Book Club- The Luckiest Girl Alive

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The book we read this past month was The Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll.  It’s a novel and tells the story of TifAni FaNelli, a girl who attends the prestigious Bradley School.  Her family was not wealthy like the other students and she works hard to fit in. She even works into adulthood to rub elbows with the wealthy and finds her way into a family with “old money”. As a teenager, several tragedies happen that shape her life forever. While this book is definitely a page-turner, we all felt lukewarm about it.  It covers some pretty dark topics in a style that makes it feel like a beach read which just felt strange.  A couple of ladies said they would recommend it to anyone that liked Gone Girl, but with the caveat (or trigger warning) that the content is pretty dark.  I just didn’t like any of the characters enough to read it again or recommend it myself.  I kept finding myself wanting to root for the main character, but not actually rooting for her if that makes sense.  The book is semi-autobiographical in that the author did in fact experience one of the traumatic things as a teenager herself.  That did make for interesting conversation.  Why did she include the other event that she never went through?  Why did she choose to write the book in this way?  How has this event shaped her?  Now that I think about it, the whole time I was reading the book I wanted to know more about the author and cared less about the character I was reading about.  Make of that what you will.

Book rating:  would not recommend or read again (5/10).

 

The main character was on a diet for part of the book so I went with a lighter menu:

• Roast chicken breast
• Farro salad with mozzarella and sun-dried tomatoes (recipe below)
• Rosemary shortbread (recipe will be shared in the near future)
• Sofia Coppola Rosé

 

I saw this Rosé by Sofia Coppola on another blog recently and found it at Target so I figured we’d give it a try.  I also felt like Rosé would pair well with the menu I had planned.  I found this wine a little dry for my taste and the other ladies agreed….don’t get me wrong, we drank it.  😉  It was about $14 so I didn’t mind that it wasn’t my favorite.  Part of me wonders if I tried it with a saltier dish if I would enjoy it more.

Wine rating: Might try again (6/10)

 

I’d love to hear from those of you that read this book.  What did you think?  Our next book will be Everything I never Told You by Celeste Ng.  As always, you can check out Betsy’s blog for her post and can follow our book club Pinterest board to see what other books we’ve read.

 

Farro Salad with Mozzarella and Sun-Dried tomatoes

Have you ever had farro?  It’s a grain similar to barley with a chewy texture and nutty taste.  It works well in salads and I thought it would be a great way to incorporate the flavor of the month, rosemary.  I made a simple balsamic vinaigrette but used some of the oil from the tomatoes and fresh rosemary to boost the flavor.

Start by putting the cooked farro in a medium bowl and add the sun-dried tomatoes.

Now make the vinaigrette.  In a bowl or jar add the olive oil, oil from the tomatoes, vinegar and rosemary.

Mix together until the oils and vinegar or completely combined.  Pour the vinaigrette over the farro and tomatoes in the bowl and stir until all of farro is coated.

Now add the pieces of mozzarella and gently stir to distribute them through the salad.

Serve now or chill to serve later.  This salad will last 2-3 days in the fridge.