Necessary People
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4.4 • 12 Ratings
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- $17.99
Publisher Description
A propulsive, "chilling" novel exploring the dangerous fault lines of female friendships (Lee Child), Necessary People deftly plumbs the limits of ambition, loyalty, and love.
One of them has it all. One of them wants it all. But they can't both win.
Stella and Violet are best friends, and from the moment they met in college, they knew their roles. Beautiful, privileged, and reckless Stella lives in the spotlight. Hardworking, laser-focused Violet stays behind the scenes, always ready to clean up the mess that Stella inevitably leaves in her wake.
After graduation, Violet moves to New York and lands a job in cable news, where she works her way up from intern to assistant to producer, and to a life where she's finally free from Stella's shadow. In this fast-paced world, Violet thrives, and her ambitions grow -- but everything is jeopardized when Stella, envious of Violet's new life, uses her connections, beauty, and charisma to get hired at the same network. Stella soon moves in front of the camera, becoming the public face of the stories that Violet has worked tirelessly to produce -- and taking all the credit.
Stella might be the one with the rich family and the right friends, but Violet isn't giving up so easily. As she and Stella strive for success, each reveals just how far she'll go to get what she wants -- even if it means destroying the other person along the way.
"I literally couldn't stop reading." -- Stephen King"I love a book that is smart as hell and impossible to put down and this is IT." -- Jessica KnollNamed one of the Best Books of May by Marie Claire, Town & Country, Refinery29, Cosmopolitan, Woman's Day, Bustle, CrimeReads, and O, the Oprah Magazine
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Pitoniak's fantastic sophomore effort (after The Futures) concerns what happens when ambitious plain Jane Violet Trapp finds her social and professional territory impinged upon by her narcissistic and charming best friend Stella Bradley. After meeting in college, Stella and Violet fall into roles in which the former, a beautiful heiress, lives a life of excess from which the latter constantly has to save her. Once they graduate, Stella travels the world, while Violet works hard as an intern at the cable news network KCN, quickly rising through the ranks. Violet sees her job as a means to get as far away as she can from her childhood of poverty and abuse, and also a way to flourish in a world where unfocused Stella is always the brightest star. Resenting Violet's ascendency, Stella uses her connections to get a foot in the door at KCN, where she promptly steals Violet's thunder by getting promoted and receiving credit for a story that was Violet's brainchild; she also starts dating Violet's good pal Jamie. Stella's about to ink a multimillion-dollar contract when Jamie dumps her, sending her off the deep end. The friends have a huge fight before a fateful incident, leading Violet to wonder if Stella will ruin her one way or another. This stirring character study and treatise on the dark sides of ambition, friendship, family, and privilege will hook readers from the get-go.
