Reviews tagging 'Fatphobia'

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

21 reviews

addythebookbat's review against another edition

challenging dark sad

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Rape, Fatphobia, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

seawarrior's review

dark emotional informative 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

My Dark Vanessa illustrates a relentless and necessary portrait of a grooming survivor who remains tangled in the web of lies her groomer presented as love, even as she grows into an adult. This book is a bared-teeth, growling response to the lush literary canon that mythologizes young girls, asserting that they have a corruptible power over the adult men who do not see them as anything more than an imprintable sexual fantasy. It was difficult to read this book, and has been even more difficult not to continue pouring over it in my head once I finished it. 

Russell's use of language, symbols and respected literary texts is purposeful and horrifying. With each violation made by her teacher I felt genuine fear for Vanessa, yet still understood why she ignored her own worries to please this man who made her feel singled out and special. The complexities of grooming are on full display in this story. Vanessa's abuser's words are strategic and intentional, and Russell ensures that we understand the weight of them on Vanessa's life each time. I appreciated that Vanessa was not a hero. She is a woman whose development as a girl was interrupted by a predator, who is slowly learning to remove the veil of "love story" to understand her predation as it truly happened. She is also a deeply flawed person who is denying herself the growth necessary to build healthier relationships with herself and others. She is vengeful, yet turns her anger to those undeserving while repeatedly acquitting her groomer. She understands she was violated, yet tells herself she wanted this, she is being loved, she is nothing like a true victim, in order to spare herself the pain of admitting her hurt. Her story does not end with a rushed exacting of revenge that would feel insultingly unrealistic. Instead, we leave Vanessa as she is slowly learning to forgive herself and those who tried to help her, and start a life that her predator will never see, never touch and never know. 

I would recommend this book only to those prepared to read graphic depictions of underage sexual exploitation. Russell writes these passages for us to simultaneously understand how Vanessa is being taken advantage of and why she feels that she isn't, why she feels responsibility for what a much older man has primed her to tolerate. These scenes are written with a thick disgust instead of titillation, but I understand that they may still be too disturbing for people to expose themselves to. 

In conclusion, this is the only novel I've read where I felt genuine, raw grief for the protagonist to the extent that it was difficult to remind myself that her story was fiction. Yet while Vanessa is fictional, there are too many girls in this world who share her story, or who were at risk to be similarly preyed on as they formed their teenage identities around romanticized depictions of underage sexual exploitation. Russel states in her acknowledgements that she thanks "the Los I've met over the years who carry within them similar histories of abuse that looked like love, who see themselves in Dolores Haze. This book was written for nobody but you". Her story has been needed for so long, by so many people, so they may recognize the carnivorous horror of grooming for what it truly is. This is a sickening but triumphant book to experience. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Stalking and Animal death

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Grief, and Medical content

martzi's review

dark emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Child abuse, Alcohol, Violence, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death of parent, Blood, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Fatphobia, Animal death, and Adult/minor relationship

menacingsouls's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, and Chronic illness

Minor: Fatphobia and Suicide

gia666's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense

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

4.75

Truly one of the best books I’ve ever read and will reread. Perfectly dark and honestly somewhat traumatizing in a way that was flawlessly executed. They were points where I was terribly uncomfortable but just could not put it down. I was fully consumed in Russel’s beautiful work and can’t think of one bad thing other than the extremely prevalent triggers that you must look out for before reading. (I also really enjoyed the “Fiona Apple” and “Belle And Sebastian” references).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Sexism, and Sexual content

Minor: Fatphobia

auteaandtales's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad tense fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Violence

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.

kait_sixcrowsbooks's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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

I literally finished this book a total of 15 minutes ago, and I am...wrecked. I read it in a daze over the span of a few days while watching my fiancé’s family’s dog/house while they’re on vacation, and y’all. Just. I do not know what to say. I think given more time, I’d be able to spit out a 5-7 page paper, double-spaced, on the different types of victimhood throughout the novel — or the rejection of it — but for now, I got nothing. This was just simply incredible.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Fatphobia, Alcoholism, Drug use, and Vomit

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

Other warnings include: child porn; grooming of a child; internalized victim-blaming

asieee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Pedophilia, and Suicide

Minor: Eating disorder and Fatphobia

amressing's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

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

Minor: Fatphobia and Suicide