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nineinchnails's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
i would not recommend reading this as a survivor of rape and especially of child sexual abuse, more because of how adamant vanessa is that she was not abused than how graphic the abuse is written. it can be very hard to stomach her constant romanticisation and denial of strane's abuse, despite how obvious it us to us as readers that he manipulated her. 'manipulate' does not feel like anywhere near as strong of a word to portray how he controlled and exploited her.
vanessa is not a 'perfect victim' and she struggles with this well into adulthood; the idea that a woman must be perfectly chaste, perfectly humble, perfectly innocent, and perfectly untouched by the world to be believed or taken seriously as a victim is one that permeates our society to this day. what was she wearing?, she lead him on, she was asking for it, she wanted it. this novel does an incredible job at giving a voice to the many survivors who (unsurprisingly) don't fit that mould and showing a different perspective.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Physical abuse, Death, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, Infidelity, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Sexual harassment, Classism, Drug abuse, Grief, Body horror, and Abandonment
Minor: Animal death, Body shaming, Mass/school shootings, and Vomit
Grooming, Dissociation, Post traumatic stress disorder, Child sexual abuse, and Student/teacher relationshipshakattxck's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Physical abuse, Vomit, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Violence, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, Stalking, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Grief, Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Misogyny, Drug use, Sexual violence, Rape, Pedophilia, Sexism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, Sexual harassment, and Alcohol
alicia_belcourt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The concept of the plot alone intrigued me because I have never read anything like this book before, and it quickly continued to intrigue me the more I read. The writing style of this book was beautifully executed in my opinion because I feel that not many authors could so greatly execute a juxtaposition of the mind quite like Kate Elizabeth Russell did. She was constantly building on the idea of the relationship being romantically sought after by the main character, Vanessa. I also really loved reading how she continued to recount the key details that sparked and arose during the abusive relationship. As well as when Vanessa had continued to age and was still in contact with her abuser, I enjoyed the way Kate wrote about how Vanessa felt 'out of her body' because there were times when she described herself walking around or being 'far off' during scenes of the abuse. However there were aspects of the book that made it a bit of a tougher read for me. For example, Vanessa was at times made to be extremely unlikeable, and I mean this in the way that there were times of her recounting the events of abuse where she was constantly in a state of denial, even when presented with substantial 'evidence'. I understood the reasoning for this as I reached the end of the book, but at the moment it was very hard to stay focused in the book when the main character seemed so unlikable.
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, and Physical abuse
peachyykenn's review against another edition
- 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
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
reechiebun's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Suicide, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, and Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent
as a clear response to lolita this book deals with complicated, layered issues that involve the main character's mental health and her being abused since she's 15 by a trusted teacher. some of the depicted sex scenes are midly graphic and/or statutory rape. there's an instance of a moderately graphic explicit rape scene.reallbee's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Rape, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Violence, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Drug use
clo_l's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Dark, beautiful, captivating, nauseating, intense.
Amazing.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Drug abuse, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Suicide, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Rape, Drug use, Death of parent, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Cursing, Toxic relationship, and Pedophilia
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Eating disorder, Excrement, and Animal death
va1entine's review against another edition
- 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
i find it deliciously frustrating to not know and understand what goes on in strane’s head. we never know if she was the only one. we never know how far things went with others.
i also find the depictions of vanessa’s dissociation from the sexual acts perfectly showcases what she experienced in this relationship. for strane, that was his priority—that’s why he forces so quickly to that point once they reached it the first time. but for vanessa, the parts she fixated on and remembered so deeply are the emotional moments. she remembers the moments they shared together that were emotionally intimate and vulnerable. at her core, vanessa wanted camaraderie and for people to be around her. strane took advantage of that, as a predator, to get what he wanted.
it’s a haunting, chilling story. i found it hard to read and harder to put down.
Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Alcohol, Drug abuse, and Drug use
rebekka's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Rape, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexism, Gaslighting, Drug use, Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Violence, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pedophilia, Misogyny, Vomit, Mental illness, Grief, Death, and Cursing
trishnasaha's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Grief