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himpersonal 's review for:
My Dark Vanessa
by Kate Elizabeth Russell
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
slow-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
This book is full of triggers, so be warned. It’s a story of identity, grappling, and reckoning after a teen girl is groomed and sexually abused by a teacher (NOT a spoiler - this is stated upfront in the book summary).
This is the world we live in, one where sexualizing young girls is normal and often overlooked (or rather, not looked at hard enough). For this reason, to help protect those girls, I hope every parent, educator, and teen girl reads this book.
It was emotionally difficult and very, very cringey, but it was important to have read it. I feel even more protective of my own girls as a result, and I hate that its the girls, the victims, who suffer and are retraumatized over and over again. In the meantime, the monsters that prey on them just keep getting away with it over and over again, because he know recidivism is highest among sexual predators.
This is the world we live in, one where sexualizing young girls is normal and often overlooked (or rather, not looked at hard enough). For this reason, to help protect those girls, I hope every parent, educator, and teen girl reads this book.
It was emotionally difficult and very, very cringey, but it was important to have read it. I feel even more protective of my own girls as a result, and I hate that its the girls, the victims, who suffer and are retraumatized over and over again. In the meantime, the monsters that prey on them just keep getting away with it over and over again, because he know recidivism is highest among sexual predators.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment