Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Meine dunkle Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell, Ulrike Thiesmeyer

163 reviews

rebekka's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Grief, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

unabashedlynat's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, and Alcohol

Minor: Vomit

joaura's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, Misogyny, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Animal death, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

britrcup's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

lilacwhisker's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.5

pretty much every review talking about this book says it’s a “conversation-starter", and after reading this thing i understand why. my dark vanessa is a story about a girl who gets groomed by her teacher, but won't admit she was sexually abused. the whole thing (especially the start) is horrifying because of the events that occur but also because of vanessa's insistence that she wanted the whole thing to happen to her. this extra layer of denial is what makes this whole book so much more sad— seeing her call what they have "love" made me want to vomit, but i do think this can be accurate to how a lot of victims can feel. it's clear that russell did her research on this kind of abuse and trauma, and throughout we come to see how complicated both vanessa and her abuser are. it did get a little repetitive near the end, but this makes sense considering how such abuse works in cycles, and the length of their relationship. it really was a crazy book, and somewhat reminds me of notes on an execution by danya kukafka

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Stalking and Alcohol

Minor: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug use, Incest, Infidelity, Suicide, Death of parent, and Classism

strwbrrybee's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Addiction

Minor: Suicide

emelynreads's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

Heartbreaking read offering controversial takes on SA. I agree with other reviews that likens this story as being told from Lolita's perspective. Definitely heed content warnings because this book jumps into tense topics from the start.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, and Rape

Moderate: Drug use and Gaslighting

saanaayrora's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

readingwithmuggy's review against another edition

5.0

this is a devastating, poignant read, yet so so important. This book details a dark story of Vanessa who was groomed and sexually abused at 15 by her high school English teacher. As she grows into an adult, she alongside a therapist begins to grapple with the reality of what has happened to her. To say this book is good, feels convoluted because the subject matter is so difficult to ingest. It’s hard to read and yet it’s perfect representation of how the grooming process happens over time and the ramifications it can have on a child. As someone who works with kids who have been in similar situations everyday, I applaud the author for her realism. 
Please look up trigger warnings before starting this book if you so choose! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

abrdoodle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicide, Grief, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Bullying, Mental illness, Blood, and Vomit