Review by rosienotjen - My Dark Vanessa

rosienotjen 's review for:

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

4.5

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I really struggled to read this book at first. Not because it isn’t an incredible book, but its subject matter and the vivid way that the author writes makes it emotional exhausting. Of course, this makes it all the more powerful as these intense emotions help the reader to understand Vanessa’s experience, even as you’re shouting at her to get away from the situation. None of the characters in this books are “good” people - all are deeply flawed in different ways and reflect the complexity of human nature. Even the “bad” characters have moments which make you feel they are capable of redemption (whether or not that’s true). This book is also about the ways in which the system fails survivors of abuse, and this was perhaps what made it most difficult to read. Overall, this was a deeply moving and powerful book, one to be read slowly and allowed to percolate as you read.

Content Warnings