Bright Young Women

Bright YOUNG WOMAN is Karen Joy Pangantihon's debut collection of poetry. Pangantihon pulls the veil and invites readers into a world of love, heartbreak, and intimate look into her collection of boundless and capricious feelings. Bright Young Woman celebrates and honors the full, delicious experience of a young woman's voyage in questioning the Earth she walks on, systems in power, the impetuosities and nuances of romantic relationships as well as the cultural challenges faced as a child of immigrant parents and first generation Filipina American, all the while growing, learning, and becoming.

Two women from opposite sides of the country are brought together by violent acts of the same man, and become allies and sisters in arms as they pursue the justice that would otherwise elude them in one of the most acclaimed, highly-anticipated thrillers of the year. Masterfully blending elements of psychological suspense and true crime, Jessica Knoll—author of the bestselling novel Luckiest Girl Alive and the writer behind the Netflix adaption starring Mila Kunis—delivers a new and exhilarating thriller in Bright Young Women. The book opens on a Saturday night in 1978, hours before a soon-to-be-infamous murderer descends upon a Florida sorority house with deadly results. The lives of those who survive, including sorority president and key witness, Pamela Schumacher, are forever changed. Across the country, Tina Cannon is convinced her missing friend was targeted by the man papers refer to as the All-American Sex Killer—and that he’s struck again. Determined to find justice, the two join forces as their search for answers leads to a final, shocking confrontation. Blisteringly paced, Bright Young Women is “Jessica Knoll at her best—an unflinching and evocative novel about the tabloid fascination with evil and the dynamic and brilliant women who have the real stories to tell” (Laura Dave, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Thing He Told Me); and “a compelling, almost hypnotic read and I loved it with a passion” (Lisa Jewell, New York Times bestselling author of None of This Is True).

The year is 1929. New York is ruled by the Bright Young Things: flappers and socialites seeking thrills and chasing dreams in the anything-goes era of the Roaring Twenties. Letty Larkspur and Cordelia Grey escaped their small Midwestern town for New York's glittering metropolis. All Letty wants is to see her name in lights, but she quickly discovers Manhattan is filled with pretty girls who will do anything to be a star. . . . Cordelia is searching for the father she's never known, a man as infamous for his wild parties as he is for his shadowy schemes. Overnight, she enters a world more thrilling and glamorous than she ever could have imagined—and more dangerous. It's a life anyone would kill for . . . and someone will. The only person Cordelia can trust is ­Astrid Donal, a flapper who seems to have it all: money, looks, and the love of Cordelia's brother, Charlie. But Astrid's perfect veneer hides a score of family secrets. Across the vast lawns of Long Island, in the ­illicit speakeasies of Manhattan, and on the blindingly lit stages of Broadway, the three girls' fortunes will rise and fall—together and apart. From the New York Times bestselling author of The Luxe comes an epic new series set in the dizzying last summer of the Jazz Age.

"In a riveting debut novel that reads like Prep meets Gone Girl, a young woman is determined to create the perfect life--husband, home, and career--until a violent incident from her past threatens to unravel everything and expose her most shocking secret of all. Twenty-eight-year-old New Yorker Ani FaNelli seems to have it all: she's a rising star at The Women's Magazine, impossibly fit, perfectly groomed, and about to marry Luke Harrison, a handsome blueblood. But behind that veneer of perfection lies a vulnerability that Ani holds close and buries deep--a very violent and public trauma from her past that has left her constantly trying to reinvent herself. And only she knows how far she would go to keep her secrets safe. When a documentary producer invites Ani to tell her side of the chilling incident that took place when she was a teenager at the prestigious Bradley School, she hopes it will be an opportunity for public vindication. Armed with the trappings of success--expensive clothes, high-powered byline, a massive engagement ring--she is determined to silence the whispers of suspicion and blame from her past, and prove once and for all how far she's come since Bradley. She'll even let them film her lavish wedding on Nantucket, the final step in her transformation. But perfection doesn't come without cost. As the wedding and filming converge, Ani's meticulously crafted facade begins to buckle and crack--until an explosive revelation offers her a final chance at redemption, even as it rocks her picture-perfect world. Equal parts glitz and darkness, and with a singular voice and twisting plot, Luckiest Girl Alive reads like Sex & the City--if Carrie Bradshaw had a closet full of skeletons instead of shoes. In Ani FaNelli, Jessica Knoll has created a complex and vulnerable heroine who you'll be rooting for to the very last page"--

“Another irresistible thriller” (Entertainment Weekly) from Jessica Knoll—author of Luckiest Girl Alive—the New York Times bestselling story about two sisters whose lifelong rivalry combusts when they join the cast of a reality show—resulting in murder. Brett and Kelly have always toed the line between supportive sisters and bitter rivals. Brett grew up as the problem child, constantly in the shadow of the beautiful and brilliant Kelly—until Kelly tarnished her reputation by getting pregnant while in college and keeping the baby. Now Brett—tattooed, body-positive, engaged to a powerful female lawyer, and only twenty-seven—has skyrocketed to meteoric professional success through a philanthropic cycling business. Untethered by children of her own, she’s fueled by the bitter resentment of her youth. Brett’s become the fan favorite on a reality show featuring hyper-successful, beautiful, and hugely competitive entrepreneurial women—think Real Housewives meets Shark Tank. Goal Diggers’ success means Brett is the object of vitriol and jealousy among her cast mates. Meanwhile, Kelly, penniless and struggling to raise her daughter alone, finds herself crawling back to Brett to beg for a job. When Kelly is cast alongside Brett and her three shameless costars—Stephanie, Lauren, and Jen —shocking secrets come to light. And Brett and Kelly will do whatever it takes to keep the world, and their cast mates, in the dark. The show’s executives expect a season filled with the typical catfights and posturing that makes these shows catnip for the viewing public. But no one expects that the fourth season of Goal Diggers will end in murder… “Engrossing…Deliciously savage and wildly entertaining” (People, Book of the Week), The Favorite Sister is “a twisty, sexy thriller, jam-packed with wit and snark” (Glamour). This “binge-worthy beach read” (USA TODAY, 3 out of 4 stars) offers a scathing take on the oft-lionized bonds of sisterhood, and the relentless pressure to stay young, relevant, and salable.

January 15, 1978, is a night of promise, excitement, and desire. A serial killer's murderous spree in the Pacific Northwest couldn't be further from the minds of the vibrant young women at the top sorority on Florida State University's campus in Tallahassee.

From the Peter Neil Issacs collection.