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oliviainthepink'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: Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Sexual content, Pedophilia, and Sexual violence
Minor: Death of parent
anonymous_traveller's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Eating disorder, Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Child abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Self harm, Physical abuse, Sexism, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Sexual violence, Stalking, Ableism, Abandonment, Rape, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
isabelashley's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Suicide and Panic attacks/disorders
sapphotoni's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Pedophilia, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, Eating disorder, and Adult/minor relationship
kather_doc'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
4.5
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Gaslighting, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Rape
Moderate: Drug use, Death, Suicide, Cursing, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, and Kidnapping
beetandbaguette's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Pedophilia, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Child abuse, and Death
sarahgr's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
Do NOT read this book if you will be triggered by the subject matter. It is explicit and painful, and it is never-ending. It is unrelenting, and if you think you will be triggered by this book then do not read it. If you think this will help you in any way, and I am sympathetic to the belief that this content is helpful for people with trauma, I urge you to be fully aware of your body and mind, ask yourself if you feel ready, and put the book down if you do not wish to continue. To anyone reading this, I wish you well post-reading, or pre-reading if you're reading through reviews to decide if this is for you.
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Pedophilia, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
_bailey_reads_'s review
- 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
There are so many things I could say about this book. I loved it so much. It will always hold a special place in my heart, mostly because it hurt me deeply to my core.
I highly recommend reading this book but only if you are in a good mental health space. It is extremely triggering! I felt very healed by how relatable I found Vanessa at points but mad because of how upset her character made me. She is such a complex and well written character and is such a realistic depiction of someone struggling with PTSD and severe trauma.
Kate Elizabeth Russell, did a phenomenal job at depicting what a real therapist & client relationship actually looks and sounds like. The first accurate one I’ve ever read in a book. It blew me away. Ruby is Vanessa’s therapist. The dynamic between the two characters was brilliant and very thought out and realistic! The language and descriptions in this novel are so beautiful and made me my heart hurt.
It’s the most disturbing book I’ve ever read
Warning ** Do Not Read if you are in a bad mental health space. Please be gentle if you have gone through any type of abuse. I wish someone would’ve warned me before reading. It’s HIGHLY triggering.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcohol, Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, and Vomit
asm349's review
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Death of parent, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual harassment
nedenz's review
- 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
One night I had to put it down after a particularly brutal assault scene, and I started thinking about trauma porn and why I hate CoHo so much. Yes it's a hill I will die on and nowhere is safe from the CoHo hate :). Anyway, I think this book rides the line of being disturbingly honest and straightforward and being trauma porn. One of the reasons for this is the dissonance in Vanessa's head all the way through. In the same breath, she will switch between adamantly defending her abuser and outright naming what he did and how he impacted her. CoHo picks the most Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Thing she can think of, disguise it with subpar plots, characters, and prose, all to emotionally manipulate her readers into thinking they read something good bcs they "felt something!!!" THIS IS NOT THAT.
How do you write a book that captures the horrors and inner turmoil of a pedophilic abusive relationship between a 15 year old student and her 42 year old teacher? Idk how she pulled it off but Kate Elizabeth Russel did it. There were absolutely no holds barred in this thing. The way she writes is captivating and breathtaking and soul wrenching. It hurt my soul to read but I just keep gravitating to read more and more. This book made me heartbroken, inconceivably angry, and disgusted in the best ways. The story wove elegantly between past and present. This story effortlessly demonstrated the dichotomy a
I will say that the pacing in the last third of the book felt a bit rushed to me compared to how developed the first two thirds were. I know that the first half was really getting into all the nitty grittiness of how it started and the initial impacts, and it wasn't enough to detract from my rating.
Edit: I have another positive note but it's a spoiler.
For those interested, here are some of my most interesting lines from my mid book thoughts. Spoilers, obvs.
-he gave her fucking lolita. LOLITA. ARE YOU MOTHERFUCKING SHIT FUCK CUNT ASS KIDDING ME RN
-HA he killed himself. Coward. He should have rotted in jail.
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Mental illness, and Emotional abuse