francesmthompson's Reviews (976)

One of only a few kid's books that had a twist I didn't see coming ;-). My son made me read this every day for about three weeks when we first got it!

Loved the film so much I didn't think this would come close. If anything it was even better as it had more detail, more personal anecdotes, and all the twists and turns as they happened as experienced by the journalists. That said, I'm a sucker for detailed true political scandal stories and obviously this is the pinnacle of them in our modern times.

I feel like this story was told by an experienced and qualified writer with much to offer a reader but the key event the story hinged on - a rape - was really not handled in a way that felt authentic, and even original or intriguing. In the light of the #MeToo movement it's also fair to say that many elements of the story are outdated, misogynistic and insenstive to victims of sexual assault. There was a strong sense of place in the description and there were some interesting interactions among characters but the most interesting characters (the MC's mother and brother, IMO) were minor players that really should have had more space in the novel, if only to potentially add much needed depth to the story.

This is NOT a book I thought I'd end up reading but I'd read a review that made me curious and it was also cheap on Kindle so... It took a while to get used to the way Lily writes - it's possibly exactly how she talks - but after that I felt the book had great pace and uncomplicated honesty. I liked the way it wasn't chronological but maybe others wouldn't. I can't say it made me a superfan, or even someone who could relate to her, but I did enjoy reading more about someone who has experienced so much under the glare of the media.

So I read a lot of hype about this book and while my own experience reading it didn't exactly match up but I was pleasantly surprised with the issues it raised and the relationships it explored.