Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Meine dunkle Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell, Ulrike Thiesmeyer

359 reviews

rebekkamafia's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Suicide and Death of parent

carolined56's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I believe that there is life before this book and life after,, incredible story telling and it pained me to see that Vanessa couldn’t see how Strause was grooming her and she brushed it off and that what he did “wasn’t bad” 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Death of parent

bridget_magpie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective 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

3.0

This book is infuriating, extremely difficult to read. Please look up content warnings!!!

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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, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Drug use and Alcohol

Minor: Suicide and Death of parent

khloefrompluto'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? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Definitely check trigger warnings for this book! 

This was a dark read. I couldn't put it down. The depths it goes to is a lot. The emotions you go through reading it is raw and feels very real. I had to check it was actually fiction multiple times.

Relating to a lot of Vanessa's feelings and confusion was both comforting and disturbing at the same time. 

I couldn't not rate this 5☆'s as I believe it was very well written and can really make you see how easy it is to be in the situation and be made to feel it's your fault. 

Although it's only March I can tell this will be one of my very top books of the year and I'll be thinking about it for quite some time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Grief and Alcohol

Minor: Animal death, Death, and Death of parent

skye_c's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Drug use, Infidelity, Misogyny, Death of parent, and Alcohol

nina_mk's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Bullying, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Stalking, Lesbophobia, and Classism

miwandie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

3.5

Should’ve

killed himself

sooner. 

Hate the cover. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, and Rape

Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

hiraeth_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Alcoholism and Alcohol

Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship

mommamouse's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

sedgewren's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-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

4.25

Only a truly masterfully written book could make me want to slap and shake the characters so hard to wake them out of their self-delusions, and yet still want to read it to the end. Russell managed to capture what it felt like to be 15 and sexualised, wanting love but not sure what that looks like, thinking you know it all and able to power through more than you can actually handle. It made me understand all the points of failure in a system, try and think what I would have done differently if I were Vanessa's friend, another teacher, or her parent.

I think it was painfully obvious the amount of self-delusion, romanticisation, and naivety that led to Vanessa's mis-interpretation of events, but I'm so glad that her therapist is able to pin them down and communicate with her to get her to see these events as what they really are; I also understand that Vanessa is only able to accept these truths when she is ready (she's been groomed and manipulated so long that she ends up manipulating herself so that she doesn't have to think too hard about anything that doesn't line up with her love story narrative).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Death of parent, and Classism