girl Alive is not Gone Girl; however, it is the perfect book for your lazy day at the beach under a colorful umbrella. It is reading for entertainment, not for enlightenment. If you expect to seek deep philosophical truths in these pages, you will be disappointed.

Ani is the "typical" single white female in New York. She has clawed her way to the top, starving herself to fit into near perfect model size clothes. She has learned to cover up her modest upbringing and fit in with high society. Ani is an artful manipulator; she has to be. If she's not, her walls come crashing down and she will lose everything: the "perfect" fiancé, the high paying, fancy job, the beautiful apartment, the "friends," the entire façade of her perfectly fake life. If these people really knew her past, they would be horrified.

Ani is a difficult character to love; she is flawed but also mean. Her snarky nastiness comes off as not just a mean girl. She is evil girl, but readers will love that she is the perfect chameleon in a concrete jungle where survival is based on façade.  As the story progresses, I liked Ani more. Human beings are strange individuals and Ani proves that her past DOES indeed have everything to do with her present and her future. Buried secrets are not likely to stay buried forever no matter how much control the person with the secret has.

Ani's fiancé seemed nearly an afterthought. He has little to do with the story other than being a foil. Ani uses people for her own gains and it's difficult not to admire that in a creepily fascinating way. Everyone loves a great villain and Ani has the demeanor of Maleficent and  the chess master scheming of J.R. Ewing.

If you want to get lost in a book, Luckiest Girl Alive is your pick. I couldn't put it down and read it at breakneck pace and handed it over to my best friend. She, in turn, gave it to another friend.
This is a book that once you've read it, you will recommend it to anyone who likes an interesting and entertaining book.

NOT recommended for readers under 17.

Highly, highly recommended for adult readers and book clubs. I have a feeling this book will make the rounds at book clubs around the country.

FCC Required Disclaimer: I received the ARC from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

The Sound
by Sarah Alderson
Simon Pulse
2014
308 pages
ISBN: 9781442499331

British  teen Ren Kingston is visiting America as a nanny. Just getting over a break-up with her first boyfriend, Ren decides it's the perfect time for escape. She lands a job as a live in nanny for two small children, baby Braiden and precocious Brodie. Between their day care and summer camp hours, Ren has a lot of "off" time to explore the town and walk the beach of Nantucket. She even learns to drive on the right side of the road (the American side--the British drive on the left side of the road--a custom steeped in history that left your sword arm--your right arm--free to defend yourself against enemies. I don't hear about any incidences of sword fighting motorists run amok, so driving on the left seems nonsensical).

Summers in Nantucket cater to a wealthy crowd of old money and year round town kids. The battle lines are clearly drawn in the sand and Ren tries to walk the fine line between the two warring groups. The trust fund babies stick together and party hard; they have no rules and are seemingly above the law while the town kids are expected to worship them. When Ren meets handsome, mysterious Jeremy, she is intrigued. Then she meets local bad boy Jesse and is warned to stay away from him--he's trouble.

As she is drawn further into the feud between the two boys, a nanny is found murdered. Megan--a friend of Ren's from back home-is worried about Ren's safety. This is the second summer that a young nanny has been murdered, and a serial killer may be on the loose targeting foreign nannies.



Readers will like the gossip-y pace and beach setting. This is the perfect book for a summer beach read with enough mystery and murder to keep things interesting. Ren's voice comes through loud and clear and it is brilliantly British! Her comments about American pop culture, Gossip Girl references, our weird obsession of throwing the word "LIKE" into sentences at least every other word; example: Ren like thinks it's like weird that Americans like the word like so much, ring too true.

Recommended for readers who like a breezy summer read and anyone who loves a British accent that comes alive on the pages.

Grade 9-up. Partying, mature content.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)