Totally enjoyed my time reading this book. I have now found my new author (to me) that can break reading slumps. Fun light read, will keep a JC book around now just for that.
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So poorly written, hard to believe it wasn't a complete amateur but at least I guess she got the voice right for a teenage girl. Made it hard to believe how smart and well-read Lucky was supposed to be though. Nothing of substance in this book. ( )

I am some what familiar with Lucky. I only say this because I have not read every book in the series about the Santangelo family. However the ones that I have read involving the grown Lucky, I could tell she was a strong, independent woman. Reading Confessions of a Wild Child is a fun intro to the past and where Lucky came from and how she got to be the woman she is today.

Having a father like Gino, I can't really blame Lucky for rebelling like she did. Of course if she was a good girl then there would be no book like this and Lucky would not be as interesting. However I have to say that Olympia made Lucky seem like a "saint" (pun intended). The ending was not that good. Reading this book does make me want to read the next Lucky novel. ( )

My Booklist review:

The unstoppable, best-selling Collins delves into the fifteenth and sixteenth years of her signature character, Lucky Santangelo. Not as out of control as today’s rebellious teens, Lucky fights for independence and the training she needs to be part of her father’s Las Vegas hotel business, to no avail. Instead, this saga tracks Lucky through a number of exclusive boarding schools where she manages to make wild-child friends with other rich, spoiled young women. All of them spend their time picking up boys, not quite going all the way (with some exceptions), and avoiding the wrath of their absentee, overindulgent parents. Lucky crushes on her father’s right-hand man, Marco, while worrying about her younger brother, Dario, and trying desperately to gain the attention of her father, Gino the Ram. As her name implies, she’s incredibly lucky, even though her life is not a bed of roses. Unfortunately, this superficial look at Lucky’s past doesn’t really get to the heart of why the character turns into the beloved woman found in Collins’ superpopular novels, from Chances (1981) to Goddess of Vengeance (2011). ( )

I was recently lucky enough to win every single one of Jackie Collins’ books to date (see the mega pile here). When I mentioned this to friends and family, they all had one thing to say, “Lucky”. They weren’t talking about me, but rather Collins’ most famous heroine, Lucky Santangelo. Lucky has been the star of several of Collins’ novels, so I decided to start with Lucky’s teenage years, chronicled in her most recent book Confessions of a Wild Child. Confused? Although this is Collins’ latest novel, it takes us to where it all began with a teenage Lucky being shipped off to boarding school.

Lucky doesn’t last long in that school, nor in the next one. She’s discovered BOYS, although she harbours a crush for her father’s right hand man. In between bouts of Almost with boys she meets, Lucky longs to work for and possibly run her father’s business. She doesn’t know exactly what it is, but she’s determined. Her father is holding out for her brother to run the family firm, and dismisses Lucky every time she pleads to work with him. But Lucky’s getting bolder and starting to find out things for herself…

I’m told some of the content is covered fleetingly in other books about Lucky, but I can’t verify that as I’m planning to read in chronological order of Lucky’s life. The first thing that struck me was Lucky’s voice. It’s authentic teenage angst and rebellion. In fact, Lucky wouldn’t sound out of place in today’s crowd, even though the novel is in the late 1960s. It has a very modern feel to it – all that was missing was some ‘totes amazeballs’ and an Apple reference! To Collins’ credit, Lucky and her friends manage to get up to some fantastic hijinks without using a mobile phone, internet or GPS. (It apparently was possible kids). Some of the things Lucky did I found shocking (running away from school and flying to Europe without her father knowing); others seemed a little tame (sneaking out to meet boys). It was the final drama in Las Vegas that had my head spinning. I couldn’t believe the rife sexism of Lucky’s father, treating her like an object, a pawn in a game of blackmail. I’m really looking forward to how she exacts her revenge.

Was this high literature? No. It’s pure escapist fun that has you racing through the generously spaced pages. Lucky sounds quite immature at times (because she is) but her adventures are interesting enough for an adult reader. I’m told that Collins’ earlier Lucky books (that take place later in Lucky’s life) are more detailed and more outrageous. (A quick glance at Chances confirms that). I look forward to reading more of Lucky’s adventures.

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