History Literature / LuckiestGirlAlive

The novel follows 28-years-old Ani Fanelli, columnist for a glossy women's magazine who seems to have it all: glamorous job, designer clothing, jet-set friends and a fiance from an OldMoney family. However, behind her seemingly perfect life a DarkAndTroubledPast is still lurking.

* TheRichHaveWhiteStuff: Ani frequrntly wears monochrome colors (either black or white) while her lower-class mom is marked out by wearing bright and gaudy colors.

* MsDegree: Ani's [[AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents mom]] tells her that she should get a scholarship to the Brentley School, so she can go to a tier-one university because "the calibre of men just isn't there at a state school." Marriage is also portrayed as Ani's only reasonable escape from her lower-class background.

!The novel contains the following tropes:

* RecycledInSpace: The book and film recycles a topic from the [[Recap/ColdCaseS4E1Rampage "Rampage"]] episode of ''Series/ColdCase.'' Both are even set in Philadelphia with a significant portion set in TheNineties, though ''Luckiest Girl Alive'' is set in 1999 while ''Cold Case'' is set in 1995. [[spoiler:Both are about bullied teenage girls who are gang-raped by a JerkJock and their popular friends, after which they suffer a mental breakdown and confide in the wrong guys and a bullying victim (in Tina's case, it's a pair; in Ani's case, it's her friend Arthur). Said person or people then go on a [[GoingPostal killing spree]] which has haunted Tina/Ani through to present day but gets exposed.]]

''Luckiest Girl Alive'' is a 2015 mystery novel written by the American author Jessica Knoll.

The novel was Knoll's first published work. In 2022, an adaptation starring Creator/MilaKunis and Creator/ChiaraAurelia as adult and teenage Ani has aired on Netflix.

Ani is actually [=TiffAni=] [=FaNelli=], a working-class Italian-American who has attended the exclusive Bearsdley School in Philadelphia's Main Line on a scholarship, and has survived an horrific school shooting during her freshman year in high school. An upcoming documentary about the shooting is forcing her to come to terms with her past ordeal, her secrets and also to question the life she has built for herself after those horrific events.

The novel was Knoll's first published work and has been reported in The New York Times Best Seller list. In 2022, an adaptation starring Creator/MilaKunis and Creator/ChiaraAurelia as adult and teenage Ani has aired on Netflix.

* MeaningfulRename: [=TiffAni=] goes by Ani when we met her at age 28. She tells people she has changed it to avoid being associated with the school shooting, which is true, but mostly to shred off her lower-class background.

The novel follows 28-years-old Ani Fanelli, columnist for a glossy women's magazine who seems to have it all: glamorous job, designer clothing, jet-set friends and a fiance from and OldMoney family. However, behind her seemingly perfect life a DarkAndTroubledPast is still lurking.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mv5bnzjlmte3odetodrjos00zjg4lwe0ztytodawmwmwnjfmzmqyxkeyxkfqcgdeqxvymtuzmtg2odkz_v1_8.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:The past can't stay buried.]]

The novel follows 28-years-old Ani Fanelli, columnist for a glossy women's magazine who seems to have it all: glamorous job, designer clothing, jet-set friends and a fiance from and OldMoney family. However, behind her seemingly perfect life a DarkAndTroubledPast is still lurking. Ani is actually [=TiffAni=] [=FaNelli=], a working-class Italian-American who has attended the exclusive Bearsdley School in Philadelphia's Main Line on a scholarship, and has survived an horrific school shooting during her freshman year in high school. An upcoming documentary about the shooting is forcing her to come to terms with her past ordeal, her secrets and also to question the life she has built for herself after those horrific events.

* AndIMustScream: [[spoiler: Ani was internally screaming while being raped but is too drunk to say anything.]]
* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler: Dean, Peyton and Liam, Ani's rapists are shot dead by Arthur. Dean survives as a cripple unable to have children.]]

* CareerVersusMan: Ani is set for a promotion as editor and would follow her boss to the Nw York Times. However she is getting married to Luke and he is also set for a promotion that would lead him to London. He expects her to leave her job and follow him to Europe.

** Arthur's father shotgun which Ani is shown [[spoiler: serves as murder weapon for the school shooting]];
** The picture of Arthur and his father which Ani stole during their huge argument and has kept for all those years, until she accidentally lost it. [[spoiler: Luke has thrown it carelessly and used the cover to snort cocaine with his friends. Ani decides to leave him after this reveal.]]

