Greetings! There are times in my life when I am without a book or graphic novel to read, but those are certainly rare. I have been enjoying quite a few suspenseful thrillers as of late revolving around seemingly “good” girls with dark secrets and motives. The most recent one I finished was called Necessary People by Anna Pitoniak. Although this book wasn’t my favorite by any means, I read it in a matter of days and found myself itching to get back to it when it wasn’t in my hands. So, without any spoilers to those who plan on giving this book a try, let’s discuss:

Necessary People spins a tale around a toxic friendship between Violet and Stella. And, when I say that these girls are polar opposites, I mean that in absolutely every sense. Violet suffered from a traumatic upbringing, is a Plain Jane, and prefers to be behind the scenes instead of in the spotlight. All the while, Stella is filthy rich, flashy, and performs best for an audience.

The girls met in college and quickly became inseparable, although a lot of their friendship revolved around Violet getting Stella out of sticky drunken situations, thus making Violet feel like she was important and needed. Because of Violet’s abusive parents, she ended up with Stella’s family for the holidays and was rewarded to the ultimate prize upon graduation: To be able to live with Stella in a lavish apartment in New York City for rent that was dirt cheap, compliments of Stella’s parents.

Post graduation, Stella traveled the world and Violet buckled down as an intern at a news company called KCN. Violet pulled herself up by her bootstraps and quickly began to climb the ladder of success at the network, ultimately landing the gig of an associate producer. And, upon Stella’s return home she was left to her own devices because her BFF turned into a workaholic.

Then, things changed rather abruptly when Violet informed Stella that her head boss was at the party they were attending for the wedding anniversary of Stella’s parents. And, just like that, Stella was on and began as an intern at the news network the following week. She began to move up in her own right – by being in front of the camera and reporting the news that Violet worked hard to investigate.

Despite Violet’s lack of desire to be an anchorwoman, seeing her somewhat lazy other half get the glory for her labor began to take its toll. And, once again, Violet was left in Stella’s shadow. What happens when jealousy begins to eat away between two “best friends”? Read the book and find out!

Although I wasn’t a huge fan of either of the main characters in this book, it proved for a good, fast paced read. I wouldn’t want to be friends with Stella or Violet but I loved their dynamic between each other that was filled with back handed compliments and snide remarks.

It was interesting, because they were both “mean girls” in their own way but Stella was just more forthright about it. So, seeing things from the perspective of Violet, the girl who shied away from all eyes being on her was a nice spin on things. She definitely had the brains of the operation between her and Stella and used her wits to her advantage throughout the book to try and ensure that she would land on top. Ambitious or just a bitch? Lol, you decide!

Like I said, this book wasn’t my favorite but I do think that it was worth a read and I’ll rate it with a 6.5 out of ten stars.

Has anyone else read Necessary People? What were your thoughts on it? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah