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Lucky Santangelo #9

Confessions of a Wild Child

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Confessions of a Wild Child takes you on trip and navigates the teenage years of a wild child who will eventually rule an empire.
Lucky Santangelo is a powerful and charismatic woman. But how did she become the woman she is today? Many people have asked, and in Confessions of a Wild Child we discover the teenage Lucky, and follow her on her trip to discover boys, love and how she fought her father, the infamous Gino Santangelo, to forge her own individual and strong road to success.
Confessions of a Wild Child takes you on trip and navigates the teenage years of a wild child who will eventually rule an empire. Even at 15 Lucky follows her own path, and it's a crazy ride taking the reader from a strict girls school in Switzerland to an idyllic Greek island, a Bel Air estate, a New York penthouse, and a shuttered villa in the South of France.
Nobody can control Lucky. She knows what she wants and she goes for it with no holds barred.
Lucky at 15 - a true revelation.

528 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 25, 2013

168 people are currently reading
2264 people want to read

About the author

Jackie Collins

227 books2,691 followers
There have been many imitators, but only Jackie Collins can tell you what really goes on in the fastest lane of all. From Beverly Hills bedrooms to a raunchy prowl along the streets of Hollywood; from glittering rock parties and concerts to stretch limos and the mansions of power brokers-Jackie Collins chronicles the real truth from the inside looking out.

Jackie Collins has been called a "raunchy moralist" by the late director Louis Malle and "Hollywood's own Marcel Proust" by Vanity Fair magazine. With over 500 million copies of her books sold in more than forty countries, and with some 30 New York Times bestsellers to her credit, Jackie Collins is one of the world's top-selling novelists. She is known for giving her readers an unrivalled insider's knowledge of Hollywood and the glamorous lives and loves of the rich, famous, and infamous. "I write about real people in disguise," she says. "If anything, my characters are toned down-the truth is much more bizarre."

Jackie Collins died of breast cancer Saturday, September 19, 2015. Jackie Collins, who had kept her illness secret, said recently that she believed in an afterlife, that she had no regrets and that she had emulated Frank Sinatra in that “I did it my way.”

Visit Jackie's website: www.jackiecollins.com
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/JackieJCollins
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/jackiecollins and Pinterest:
www.pinterest.com/jackiejcollins

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Community Reviews

5 stars
987 (29%)
4 stars
856 (25%)
3 stars
889 (26%)
2 stars
389 (11%)
1 star
227 (6%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 333 reviews
Profile Image for Liz.
17 reviews
January 16, 2014
Watered down re-telling of the teenage years of Lucky Santangelo. No new details added to the story, some paragraphs were lifted straight out of 'Chances' and 'Lucky'. Perhaps more suited to a YA reader who was moving on from Sweet Valley High, and not quite ready for some of the more questionable content in Ms Collins books of the 70s.

You don't expect high quality literature when you pick up Jackie Collins, but I definitely expected more than this.

Profile Image for Bookread2day.
2,574 reviews63 followers
July 9, 2018
I won this book from Jackie Collins USA website. Although at the time I did thank Jackie Collins for sending me this book from the USA and signing it to me, I do miss Jackie Collins and her books so much. But I did loved every page of Confessions of a Wild Child, then again I was a big fan of Jackie Collins and have loved every page of every book that I have read by Jackie. I do highly recommend Confessions of a Wild Child.
Profile Image for Nancy Jacobson.
302 reviews1 follower
December 16, 2014
Why I selected this book really surprises me! It has no literary value , no real story and it is almost terrible! I guess Jackie Collins is a best selling author because her books require no thinking!
Profile Image for Katherine .
418 reviews100 followers
November 3, 2017
Meh.

I love Jackie Collins and am willing to read any of her books. However so far I have read 4 and this was the least interesting one.

Maybe its because it was about teenage girls and im not one anymore but the whole lets tease older guys to want us and annoy daddy is not that entertaining to me.

The writting has the Jackies juicy signature and was super fun as always. The whole thing reads really fast like all her books.

For me not that special.
Profile Image for Satomi.
838 reviews19 followers
May 30, 2018
2.5 Stars

It was a super light read. You don’t have to use your brain to understand this one. The characters are so damn.
Profile Image for Book Addict Shaun.
937 reviews320 followers
September 26, 2013
This was probably my most anticipated book of 2013, and I'm disappointed to say that it fell short of my expectations. So why the five stars? Well I am loath to give a Jackie Collins book below four stars and I definitely do not want to give a book that feature her best creation less than five stars. I did love the book however it was very much a case of 'been there, done that' after having already read all the previous Santangelo books.

