Reviews tagging 'Cancer'

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

7 reviews

peachyykenn's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Addiction, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Drug use, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Medical content, Cancer, and Bullying

orndal's review

reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

bit unsure, actually. To begin with i didn't really like it - Vanessa is dumb and naïve, get believes herself to be extraordinarily clever. She's told she has a depressive personality and  has to look it up, so she can't be that clever. 
But then again, who doesn't think they're superior at 15? and isn't that exactly what allows Strane to prey on her?  
After the abuse she falls apart, yet she struggles to accept that Strane has any responsibility, because she doesn't want to be seen as a victim. Again, rather relatable, though it's incredibly infuriating.

Sadly though, it's just not well written. It doesn't flow well, the language doesn't really add up - i especially noticed a few "difficult" words just being thrown in wherever, but they don't really fit. But then again, that might be Vanessa's fault, as it's told in first person perspective. (which honestly limits how good a book can be, in my opinion.)

Thing is, the themes in this book are very grown up, there's an underlying need for political and intellectual awareness  (lolita references aside), but the book itself is in no way shape or form written for an adult, so who is this really for??

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, and Body shaming

Minor: Vomit, Violence, and Cancer

bethsbookshelf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

review here: https://daisychains.co/2022/12/06/book-review-my-dark-vanessa/

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Cancer, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Rape

twiggiii's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Rape, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Abandonment, Death, Alcohol, and Suicide

Minor: Death of parent and Cancer

mallory10100's review against another edition

i didn’t like the long chapters and didn’t love how vanessa kept enabling and defending her abuser. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Mental illness

Minor: Death, Death of parent, Alcohol, Confinement, Cancer, Grief, Stalking, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship

jameslyons's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I devoured this in three days and felt like I was reading my own diary. I've never read anything that describes the nuances of abuse survival so well, particularly located in the early 2000s. I found it affirming, confronting, triggering, and a really fucking good read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Sexism

Moderate: Suicide, Miscarriage, Infertility, and Pedophilia

Minor: Blood, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Gore, and Animal death

Child sexual abuse is the main subject. Gaslighting, grooming, institutional violence, and coping mechanisms.

snowhitereads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

 

My Dark Vanessa definitely wasn't an easy book to read.

It was very emotionally draining, being inside the mind of someone who'd gone through something so terrible and terribly complex. But it's an extremely important one.

 Vanessa was incredibly authentic and fleshed out, and her story impacted me greatly. 

It was one of the hardest reads for me, it stirred up so many thoughts and feelings…

 I'm emotionally drained after finishing this, but in a satisfying way. 

As difficult to get through asit was, I feel like I gained a lot of empathy, understanding, and insight.

It’s definitely one of those books that feels weird giving such a high rating when it made me so deeply uncomfortable.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Death of parent, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Toxic relationship