Reese Witherspoon and Bruna Papandrea’s Pacific Standard will produce Jessica Knoll’s upcoming novel.

Luckiest Girl Alive tells of a young woman whose life appears to be perfect until a secret trauma resurfaces.

“This is one of those rare books that come along every so often that you simply cannot put down,” said Lionsgate’s co-president of the motion picture group Erik Feig. “We are thrilled to be working with Reese and Bruna on this project.”

Luckiest Girl Alive is the kind of book that grabs you and doesn’t let go,” said Witherspoon. “The hero of the book is a wily, intelligent, complex narrator.

“This character and the thrilling narrative that she drives are exactly the kind of story our company, Pacific Standard Films, wants to produce. We are thrilled to be collaborating with Jessica and Lionsgate to bring her debut novel to the screen.”

Vice-president of production Jeyun Choi Munford and creative executive Nirokhi Raychaudhuri will oversee the project on behalf of the studio. CAA negotiated the deal for Knoll, the novel and the producers.

Simon & Schuster will publish Luckiest Girl Alive on May 12.