I don't know why I expected more, the book has always stated it is Lucky's early years. The problem is we know all about those early years after reading Chances and Lucky. I knew everything that was happening and about to happen in this book because I have read it before. This is just an expanded version of what Jackie has wrote in previous books. Also it is a very short read. Quite a large font and if the chapter ends on the right hand side then the following page is just blank and so with 20 or so chapters ending like this that's 20 pages of white to take off from the already short 350 or so pages.

It does however never get boring for me as a fan to read about Lucky Santangelo. She, along with Gino is Jackie's greatest creation and surely the one that fans love to read about most. I love Jackie's standalone books but the Santangelo ones are in a league of their own and I wish that she would write a whole new book featuring them rather than something like this which just felt very repetitive. Also with her books you usually have a mystery. There isn't any mystery here for longtime fans as they know exactly what happens to Lucky in the later years. That said Jackie did have to make a time jump with Drop Dead Beautiful so that certain characters were still alive at the time it was set but I would be willing to overlook facts such as these for a whole new Santangelo book. And not one where Lucky is a background character (Poor Little Bitch Girl).

Overall this is definitely one for the fans. People new to Jackie's work would definitely be better going back to her earlier stuff which is full of mystery and intrigue and outrageous characters. The same can't be said here but for fans it is a great read. Oh and Lucky Santangelo is NOT Angelina Jolie. I LOVE Jackie but wish she wouldn't say Angelina is her ideal Lucky. As Lucky gets older I picture her as Kris Jenner, she certainly fits the description and Kris definitely has balls like Lucky.


However the book I most want Jackie to write is her life story!
Profile Image for Lainy.
1,976 reviews72 followers
July 28, 2018
Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 528

Publisher - Simon & Schuster

Source - Pound shop

Blurb from Goodreads

Confessions of a Wild Child takes you on trip and navigates the teenage years of a wild child who will eventually rule an empire.
Lucky Santangelo is a powerful and charismatic woman. But how did she become the woman she is today? Many people have asked, and in Confessions of a Wild Child we discover the teenage Lucky, and follow her on her trip to discover boys, love and how she fought her father, the infamous Gino Santangelo, to forge her own individual and strong road to success.
Confessions of a Wild Child takes you on trip and navigates the teenage years of a wild child who will eventually rule an empire. Even at 15 Lucky follows her own path, and it's a crazy ride taking the reader from a strict girls school in Switzerland to an idyllic Greek island, a Bel Air estate, a New York penthouse, and a shuttered villa in the South of France.
Nobody can control Lucky. She knows what she wants and she goes for it with no holds barred.
Lucky at 15 - a true revelation.


My Review

I love Jackie Collins books, I rarely read them in order though (sorry I know that makes fellow book worms twitch). Like many fans, I wanted to know what Lucky was like as a kid as I have read her as a woman who holds no prisoners and reference to her younger years. This books sees us meet Lucky at fifteen, it all begins quite teen angst, moaning about lack of affection from her dad, her issues with boys, relationship with her brother. Lucky has been very sheltered and not allowed to mix with most people, let alone boys. When she is sent off to private school she meets a new friend, one who teachers her all about boys, make up and breaking all the rules.

I wasn't sure I was going to like this, written in first person and the main character is fifteen with an authentic voice so I was a bit meh. However, I do enjoy Collins writing, the worlds she creates and if done well I don't mind the whole teenage thing.

As the story progresses we also get some chat about Gino "the Ram" Lucky's dad and a wee bit of his dealings, personality and his team. Before long Lucky is pushing the boundaries, finding out who she is and who she wants to be and the ramifications of her wild ways.

Engaging and perfect for a holiday read, it has sex, drugs, teenage sexual exploits although nothing in any kind of great detail. I was a bit disappointed where she chose to end it, I felt it was really just getting grit and here would be a huge insight into Lucky's real first steps in womanhood. I need to go through all the blurbs of the others to see if the book picks up where this left off as I really was left hanging. However, if you have read all of Collins books on Lucky then maybe it is perfect because you know where it all goes from this point. The book was published after many of the others but from an age point this may be one of the first with Lucky being so young? This will teach me to read out of sequence, maybe I will just buy them all and read them properly, I think she has written thirty odd books - might be easier than trying to figure if this one carries on in any of the others or is only mentioned in a memory throwback. 3.5/5 for me this time, I think if you like the Santangelo characters then you will enjoy this, I just need more and wasn't delighted with where they left it.
Profile Image for Tim.
2,497 reviews332 followers
April 5, 2014
This lackluster effort by Ms. Collins is unfitting of her immense creative talent. Much repetition without explanation of how this spoiled brat came to be the strong independent character she morphs into tastes less and is unfulfilling. 1 of 10 stars
Profile Image for Jax Moreno.
10 reviews1 follower
February 9, 2021
I love Jackie Collins Books in general. I love the fast life style because I got a taste of it! Being raised in LA I can somewhat relate. This is the first of the Lucky series I read so my perspective is different. Fast read and entertaining. Only reason I didn’t give it a 5 is cuz of the major cliff hanger but now I am going to buy Lucky to continue this ten series saga.
Profile Image for Natalie Rose.
35 reviews
April 10, 2024
Pointless book. The only positive was it let you get to know Dario’s character better, other than that it was a waste of time.
Profile Image for Patchy Emoly.
3 reviews4 followers
June 7, 2017
จบแล้ว สนุกดีจ้า แซ่บทั้งเรื่อง
Profile Image for Jeanne.
1,051 reviews4 followers
March 12, 2014
Have to say I was anxiously awaiting the release of this book and was extremely disappointed. It seems that Collins felt she had to write another "Lucky Santangelo" story and decided to fill in the gaps in her teenage years - 15 to 16. Honestly, I got enough info on this period in Lucky's life in the flashbacks from previous stories that this seemed like fluff. I guess I would rather Collins took the point of view of Lucky's daughter (a new topic) rather than going back and adding filler to an area the had already been touched on. The good thing--very easy read that took a day to finish the story. Only 3 of 10 for me on this one.
Profile Image for Sue.
902 reviews2 followers
May 26, 2014
I can't believe I read this whole book... meaning I can't believe I read a book about an incredibly rich and spoiled 14 year old who gets sent to boarding school.. gets kicked out of boarding school.. goes to another..gets kicked out.. goes off on tangents with other wild and spoiled teenagers.. this book is supposed to be a prequel I guess you would call it to the other books about Lucky Santangelo .. I think I have read some of those but it has been quite a while..and I sure am not going to go back and read them now... everyone needs some 'sleaze' now and then but sleazy teenagers are just not worthy of a book.
Profile Image for Birgit.
462 reviews8 followers
May 13, 2014
Yet another Lucky Santangelo novel. Seriously Jackie Collins enough already. This is a prequel of Lucky in her teenage years where we are supposed to find out what made her into the woman she became, Lucky - a true revelation. NOT! Sadly it had a rather abrupt ending so I'm guessing there will be a sequel to the prequel. By the time that comes out I suppose I will be in need of another dose of trash.

Utter and total drivel!
374 reviews
January 19, 2019
This is probably my least favourite Jackie Collins novel. It is a prequel of sorts to her other books in the Santangelo series. This one is written for a teen audience and doesn't have the oomph and scandal of the novels that made her famous. Really didn't need this one in the series. Just covering ground that was much better handled in Chances the first novel in the series.
Profile Image for Barry Reynolds.
75 reviews
December 23, 2013
a great read. this book is very well written and it has great characters that capture you right from the start and draw you into the story. i can't wait to read the rest of the lucky series of books. this is a must read.
356 reviews16 followers
February 27, 2014
I read the US edition of this book. The girl on the cover is gorgeous! I had fun reading this book, as it is my first 'Lucky' novel. I ordered Chances from Barnes and Noble today, and plan to read the whole Lucky series in order! What an adventurous character!
Profile Image for David.
6 reviews4 followers
September 28, 2013
Like reading Watered down Jackie Collins for the YA set.
Profile Image for Angela.
9 reviews2 followers
May 14, 2014
great book. it was great to read about the santangelos again. cant wait for the next one!
Profile Image for Nick Stewart.
216 reviews14 followers
August 19, 2017
Silly, wholly unnecessary prequel to Jackie Collins' Santangelo series. Although it contains flashes of Jackie's trademark sizzle, this book is recommended for completists and masochists only.
Profile Image for Theresa.
212 reviews
April 24, 2024
If you read Jackie Collins novels, you would have heard about 'Lucky Santangelo' and all of her exploits! Well this tells of Lucky's childhood and how she became a powerful and charismatic woman! Growing up has been traumatic with the loss of her mother at a young age, but being looked after her father .. the important Gino, who did love and treat her like a princess; but it was her brother that Gino wanted to follow in the family footsteps of building and retaining the hotel/casino empire (as well as other things)! Lucky was just a girl, who would eventually grow up, get married and have babies. But Lucky wanted to be like her father and show him that girls could do anything, be anything and it was this rebellious nature through her teenage years that led to her future - her destiny! While Lucky joined in the wild adventures, she also kept her head and at sixteen saw the light at the end of the tunnel ... gosh even I was curious to find how her wild ride progressed, but that is another story!!
Profile Image for Stasha.
288 reviews
January 27, 2019
It's been a while since I have read a Jackie Collins novel, so perhaps the thrill that her stories once gave me is a sign that I have come to outgrow her books. Nevertheless, I quite liked ''Confessions of a Wild Child''. Quite easy to run through, nothing too heavy, which is exactly what I needed at this time.

