Bright Young Women

2.5 stars

Let's start with the good. I liked how the author didn't name the “bad guy” (although it was clear who the story was based on) of the book and instead referred to him as the Defendant. Too often with true crime we focus on the crime and the person who committed it. We give them the attention they are seeking while the victims stories are forgotten. This is very much the story of the victims and it humanized them. We saw the impacts of the crime rather than focusing on the crime/violence itself which I thought was important.
I just felt like it was slow and I was bored reading most of it. At one point I felt I could have skipped to the end and I wouldn't have missed much. I guess I was hoping for a fast paced story.

I wouldn't call myself a true crime fan but I do find the psychology of serial killers interesting, so when I saw that Jessica Knoll was releasing a book from the victim's POV of an infamous serial killer, I was immediately interested. This book grabbed my attention from the start and I thought it was cool that the author didn't once name who the killer was, but you knew exactly who it was. As my first of this author's books, I didn't know what to expect when it came to writing style and character work, but I really enjoyed it! It did take me far too long to connect who a specific character was in both of the POVs, but I blame myself for that more than the author. I didn't really know what the point of the side POV was until I made that connection and it did lower my enjoyment. I remember thinking “I wish this was two separate books following each of these characters” because I was so interested in both but had no idea how they connected. Overall, this book kept me hooked and I read it in two sittings, and I was still invested in the story despite obviously knowing the ending. It did make me more interested in this author's backlist and I'll probably go back and check them out.






Thank you to Simon Element, S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books, and NetGalley for providing me with an eBook copy to review

This is not the typical story about one of America's most infamous serial killers (who will remain nameless as he does in the book) in which the criminal is portrayed as a brilliant mastermind. Instead, this book tells the story through a different lens with the focus on the women he victimized and those who helped to bring him to justice. In that sense, it reminds me a bit of Notes on an Execution. Knoll creates a highly engaging, female-centered narrative that leaves the reader feeling both frustrated at society's glorification of the criminal and encouraged by the strength of the women impacted by his actions.

The book is told from the perspectives of Pamela Schumacher and Ruth Wachowsky in two separate timelines. Pamela is the president of the sorority attacked by the Defendant (as he is called in the book) in January of 1978, and Ruth is one of his victims in Washington state in the summer of 1974. Pamela and Tina, Ruth's friend, join forces after the sorority attack to find evidence that the police will take seriously in order to catch this killer.

This version of the well-known story seeks to actively diminish the image of this infamous killer and highlight the strength and innocence of his victims. The book criticizes the way in which the women are often portrayed as having invited violence by their behavior. Knoll correctly displays them as blameless, though not perfect, and focuses on their courage.

This is a really interesting book that reads quickly and effortlessly. I would recommend it to anyone, especially readers looking for a different take on over-glamourized serial murderer.

it's a difficult book to read. to be honest, who in their right minds would choose to read something like this. I was interested in it because of its claim of being told from the perspective of female victims. I'm not sure sure how I feel about the whole inspired by a real story premise. it's difficult to know what is real and what isn't, so I'm just going to assume that everything is fictionalised. it's well written. the author does a great job of describing the gory details without detailing the gory acts.

the author has a tendency to introduce an event early on while describing it in a way that feels monumental. but when she finally gets to describing the event, it doesn't feel as large in scope. the alternating perspectives kept things interesting and served as a good way to break up more difficult to swallow events.

Riveting. Devastating. So sad.

I really love how this story unfolds. It had such a grasp on me trying to uncover the mystery of what happened, what's going on, what needs to be uncovered.

I kept wondering how are these women connected? It left me on edge, reading FURIOUSLY towards the end.

These are such intelligent women, I love how the story highlights not only the shortcomings of these characters but their reason for why they are the way they are. The characters were humanized so well, you could deceive me and tell me these are real people.

The ending feels so sad, the vivid memories remind me of The Lovely Bones movie. I won't spoil it any further, but I thought the ending was a special touch; the closure was much needed.

UGH SO GOOOOOOOD

This was a heavy read for me, and knowing that this is based on real life events just felt like a bottomless pit in my stomach the whole time. 

I love the feminist commentary, the fact that he is never named, and the beautiful way the book portrays the victims, because they were humans with complete lives too, not just numbers on a board. 

Also wonderful commentary about the incompetence of the legal system, sensationalisation of serial killings by the media, and the absolute trauma of having to live through your terrible experience over and over again.

Flew through this book in two sittings (would have been one if sleep wasn't unfortunately necessary at 6am)

I don't have a lot to add to the other positive reviews, the things I liked about the book are well covered. Based on the more negative or lukewarm reviews, I think the main sticking point is what you want to get out of the book. I don't really consume true crime content, and I picked this up because in general I mostly read books focused on women's perspectives. I suspect that many of the people who did not enjoy this book so much were fairly familiar with the case going in, and I can see why a blend of true crime and fiction would be offputting or lack tension in that context, but I didn't have that issue.

I think if you're looking for a traditional thriller, this probably is not a book for you, because it is not that. But if you enjoy books focused on women, their perspectives and inner lives, the ways in which male violence and incompetence affects them, etc, then you will get a lot out of this book.

This was a cover read. Sort of. One of my friends had read it and enjoyed it, but going into it I didn't know what to expect. 
It's fiction, but it read like a true crime which I thought was really neat. 
I know it was inspired by true events which probably contributed to that true crime feeling. 
I definitely didn't want to put this one down as I read it. I couldn't get enough. 
Once I finished it I went out and bought Jessica Knoll's other two thrillers I liked this one so much. 

Chosen by my book club. Overall, a good read/listen. The characters were well-developed, and you got a good sense of why they behaved the way they did. I got a little tired of the back and forth between Ruth and Pam, and the different time periods. I understood that it was necessary, but sometimes these books take more effort than others.

I didn't like the way the book ended. It seemed that the book was so full of detail, and caught up in a lot of minutia. The book's ending was just like... plop! Here you go.