Title: Lucky Girl
Author: Amanda Maciel
RATING: ★★☆☆☆
Disclaimer: I received a free copy via Edelweiss for review purposes.
TW: sexual assault
Rosie is pretty. She likes being pretty. She likes getting boys attention. But she also wants to be more than that. She wants to be a better best friend to Maddie who has just returned home from summer camp in Europe a different girl. But also deep down, Rosie is jealous. Rosie was always the prettier one. She’s especially jealous when Maddie starts getting closer to the football player Rosie has been hanging out with over the summer. When Maddie’s new footballer boyfriend assaults Rosie at a party during a storm, Rosie and Maddie’s friendship falls apart. Rosie blames herself, feeling guilty for catching his attention. Lucky Girl examines rape culture, slut-shaming, and misogyny.
I’ve read several books that examine rape-culture, most notably Asking For It by Louise O’Neill and Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E. K. Johnson [tw: sexual assault]. Both of these books left an impression on me. I loved their honesty, their brutal look at rape-culture and the affect it has on young girls. Yet I felt myself being disappointed with Lucky Girl as I read on. There were too many sub-plots that seemed to go nowhere, and I didn’t feel that the novel’s prominent topic (sexual assault), was fully fleshed out. I did like Rosie as a character, but again, I didn’t think that she was fully fleshed out as a character. The relationship between Maddie and Rosie wasn’t fully explored either, at least not until the last 20% or so, so I didn’t feel fully invested in their friendship. There were too many things going on and not enough attention devoted to any one, so it felt unfinished and disappointing.
It’s probably not a book I would recommend. I would, however, recommend Louisa O’Neill’s Asking For It for anyone looking for a unflinchingly honest book with a similar topic. (I’ve also seen others recommend All the Rage by Courtney Summers, but have yet to read it).
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Lauren is a british blogger and book reviewer. She is an avid bookworm, writer and procrastinator extraordinaire. A recent history grad, Lauren is currently grappling with adulthood, finding solace in the written word. As an avid reader of YA literature, she’s a lover of sci-fi, contemporary romance, sister stories, and cute f/f books. Some of her favourite books include Code Name Verity by the incredibly talented Elizabeth Wein, and the soul-crushingly cute The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli.
