A review by abygaylem
My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0


it’s so hard to write a review of this book
i think it’s beautiful writing, and it really captures everything perfectly.
i cant really review the content of this book, maybe some people can but it’s just not the kind of thing i can base on my enjoyment.
it wasn’t a fun book, it was hard to read, it was emotional and frustrating and anger inducing.
the author writes in a way that you can hate vanessa, but cry for her, you can hate her actions but feel her reasons, you can connect her experience with her actions and words but also be angry with her.
it’s just so hard to think about and it’s easy to understand her and think she’s wrong for things and i don’t know it’s just terrible 
you can see so plainly, so often, in the past and present chapters, vanessa’s war with herself, you can see how she resents strane, but feels like she needs him, she’s disgusted by him while thinking she loves him, while feeling like she wants him. she’s belittling the other girls abuse, because she feels it’s not as bad as hers, but at the same time she’s saying what happened to her isn’t  abuse at all, she was groomed and manipulated and it all carried to her adult life.
now strane, even without a point of view chapter, you can see inside his mind because of the authors writing.
there’s so many things that can be said about this book, it romanticizes and demonizes the relationship, it being in vanessa’s point of view is part of why the writing is so beautiful.
overall this book is given 5 stars because of the writing and how it portrays everything and how it made me feel, how it makes you sympathize with and also dislike vanessa sometimes
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