Few of us can claim to be the authors of our fate. Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy knows no other choice. With the eyes of the world watching, Jackie uses her effortless charm and keen intelligence to carve a place for herself among the men of history and weave a fairy tale for the American people, embodying a senator’s wife, a devoted mother, a First Lady—a queen in her own right.
But all reigns must come to an end. Once JFK travels to Dallas and the clock ticks down those thousand days of magic in Camelot, Jackie is forced to pick up the ruined fragments of her life and forge herself into a new identity that is all her own, that of an American legend.
Opening line:
"The pink pillbox hat and Chanel-inspired bouclè suit awaited her on the bed."
I've often wondered what life was like for Jackie. This book gave me some idea what her years as JFK's wife and beyond might have been.
I had a hard time putting this book down! I kept reading, wondering when we were going to get to one of the worse days in the Kennedy's, and possibly, America's lives. But taking the ride to get to that moment was worth the time.
There are four parts in this story, one for each era, the fourth happening after Bobby's assassination.
The book starts by introducing Jackie in her earlier years and when she met John. I throughly enjoyed the insights Ms. Thornton researched and added. Every time a dress or an event was mentioned, I goggled it so I could really 'see' what she was writing. In my opinion, that makes for a good historical fiction book!
Jackie was very protective of family and took care to involve her kids as much as possible. She tried to stay involved in everything her husband did as well.
My favorite parts of the book was when Jackie stood up for herself. She made a vow to the patriarch of the Kennedy's that she would never leave John's side, and she didn't right up to the time he was placed in a coffin. When women didn't step into the politcal or campaigning spotlight, Jackie was there, even when men told her she couldn't. She was with John in the hospital when he had back surgery and had the nurse teach her how to take care of John, even when he didn't want Jackie to see him so weak.
She was told she was told young and fresh for the campaign trail, that everyone wanted to see the grandmotherly types from the last few presidencies. Several times after John was shot, people tried to get Jackie to change her blood-splattered clothes, but she refused. "Let them see what they've done."
The very last part of the book, Part Four, didn't seem to be in the same vein as the rest of the book. I wondered if the author, like me, was disappointed in Jackie for having affairs, after she vehemently held John to their marriage. Part Four helped me to understand why Jackie possibly married Onassis, and the good she did in the last days of her life, but I was a little let down.
There are several 'F' bombs and swear words, but they are scattered throughout the book.
Thanks to netgalley for the early read!
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