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whenthepawnhits's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, and Rape
evafrouz's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
beemovie02's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, and Rape
cr_valentine'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
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Cursing, Drug use, Incest, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Toxic friendship
madreadings'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? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
“Vanessa, you didn’t ask for that. You were just trying to go to school.”
Absolutely dark and sad reading, one that will stick with you far long after you put the book down. Vanessa still cannot fully accept the abuse she faced for years, still wrapped in the web that Strane had spun for her. Even as the novel flashes back to the present, Vanessa never sees what happened to her as “rape-rape.”
She is perhaps one of the most realistic victims I’ve read — one still refusing to see herself as one, unable to see anything that happened to her as beyond a love story. She even admits this, saying if it wasn’t a love story what else could it have been.
Stories like this are important when it was published and even more so as time goes on
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Alcoholism, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Classism
beanith's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I was suspicious of this book for a long time because I had seen readers interpret the work as a 'dark romance'. Now having read the book, I can confirm that there is absolutely nothing romantic here, and suggesting that the author is romanticizing abuse is just wrong.
This book is arduous - that's the first word that came to mind when I completed the first quarter of the story (which is just before
Kate Elizabeth Russell writes so skillfully - there are moments from Vanessa's narration where she is disassociating that are profoundly tragic but the language is beautifully crafted.
"Now I fly out of the house, into the night, through the pines and across the frozen lake where the water moves and moans beneath the ice. He asks me to again say the words. I see myself in earmuffs and white skates, gliding across the surface, followed by a shadow underneath the foot-thick ice -- Strane, swimming along the murky bottom, his screams muted to groans."
I think this book is also very strategically written, especially when it comes to not romanticizing Strane. I have three main points I want to discuss regarding this. Spoilers below!
1.
2.
3.
Notes on Symbolism/Motifs
1. Dogs: Vanessa says she's "devoted as a dog", Strane is afraid of dogs, Strane has a St. Christopher pendant in his desk (St. Christopher is sometimes depicted with a dog head), the word grooming makes Vanessa think about Strane 'stroking her hair' (like petting a dog)
2. There are times, especially in the beginning, where Strane is literally being obscured and Vanessa can't see him clearly. At class orientation when the glare hides his eyes behind his glasses, at the dance when he's hidden by the shadow of the tree, at his house when he's backlit by the lights from inside.
3. Jacob is a biblical name, but Jacob in the bible is known for being cunning and deceitful. Strane as a last name originates from 'stream', but I took it to be more like strain - "force to make a strenuous or unusually great effort".
Ultimately I'm glad I read My Dark Vanessa, it's given me so much to analyze and journal about. I'm amazed by how real Vanessa feels and I appreciate the time and dedication that Russel devoted to creating a person I truly recognize. However, I never want to read it again.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Death of parent
bisexualwentworth'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: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, and Alcohol
bbread3'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
3.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, and Toxic relationship
nicoleanthony's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, and Vomit
booksbri'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
4.25
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Suicide attempt