Necessary People

Starred review from March 18, 2019
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.

Vanessa Johansson smoothly narrates this story of intense friendship and its perils. Violet--a quiet, intelligent girl from the wrong side of the tracks--and Stella--a charismatic, rich beauty--become best friends at college. Johansson shines at her adept emotional portrayals of these two very different young women. After college, when Violet excels in a career she loves and comes into her own in New York City, Stella finds herself floundering and jealous. Johansson's slight shifts in tone express the nuances of the characters' shifting relationship. In particular, listeners will feel Stella's fear and tension as her lies and omissions begin to surface. S.K.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award � AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine