ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a little behind with some of my reviews but have been working hard to get caught up. This book was everything I was hoping for! The characters and story itself were complex and definitely kept me guessing! It was very well written and jumps around constantly, between two main female characters and a variety of time periods. I would definitely recommend to anyone who likes mysteries, thrillers, and stories set up like they could be true crime books!

Jessica Knoll's most recent book, Bright Young Women, is loosely-based on/inspired by the crimes of Ted Bundy--specifically his crimes on the campus of Florida State University. I really liked how Knoll focused more on the story of the women rather than on the perpetrator. A truly excellent book from a wonderful author! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced e-reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

THIS is what I will be looking for in the future with books that are inspired by a true crime event. Thank you to NetGalley and Simon Element/Marysue Rucci Books for an advanced copy for review.

This was a stunning depiction of the real life Ted Bundy murders: The focal point being the “bright young women” affected, one being a witness and the other being a victim.

I love how this flips the narrative on its head, dehumanizing Ted Bundy to the point where his name is NEVER used, and focusing on the women’s stories and lives. So many of the documentaries and previous narratives sensationalize him rather than giving any attention to the women in his wake.

This is an extraordinary work of fiction that rings as true as any documentary could.

Thank you to the Team at Simon Element/Marysue Rucci Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

I loved the purpose of the story - that the defendant is never glamorized or named, and that it is truly the victims that were the bright stars whose lives were stolen from them. It is mindblowing that in the year 2023, it is an anomaly for an author to stand up against both subtle and painfully obvious sexism in true crime and highlight the victims instead of the murderer. The author skillfully navigates the unfair world in which victimized women are expected to flourish in spite of how one-sided it is, as well as the lingering effects of trauma once the media circus inevitably moves on to the next big story.

However, the execution was slightly off for me which kept me from giving this book five stars. I felt disconnected from the main characters (I was most interested in the storylines of the women who were murdered), and the back-and-forth plotline threw me off and kept me from staying engaged throughout the long novel.

Overall, I still recommend this read and hope it paves a way forward in reframing the way female victims are thought about and treated. It's definitely a book that will stick with me.

I just reviewed Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll. #BrightYoungWomen #NetGalley

This book was a little darker than I usually read, but I would read the phone book if Jessica Knoll was the author. I ended up really liking it. it was dark like I though, but complex and perfect for creepy season. I haven't gotten to deep into how much its based on a true story because I scare easily, but the whole thing seems like a true account. It had everything you expect from true crime, but with a deeper dive into the complex relationships formed in the wake. I definitely recommend this book.

I appreciated the look at the women's lives that were impacted by a serial killer (thinly veiled Ted Bundy). I thought the writing was propulsive and an interesting take on a popular crime story.

Bright Young Women, definitely captures your attention from the very beginning, with a gruesome event that altered a lot of lives. While the beginning was super interesting and captured my attention, the middle fell very flat and just felt overall boring with not much going on. There was a lot of back and forth on timelines and with different characters, and a lot of it felt a little unnecessary. Towards the end it did pick back up a bit, but of course once it got interesting it was over before vou know it and the book ended. I wish there was more time spent on the ending of the book than what was going on in the middle. Overall it was a decent read and was good, it was just wasn't GREAT for me! However if you're into true crime and the story of Ted Bundy, this might be the book for you!

This is my second Jessica Knoll book. I was a bit underwhelmed with Luckiest Girl Alive when I read it, I think mainly because I did not like the MC and it took me to long to really get into it, so I wasn't sure what to expect with this book.
BYW started out slow for me, and I wasn't sure about it at first, but a third of the way into the book I started to become more invested in the storytelling. I guess I would classify this book as a literary crime, or maybe true crime fiction? I hesitate to call it a thriller or mystery since I didn't really find it thrilling or suspenseful, It read more like a true crime novel (which I didn't know that it was inspired by the murders of Ted Bundy going into it), but it is a fictional story. This combination of a true crime story and fictional characters was an interesting choice, and I think I would have preferred one or the other. I would have loved to have had an author's note at the end explaining her process, inspiration and research.
The story alternates between POV's and timelines, which I am usually not a huge fan of, but after a while I got used to it and I was interested in the stories of the two women's lives and their emotional backstories, especially with dealing with the social norms of women in the 1970s. I like that Knoll never names "The Defendant" and makes the story more about the women than of him.
Overall I liked this better than Luckiest Girl Alive and think true crime readers will enjoy it.

This book was tough to read. It was uncomfortable, graphic, and intense. But wow, was it written brilliantly. The script flip on America’s obsession with true crime and serial killers was genius. I loved the way the defendant never got his name mentioned and that it broke down the narrative showing the reality of the defendant. The spotlight on the victims and the woman surrounding the crime made for a very interesting and important narrative.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. I love true crime stories and this one did not disappoint!

