Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

51 reviews

xo_lali's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Addiction, Suicide, Grief, and Death

Minor: Toxic friendship

angrboda's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

wow. this book has been on my “READ THIS BOOK NOW!!!” list for over a year.. finally decided to pick it up and oh my god. i finished in the span of only two days. it was impossible to put down. it was horrifying, thought provoking, and completely messed up. the honest pain i felt when reading it; i had to take breaks everytime it got too much. i definitely see myself in the main character, vanessa, gone through a similar experience she did. i think this story did an amazing job at portraying how accurate abuse is, how it’s so easy to manipulate and control young girls who eventually spend their entire lives not understanding that what happened was bad.  this book is will stick with me for a long time.

as much as i loved the writing and the plot development, i wished for the downfall of stane SO badly. i despised him. i was manifesting some sort of revenge plot in the last portion, where vanessa finally exposed all he did, where stane finally admits defeat and is thrown in jail for life. the constant dismissal and disrespect vanessa had over the situations made me mad, i honestly disliked so many of her choices, but it’s so real. she’s so real. her mind is corrupted, she’s gone. she’s split off permanently and it’s so real. so real.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Stalking, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Drug use, Grief, and Sexism

Minor: Fatphobia, Animal death, Cursing, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Body shaming, Stalking, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence

sarahmae531's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

4.0

A beautiful telling of a terrible story. 
Definitely look at the content warnings before you read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Suicide, Alcohol, and Vomit

Minor: Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, and Animal death

mavesworld's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Drug use, Suicide, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Death, and Suicide

kia_y_k's review against another edition

challenging 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Sexism, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Sexual content, Misogyny, Grief, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Death of parent, Cursing, Alcoholism, Medical content, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Sexual assault, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Gaslighting, Drug use, and Child abuse

mayablythe's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

4.75

I feel actually physically in pain after reading this. My heart hurts. I feel bad for Vanessa and yet she's such a hateable character. Obviously none of them deserved what S did to them but I hated how she was rating how bad what happened to her and how bad what happened to them on a scale.. like let's not compare traumas please. I was glad she was slowly finding her peace at the end though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Mental illness, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Pedophilia, Sexism, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Drug use, Death of parent, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Child abuse, Bullying, Animal death, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Grief, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, and Toxic friendship

teddylouise00's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Never has a book make me feel so sick to my stomach. It’s powerful. It’s a must read. I’m still sobbing.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Suicide, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Alcohol

Minor: Toxic friendship, Vomit, and Drug use

irynna's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Alcohol, Death, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Abandonment, Cursing, Drug use, and Suicide

schivakumaran's review against another edition

dark 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

This book is humbling. Its horrifying. I have literally no words to describe just how poinient this book. Its an important book. It shows the deep rooted effects abuse can have on you for years after even in you adulthood and how it can shape you as a person.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Rape, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Death of parent

cammiem8's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

5.0

Wow. This book was so hard to read and yet hard to put down. I have so many thoughts I don’t know where to start. The best deconstruction of the teacher-student “romance” I’ve ever read. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Suicide, Death of parent, and Alcoholism

Minor: Animal death and Animal cruelty