She's been portrayed by the media as a carefree party girl with a dark side. But jailed U.S. student Amanda Knox is being cast in a different light in a new book that's just now hitting shelves. According to ABC News, author Rocco Girlanda met with Knox in her Italian jail 20 times over the course of his research for Take Me WIth You: Conversations With Amanda Knox in Prison. Girlanda, who believes Knox is innocent, portrays the 23-year-old inmate -- who is serving 26 years for murder -- as serious, solemn and anxious to get her appeal process, scheduled to begin in November, underway.
Girlanda writes that Knox told him, "Everybody tells me, 'You're famous.' And I answer, 'I'm not Angelina Jolie!' How ugly to be famous for this!" Other segments reportedly describe Knox's future career ambitions and desires to marry and adopt a child, though Girlanda steers clear of mentioning much about Meredith Kercher, the 21-year-old UK native whom Knox is alleged to have murdered with her then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito while engaged in an erotic game.
Knox's father Curt says he is hopeful the new book will work to his daughter's favor in shifting public perception of her, which Kercher's attorney has reportedly slammed the book as "inappropriate."
Watch interviews with Rocco Girlanda and Curt Knox via ABC News below: