LIONSGATE has acquired the rights to the upcoming novel “Luckiest Girl Alive,” with Reese Witherspoon and Bruna Papandrea set to produce through their Pacific Standard banner.

    The deal was announced by Erik Feig, co-president of Lionsgate’s Motion Picture Group. Jessica Knoll’s upcoming novel, to be released May 12, centers around Ani FaNelli, a 28-year-old New Yorker who appears to have it all, but behind that veneer of perfection is vulnerability she holds close and buries deep.

    When that dark trauma resurfaces, FaNellei has a chance to confront her most shocking secret of all, but not without unraveling her meticulously crafted life. “This is one of those rare books that come along every so often that you simply cannot put down,” said Feig in a statement Friday.

    “Luckiest Girl Alive” and its female-centered plot follows earlier films from Pacific Standard like “Wild” and “Gone Girl” that fulfill Witherspoon’s ambition to make movies with female leads and challenging storylines.

    Fox Searchlight’s “Wild,” where Witherspoon starred as a sexually daring woman who overcomes personal tragedy during a 1,000-mile hike, also allowed the Oscar-winning actress to shed a two-decade-old persona steeped in perk.

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

    (SD-Agencies)