Book Review: "Necessary People" by Anna Pitoniak
“Necessary People” by Anna Pitoniak
Publisher Synopsis: 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.
Rating (out of 5): 3.75
Review: You know when you love reading a book, really enjoy the story, but you know it isn’t exactly a great book? This was that book for me.
We first meet Violet and Stella in college, and the novel, which Violet narrates, begins with “the first time I saved Stella’s life,” implying there were several times. Violet is the girl from a working class background who gets a scholarship to a liberal arts school; Stella is the girl whose family bought her admission. After graduation, Violet moves into an apartment that Stella’s family subsidizes while the latter gallivants across Europe.
The author delves into class distinctions quite a bit; Violet is obsessed with the distinction between her and Stella and manages to ingratiate herself into Stella’s family. While it’s implied that the main reason Violet stays with friends with Stella is because of the latter’s social status, Violet ends up getting her job without Stella’s connections—and keeps rising through the ranks, as well. Stella has basically no redeeming qualities; there was a pivotal moment where she stabbed Violet in the back (metaphorically speaking) in the workplace, and I ended up rooting for Violet, which I’m not totally sure was the point? Stella’s family is also really very shitty, and they treat Violet terribly. I did enjoy the workplace setting in TV news; the author juxtaposed the Executive Producer and Talent quite well, and it was clear that their relationship was the better version of what Stella and Violet’s could have been.
But, their friendship was really quite toxic, and there was a fairly big twist about 2/3 of the way through that I, of course, won’t spoil here. We’re left wondering how far Violet’s ambition will take her, what else she will do to keep moving forward, and if she’ll ever have to pay the price for what she’s done. While not a thriller per se, there are definitely some twists and a bit of suspense toward the end. All in all, this was by no means the best book I’ve ever read, but I enjoyed the story and its slight campiness.
TL;DR: A fun, suspenseful read that seemingly starts off lighthearted and takes several twists along the way. An entertaining, if somewhat twisted, look at ambition and how far the protagonist will go to rise above her class.
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