Feminist adventure story - in the best way possible
It’s been awhile since I’ve had a proper book hangover. You know the feeling when you’ve read a book that you loved and, you can’t possibly fathom reading anything else now that it’s over? That was the Good Luck Girls for me. I started reading it immediately when I opened its package, and couldn’t seem to put it down once I did.
The Good Luck Girls follows sisters Aster and Clementine, teenage girls in the harsh country of Arketta. Sold into a “welcome house” as children, and branded with elaborate tattoos known as favors, they only have each other to rely on. After Clementine accidentally kills a man on her “lucky night”, the two escape the welcome house with their two best friends Mallow and Tansy, and enemy Violet. Now on the run from the law, and with no one to trust but themselves, the five of them form an unlikely alliance. They set out to find the mysterious Lady Ghost, a woman believed to have the power to remove their favors and free them from life as Good Luck Girls once and for all.
To put it simply, I loved this book. I immediately identified with the character of Aster. Though the story is told in third person, it is told from Aster’s perspective. Aster is incredibly brazen, yet pragmatic. She’s fully aware of the peril involved in the girls escape from the welcome house and even more in their travels to find Lady Ghost in Northrock.
Davis does an excellent job of world-building, all the while tackling the heavy topics of slavery, sex-trafficking, and poverty. She slowly adds on more features of the country of Arketta as they arise in the story, and reinforces them as necessary. I found it very easy to imagine the cruel country of Arketta, although at times I wish I had a map to go back to.
One of my favorite aspects of this book was that it is not a romance. It’s not a story of freedom where the main character finds herself…but also finds a boy. It is a story about a girl who discovers her purpose in life, and validates what’s important to her without finding a man. I loved that.
It was hard for me to read that final chapter and say goodbye to the characters I had come to care about so much. One thing is clear to me…I really hope there’s a sequel!
The Good Luck Girls follows sisters Aster and Clementine, teenage girls in the harsh country of Arketta. Sold into a “welcome house” as children, and branded with elaborate tattoos known as favors, they only have each other to rely on. After Clementine accidentally kills a man on her “lucky night”, the two escape the welcome house with their two best friends Mallow and Tansy, and enemy Violet. Now on the run from the law, and with no one to trust but themselves, the five of them form an unlikely alliance. They set out to find the mysterious Lady Ghost, a woman believed to have the power to remove their favors and free them from life as Good Luck Girls once and for all.
To put it simply, I loved this book. I immediately identified with the character of Aster. Though the story is told in third person, it is told from Aster’s perspective. Aster is incredibly brazen, yet pragmatic. She’s fully aware of the peril involved in the girls escape from the welcome house and even more in their travels to find Lady Ghost in Northrock.
Davis does an excellent job of world-building, all the while tackling the heavy topics of slavery, sex-trafficking, and poverty. She slowly adds on more features of the country of Arketta as they arise in the story, and reinforces them as necessary. I found it very easy to imagine the cruel country of Arketta, although at times I wish I had a map to go back to.
One of my favorite aspects of this book was that it is not a romance. It’s not a story of freedom where the main character finds herself…but also finds a boy. It is a story about a girl who discovers her purpose in life, and validates what’s important to her without finding a man. I loved that.
It was hard for me to read that final chapter and say goodbye to the characters I had come to care about so much. One thing is clear to me…I really hope there’s a sequel!