Book Review: Bright Young Woman by Jessica Knoll
Ok so before I go into the book review, let me tell you a little bit about myself and how I go about choosing my next book. I hate to break it to you guys, but I do judge a book by it’s cover. I’m OBSESSED with design, and if something is not pretty or aesthetically pleasing I won’t gravitate to it. I know, I suck, and I am so sure I’m missing out on great books and beautiful writing because of it, but I’m only human.
And another thing you need to know about me, I’m an impulse buyer. So if I am in the mood to read, I will buy a book, even if it’s not on my TBR list. This book for example, I was at Target and knew I needed a new book. When I went to the book section, none of the books I had on my TBR on GoodReads were for sale, but I was not going home without a book. So I just went in search for the best looking covers, and then decided on “Bright Young Woman” by Jessica Knoll because who doesn’t like reading a true-crime book in October?
Now let’s move on to the fun part, the review. I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. And I’ll quickly list my pros and cons. DISCLAIMER: I just read for fun and I did not study English in college so please for the love of God take my reviews with a grain of salt since I probably will talk shit for a good while!!!!!!!
Pros:
The audiobook was EXCEPTIONAL. I normally flip flop between reading the physical book and listening to the audiobook on walks, while doing chores, etc. And there’s something about listening to an audiobook with different voice actors that makes my brain itch. Sutton Foster, Imani Jade Powers, Corey Brill, and Chris Henry Coffey did an exceptional job in this book and they really went above and beyond for each of their characters. Special shout out to the voice of Ruth, because she really portrayed the sexiness and elegance of the character.
The characters of the book were so well-rounded. Sometimes I read books where it’s so hard for me to keep track with who is who just because I feel like the author doesn’t do a good job of making deep characters with different personalities. Jessica Knoll made an awesome job of distinguishing each of the characters. Pamela, our main character, was an up-tight, misunderstood, anxious woman with a heart of gold, trying to search for justice for her friend. Ruth on the other hand, was an insecure woman who didn’t know how exceptional she could be. In conclusion, I loved each of the character’s personalities and how solid they were.
I really loved the feminist perspective in this book. It’s very subtle and not very in your face. It was very interesting to see the perspective of this case being mishandled by this “machismo” stereotype. I was in shock with how women were treated during the trial and how the “The Defendant” (Ted Bundy) was treated in comparison. Even the book title “Bright Young Woman” was inspired by what the Judge told Ted Bundy when he was giving him his sentencing: "Take care of yourself, young man. I say that to you sincerely; take care of yourself. It is an utter tragedy for this court to see such a total waste of humanity, I think, as I've experienced in this courtroom." 'You're a bright young man. You'd have made a good lawyer and I would have loved to have you practice in front of me, but you went another way, partner. I don't feel any animosity toward you. I want you to know that. Take care of yourself." It was shocking to read about this and see how sensationalized Ted Bundy was during the actual trial.
Cons:
When I bought this book, as I said before, I just purely went for the vibes. I didn’t know about who or what the book was based on. After reading about maybe 50 pages I thought the story was familiar and realized it was based on Ted Bundy and his victims. This was an ick for me for sure. I feel like this author’s message about the case being a media sensation can be a little hypocritical since I felt she was doing the same thing? This is maybe just a me thing, but that was just the feeling that I got reading this book. I feel like this is a very dense and heavy theme, we’re talking about a real person and real victims, and in my mind, just because they didn’t mention Ted Bundy by name (in the book they just go by “The Defendant”) it doesn’t make it better? I later went to search for the victim’s names and noticed she even used the same names, just different last names. I don’t know, maybe I can be overreacting but it was very unnerving to me to be reading about this stuff. If I were to be related to any of the victim’s families it would definitely tick me off.
Overall, I thought it was a great book and it definitely fit my type of vibe for October. It would’ve been a 4.5 or even 5 star read for me if it were more loosely based recount of the murders. I loved that it was fast-paced and that it had different POVs. Overall, I definitely recommend!
