Lucky Girl

By: Amanda Maciel

Narrated by: Brittany Pressley

Lucky Girl is an unflinching exploration of beauty, self-worth, and sexual assault, from the author of the acclaimed Tease.

Rosie is a beautiful girl - and it's always been enough. Boys crush on her; men stare at her; girls (begrudgingly) admire her. She's lucky, and she knows it. But it's the start of a new school year, and she begins to realize that she wants to be more. Namely, she's determined to be better to her best friend, Maddie, who's just back from a summer program abroad having totally blossomed into her own looks. Rosie isn't thrilled when Maddie connects with a football player Rosie was hooking up with - but if it makes her friend happy, she's prepared to get over it. Plus, someone even more interesting has moved to town: Alex, who became semifamous after he stopped a classmate from carrying out a shooting rampage at his old high school. Rosie is drawn to Alex in a way she's never experienced before - and she is surprised to discover that, unlike every other guy, he seems to see more to her than her beauty.

Then, at a party one night, in the midst of a devastating storm, something happens that tears apart Rosie's life and sets her on a journey of self-discovery that forces her to face uncomfortable truths about reputation, identity, and what it means to be a true friend.

©2017 Amanda Maciel (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

I'm surprised this is the same author as Tease

I can't really tell you what the story is here. There's no clear beginning, middle, or end. The protagonist is whiny. I don't think this story captures the psychological scars left by sexual assault. The main character is vapid. The conflict takes forever and a day to get started. Teenagers behave in ways that seem very unrealistic.... For example, the main character has been dating the quarterback all summer. When her best friend comes back from vacation and shows interest in him, and more importantly interest in her, the main character gives up her dating relationship with said quarterback, no questions asked. I'm sorry but I was a teenager girl once and I don't know on what planet that would happen but it's not earth. But all of that could be forgiven if it wasn't for the author writing insignificant details in the main characters voice. As she's having thoughts to herself she trails off talking about insignificant and unrelated things... If she used the phrase "but I digress" in this book every time she needed to get back to the point, you could double the pages. Also, in the end, nothing fucking happens to the antagonist of the story! There's no closure one way or the other! While I know this intended to mirror real life, it seems like the girl's sexual assault is pretty much forgotten because she's now dating a new guy. Oh...OK. Whatever. 3 stars because it's sadly not the worst book I've ever read. 4 on performance because the narrator sounds like a teenage girl but I can't give it 5 because the voice she does for the boys makes me want to break things.

Kept My Interest

This book should really belong in the YA category but I found it enjoyable just the same.