Overall, it's an OK read. It reads like other serial killer books from the 70s. I felt like there was too much jumping from one timeline to the other. I felt like the story never had a middle. It was like a long beginning that went on and on and then a short ending, which tied nothing together.

FREAKING LOVED this book. Women fighting for women. We are all familiar with the horrors Ted Bundy inflicted on women, and this was a fantastic telling focusing on the victims and women surrounding the case and what they went through trying to seek justice. Gives me chills to think about being in their shoes.

Bright young women
This book started off so strong for me! I liked the character Pamela and the sorority story line. I didn’t care as much for the secondary storyline about Ruth. I’m finding out that I don’t care for multiple pov stories. The pacing felt off with different timelines and Ruth’s parts dragged on.

I found out after the fact this book is based on Ted Bundys murders. I picked up this book thinking it was a thriller, and I feel this is more true crime now. The focus is more so the stories of the women impacted by the crimes committed, though this is definitely fiction.

Ultimately, I never felt truly invested in this book. I felt this could’ve been better with cutting down maybe a good 100 pages or so and maybe trying a linear timeline

Amazing, seering, uncomfortable, just all around a winner from Jessica Knoll. I loved the focus on the women in this story and that the killer was relegated to his proper place: a mediocre white guy who got a pass in life from a lot of people, including the authorities. Not diabolical, not a genius, just a loser who ruined lives. A brilliant look at the injustices done to women in the not too distant past and how far we still have to go.

Got this as an ARC and then later bought a copy through BOTM as it was a great read. I really liked the perspective this book took in following the aftermath of a serial killer and those who are left behind. It was different to not focus on the serial killer but on the victims and their loved ones and friends. Beautifully written.

I loved this book. The writing was so unique and searing. I loved Ruth, her arch of learning to set boundaries and love herself/ be true to herself and her sexuality was fantastic. I have already been recommending this book to friends!

Fiction that reads like true crime.

Based on a notorious American serial killer whose name lives on in infamy but one I will not mention. This book was instead a focus on the women whose lives were ended far too soon, the bright young women who were murdered by the monster.

The narrative is told from multiple points of view in shifting timelines. The characters are well-developed and easy to identify with as they share their struggles to bring the killer to justice. Meanwhile, they suffer even more at the hands of men who constantly underestimate and belittle them. Certainly the time period in which these events occurred, the 1970s, shows that the issues women endured then are not completely dissimilar from those they face in present day.

I’m old enough to remember when this heinous villain was at large and when on trial. I’ve seen many documentaries and read a couple of books based on him and his crimes. I want to remember, not his name, but those of his victims who encountered this beast and did not survive.

This was my first book by this author and will not be the last. I liked the story and the writing style. The subject was interesting and the heartbreaking details will linger in my head. Still. After all these years, it still appalls and shocks.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend.

Well, this was a bit of a mixed bag for me.

First the good. This book unabashedly takes to task the social circus that erupts around serial killers like Ted Bundy and how the monster who creates such pain and suffering is often made into a larger-than-life idol. No where in the book does Knoll say Bundy's name, but it's clear from the get-go that this is most definitely a re-telling of his murderous rampages. I could feel the author's anger when re-telling how the killer was treated by the media, by the judge, even by his "fans." And yes, I feel that too. And I really love the title-- a play on the audacious quote from Judge Edward Cowart who, even after acknowledging the "shockingly vile" acts of Bundy, still called him a "bright young man" and referred to him as "partner" and told him to "take care" of himself. Yes, I throw up a little in my mouth every time I think of that.

However, the book as a whole didn't gel for me. I think this might be an attempt at genre-bending that has been happening around the topic of true crime for a few years now. Some of these attempts work, and some do not. I wanted this one to work. I really did. But . . . it left me feeling unsettled much of the time. Many of the facts of Bundy's murders are kept accurate in this book, including quotes from Bundy, from people in the courtroom, and even from newspaper headlines. But then other details--most notably, the names of some of the real-life victims--are changed. And, in at least one notable case, the whole story of a victim is completely re-written and fictionalized, erasing the real woman all together. I'd like to hear Knoll explain her process here; I am quite sure that her intent is to empower and not to diminish, but I can't quite make out how that works.

Is this an interesting read? Yes. Was hearing a (fictionalized) account of what a survivor might think and feel in the aftermath of the horrendous acts by Bundy legitimate? Yes. But the blurring of fiction and reality didn't make any clear sense to me here and it left me with more questions about the author's goals than answers.

One of my favorite reads of the year! BRIGHT YOUNG WOMEN held up a dazzling mirror against the current trend of the true crime genre, reframing the stories to highlight the victims and survivors. A poignant and important story. I love it.