Oh, I did not like the main character of this book, and while I don’t believe the author intended me to, I disliked her and all her friends and her whole freaking family so much that by the point when the big tragic event of Ani’s high school years was finally revealed, I felt almost guilty at my total lack of sympathy.
“It’s okay to be insufferable as long as you’re aware that you’re being insufferable. At least that’s how I justified it to myself.”
Ugh. So Ani FaNelli (formally TifAni, because her mother is some sort of Italian lunatic) attended this incredibly prestigious high school called the Bradley School when she was a teenager. She worked hard to get into the popular group (full of some of the most unlikable characters ever written), three of whom rape her at a party. Then one tries it again a few days later. Still, she tries to stay in their circle — then something even more awful happens at the school. Now in her late 20s and engaged to a total asshole (surprise!), Ani has reinvented herself as this tough New York City magazine writer, nasty to just about everyone and obsessed with her own less-than-perfect past. A documentary is being made about the incident at the Bradley School, and she sees this as her final chance to set the record straight on the events that happened there years ago.
Look, the plot moved fast and the writing was pretty decent. I definitely flew through this in two evenings, curious to see what the big incident was, and eager to see Ani get her comeuppance for being such a bitch to everyone. But that doesn’t mean I liked it. I finished the book and felt like taking a shower.
I think I’m taking this off my to read list. It sounds a little too close to Gone Girl for my taste.
A pale imitation — I would definitely skip it.