** Ani can't find Arthur's photo despite having it well kept for all those years, and wonders with Luke where it can be. [[spoiler: Luke is lying about not having a uw, he has thrown it away.]]

* GreenEyedMonster: Ani suffers constantly from envy to her more affluent peers, like Hikary and most of all Olivia (who is also dating her crush Liam). In the present she is unbalanced by Mr. Larson gorgeous but seemingly vapid wife Whitney.
* KnownOnlyByTheirNickname: Beth is mostly known as "The Shark" for the wide gap between her eyes. Ani has to made an effort to remember that Beth is her real name.

** Again, [[spoiler: Dean has accused Ani for years to have instigated the shooting to cover up his rape of her. Ani registers his private confession and with the help of the documentary director outs him in the public eye.]]

* RapeAsBackStory: [[spoiler: We find out that weeks before the school shooting Ani was raped by Dean, Liam and Peyton at a party.]]

* TeacherStudentRomance: [[spoiler: In the present, Ani and Mr. Larson give in to their attraction and share a kiss. But Mr. Larson eventually decides to not chest on his wife and steps back, to Ani's chagrin.]]
* WhiteAngloSaxonProtestant: Luke, Nell, Dean and Arthur are the most prominent example. OldMoney and, as Ani outs it, not a single vowel at the end of their last name. Ani seeks to be married to one so she can shed off her Italian-American family name.
* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: Part of Ani's arc is realizing that the lengths she has went to shape herself after her rich peers, her glamorous career and her Prince Charming have gaine dher no happines. She still has self-esteem issues, her trauma has not healed, is stuck in an increasingly unfulfilling relationship and finds her fiance and his social circle boring and shallow.

* TheCakeIsALie: Ani has gone to great lengths to shape herself after her rich peers to be accepted and to have an enviable career and landing a Prince Charming. She still has self-esteem issues, is stuck in an increasingly unfulfilling relationship and finds her fiance and his friend boring.

* FirstPersonSmartass: The novel is written from Ani's first person narrator, whose internal commentary jumps from TheSnarkKnight to TheLemonyNarrator.

* RapeAsBackStory: [[spoiler: We find out that weeks before the school shooting Ani was raped by Dean, Liam and Peyton at a party.]]

The novel follows 28-years-old Ani Fanelli, columnist for a glossy women's magazine who seems to have it all: glamorous job, designer clothing, jet-set friends and a fiance from and OldMoney family. However, behind her seemingly perfect life a DarkAndTroubledPast is still lurking. Ani is actually TiffAni FaNelli, a working-class Italian-American who has attended the exclusive Bearsdley School in Philadelphia's Main Line on a scholarship, and has survived an horrific school shooting during her freshman year in high school. An upcoming documentary about the shooting is forcing her to come to terms with her past ordeal, her secrets and also to question the life she has built for herself after those horrific events.

** Again, [[spoiler: Dean has accused Ani for years to have instigated the shooting to cover up his rape of her. Ani registers his private confession and with the help of the documentary director outs him in the public eye.]]

The novel follows 28-years-old Ani Fanelli, columnist for a glossy women's magazine who seems to have it all: glamorous job, designer clothing, jet-set friends and a fiance from and OldMoney family.
However, behind her seemingly perfect life a DarkAndTroubledPast is still lurking.
Ani is actually TiffAni FaNelli, a working-class Italian-American who has attendended the exclusive Bearsdley School in Philadelphia's Main Line on a scholarship, and has survived an horrific school shooting during her freshman year in high school.
An upcoming documentary about the shooting is forcing her to come to terms with her past ordeal, her secrets and also to question the life she has built for herself after those horrific events.

* TheCakeIsALie: Ani has gone to great lengths to shape herself after her rich WASPy peers to be accepted and to have an enviable career and landing a Prince Charming. She still has self-esteem issues, is stuck in an increasingly unfulfilling relationship and finds her fiance and his friend boring.

!The novel contains the following tropes:

The novel was Knoll's first published work and has been reported in The New York Times Best Seller list. In 2022, an adaptation starring Creator/MilaKunis and Creator/ChiaraAurelia as adult and teenage Ani has aired on Netflix.