The plot more or less focuses on Lucky Santangelo's coming-of-age era in her mid-teenage years, chronicling her discovery of her prowess with the opposite sex, among other things.


I must say that I did not like the ending, which showed her going ahead with the marriage her father arranged much for his own advantage. I guess it was to leave the reader wanting more. If there is a part two to the story, I would read it to find out how things turn out. I imagine that the marriage did not last since I have read a few books where Lucky is a grown woman married with two children but not the future husband mentioned in this book.
Profile Image for Aya Lawliet.
230 reviews
March 1, 2019
Più che aggiungere qualcosa alla serie, questo volume mi ha dato l'impressione di voler ri-raccontare l'adolescenza di Lucky alla nuova generazione di lettori che magari l'hanno conosciuta soltanto all'epoca di Lennie e Alex, di Max e Bobby. È vero che lo sguardo su di lei è più approfondito che - ad esempio - nel primissimo libro, e che il suo rapporto di amore/odio con Gino ha qui un ruolo molto più importante; ma è vero anche che tutto era già lì, per chi già conoscesse la storia. Anzi, c'erano persino delle cose in più, e tante altre erano molto meno buoniste. Comunque sia parliamo pur sempre di Lucky Santangelo a quindici anni, e non si può non volerle bene.
Profile Image for Liz Destefano.
682 reviews
August 12, 2017
This is about Lucky as a teenager trying to grow up in boarding schools with a girl Olympia that she meets and just wants her fathers love but he is never there for her and she learns about men and how to get things and when Gino finally decides to Marry her off at 16 to a political family the Richmond and as the day approaches she does not want to marry the guy but wants to take over her fathers business
It ends on the day of her wedding with her walking outside where the weddings to takes place and just ends

Not happy
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Lisa Love skinner .
6 reviews
March 19, 2023
This was my first Jackie Collins book and possibly my last, dare I say. I was not impressed by the dry and repetitive writing style used throughout the book and disliked the main character, a raunchy spoiled teenage girl. I disliked so many things about this book that a quarter of a way through it I tossed it down on my coffee table due to boredom, disgust and for lack of effort involved by the author to make it even slightly worth reading. I am not even sure how this book got published. I’m sure her other books must be alarmingly better, but this one is an epic fail in my book.
Profile Image for Lorraine.
Author 20 books25 followers
January 23, 2017
Everyone loves Lucky Santangelo.

She is a wild woman who fears nothing, and has her own mind.
She is a carefree spirit who does whatever she wants, and I can totally relate to this, being a former teenage rebel!

Join Lucky on her wild ride through her teenage years as she discovers how to manipulate boys, parties with her friends, finds out who her true friends are, etc.

You'll have the time of your life!
Profile Image for Christina Rochester.
760 reviews78 followers
January 9, 2020
Seriously what have I just wasted days of my life reading? I always had the impression that Jackie Collins was meant to be one of those really tasty authors who leaves you wanting more, but this really wasn't the case here.

Not a single character was likeable and Olympia in particular drove me crazy. I just found myself bored and uninterested in the entire book. I might check out the ones where Lucky is an adult at some point but I highly doubt it.
Profile Image for Paulina Piecuch (athlibra).
39 reviews
April 16, 2023
1/5⭐
Bardzo płytka książka o niczym... Bohaterowie są nijacy podobnie jak fabuła i wszystkie inne aspekty tej książki.
Główna bohaterka uważa się za dojrzałą, chociaż w rzeczywistości zachowuje się jak dzieciak. Chce obalić patriarchat i pracować tak samo jak jej ojciec, który jednak uważa, że miejsce kobiety jest w domu, ale ostatecznie mu się podporządkowuje...
Zdecydowanie jedną z gorszych książek jakie kiedykolwiek przeczytałam.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 333 reviews

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