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4.2 AVERAGE
4.2 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Sexual content
Stephen King said this book is “a hard story to read and a harder one to put down” and I couldn’t describe it better.
The writing is as lovely as the subject matter is terrible. Kate Elizabeth Russel did a phenomenal job crafting this story with a lot of brutal honesty and compassion. It’s also a perspective I haven’t seen in other pieces about abuse/grooming. I really appreciated that novel jumped back and forth between Vanessa’s experience in school being abused, and to her reckoning with the abuse as an adult in the #MeToo era.
I think the pacing started to lag towards the end and I was disappointed most of the side characters weren’t more fleshed out. There is also a side-plot involving a college professor that felt mostly superfluous to me. I also was uncomfortable with how the book seemed to at times romanticize the abuse and the lasting effects of the abuse. I think that was the point of the story, that Vanessa wanted to see her relationship with her teacher as a love affair and not as rape/abuse/grooming because, in her mind, if it was love then she wasn’t a victim. But it made for an uncomfortable reading experience.
I would definitely be interested in picking up whatever Kate Elizabeth Russel writes next.
The writing is as lovely as the subject matter is terrible. Kate Elizabeth Russel did a phenomenal job crafting this story with a lot of brutal honesty and compassion. It’s also a perspective I haven’t seen in other pieces about abuse/grooming. I really appreciated that novel jumped back and forth between Vanessa’s experience in school being abused, and to her reckoning with the abuse as an adult in the #MeToo era.
I think the pacing started to lag towards the end and I was disappointed most of the side characters weren’t more fleshed out. There is also a side-plot involving a college professor that felt mostly superfluous to me. I also was uncomfortable with how the book seemed to at times romanticize the abuse and the lasting effects of the abuse. I think that was the point of the story, that Vanessa wanted to see her relationship with her teacher as a love affair and not as rape/abuse/grooming because, in her mind, if it was love then she wasn’t a victim. But it made for an uncomfortable reading experience.
I would definitely be interested in picking up whatever Kate Elizabeth Russel writes next.
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An extremely difficult and painful read, and one that it’s very tough to recommend. Made my heart and stomach ache.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Such a powerfully difficult book. I’m not sure if this story will ever really leave me. It was so hard to read knowing this is the truth of so many.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence
Otroligt bra skriven, men en fruktansvärd berättelse. Enda minuset med den här boken var att den var alldeles för lång. Rekommenderar den varmt ändå. En väldigt viktig bok att läsa.