Author: Jackie Collins
ISBN: 978-1-47112-723-6
RRP: $29.99
Confessions of a Wild Child is the 30th novel for Jackie Collins, all of them have hit the New York Times bestsellers list and she has sold over 500 million copies of her books in more than 40 countries. Armed with all of this information I am surprised to admit that this is the first Jackie Collins I have read. I wasn’t a teen that ‘borrowed’ them off mum’s bookshelf – mainly because she was more into horror and I was busy with Stephen King and Dean Koontz. All of this means that the story of Lucky Santangelo was completely new to me.
This is the story of Lucky Santangelo at fifteen years old. She has been made extremely famous in earlier Jackie Collins books that focus on her as an adult and now Jackie Collins takes us back to the beginning so that we can see how she became the powerful and charismatic woman millions have come to love. I can’t say how this measures up to the rest of the series as this is my first introduction to Lucky but I will say that it has left me wanting to know more, wanting to know the woman she grows up to be.
Lucky Santangelo is the daughter of Vegas business man and casino magnate Gino Santangelo, he also has a bit of a shady past that is never really delved into but certainly hinted at. He has raised his two children with the help of a string of housekeepers and nannies since their mother was murdered when Lucky was 5 – and unfortunate enough to discover the body. She is stubborn and willful, the image of her father in more than just looks. She wants to follow in his footsteps and take over the family business, unfortunately for her Gino is more of a traditionalist; he believes that a woman’s place is in the home. He thinks women should have no ambition further than a good marriage and raising a family, so he refuses to even entertain Lucky’s ambition to follow in his footsteps. Gino is determined for her younger brother Dario to take over the family business even though Dario has never had any interest in doing anything of the sort.
I think Gino sees more of himself in Lucky than he would like, he has always recognised the untameable streak and to try and keep it controlled, and his family safe, he has always been very protective. Lucky and Dario were always sheltered, home-schooled and distanced from the world – until Lucky is sent off to boarding school in Switzerland. She decides to make the most of the opportunity and use the experience to finally start living and experimenting.
Confessions of a Wild Child is written by the 15 year old Lucky, it is very much a teen perspective which made it extremely easy reading. I gave myself the night off everything last night, deciding I had earned a relaxing night and curled up on the couch to read. This was such an easy read that I got through three quarters before heading to bed and then polished it off this afternoon. I even surprised myself at the speed I got through this one.
There are elements of power, sex and intrigue but as this is the coming of age novel for Lucky these elements are understated. Confessions of a Wild Child is all about the ‘Almost’ and Lucky discovering her power, over men and the situations she finds herself in.
Lucky has been very well protected form the world, she is very inexperienced with boys and is determined to change that when she starts boarding school and is out of the shadow of her father. Her education in the ways of the world starts very soon after she starts school and her newfound friends are happy to guide her. she wants to make something of her life and is determined to go into business with Daddy, even if he won’t entertain the notion, so experimenting with boys is one thing but the risk of an unwanted pregnancy keeps her from taking that education all the way.
This novel takes Lucky from Bel Air to Switzerland, Greece, France and Vegas in her journey from Daddy’s Little Princess to a determined, experienced and devious young lady willing to turn any situation to her advantage – even if we’re not quite sure how she’ll go about it yet. Readers of the other Lucky books will know what happens next and may have an idea of the events contained in this book but Lucky was a completely new character for me.
I found the book to be an easy and flowing read that I raced through. These characters were solid enough to involve me and left me wanting to know how Lucky goes about building her empire even though I wouldn’t call all of them that likeable. Told entirely from Lucky’s point of view there wasn’t a lot of depth to many of the other characters because we only discovered what she knew of them, it made it difficult to get to know them very well.
There is definitely room on my TBR shelf for more of the Lucky Santangelo series by Jackie Collins.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
Gosh I used to read all about the books on Lucky Santangelo after first reading all the novels about her dad. . I had every copy until I lent them all to someone and that someone never returned them as they moved with no forwarding address 🙁
I love Jackie Collins books…..they get you motivated in wanting to know more. This book is definitely on my wish list now. Hmmm wonder if Santa will bring me one??