My Dark Vanessa
Ratings220
Average rating4.3
15
Ratings220
Average rating4.3
An instant New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2021 DYLAN THOMAS AWARD 'A package of dynamite' Stephen King ‘Powerful, compulsive, brilliant’ Marian Keyes An era-defining novel about the relationship between a fifteen-year-old girl and her teacher
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2,708 booksWhen you think back on every book you've ever read, what are some of your favorites? These can be from any time of your life – books that resonated with you as a kid, ones that shaped your personal...
Reviews with the most likes.
Great description of complicated emotions when it comes to sexual crime victims. It captures the tiniest, the most subtle feelings. A book makes me ponder and it reveals a lot of emotions surrounding sexual crime victims that I never really thought of.
I'm giving this 5 stars for how accurately it captures the ways in which we lie to ourselves, and how complex trauma is. Necessary but hard reading.
My Dark Vanessa - 4.5/5 stars
This was a really uncomfortable read, and that's what makes it so good. It tells the story of Vanessa and her struggles to battle adulthood after traumatic experiences of a child. It flips between telling the story of her teacher grooming and SA-ing her and the repercussions she now faces in adult hood. We see her deny the reality of what happened to her and it ends up with some really amazing quotes.
The author does well to make us hate the teacher character. I do worry that it make romanticise the horrors, so I think it depends on the reader
Overall, really powerful book that makes you uncomfortable when reading. Please read the trigger warnings if you want to read this anytime in the future because it is very graphic
One sentence synopsis... In the midst of the #MeToo movement, Vanessa re-evaluates a relationship with her teacher that began when she was 15 and has cast a shadow over the rest of her life.
Read it if you like... ‘A Little Life' aka you just like reading stories about people who have terrible things happen to them.
Dream casting... recycle the redheaded duo of Amy Adams and Sophia Lillis as the older and young versions of each other from 'Sharp Objects'.
