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A review by julinino19
Dear Medusa by Olivia A. Cole
4.0
3.5 rounded up || If you enjoyed The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo, I think you will enjoy this YA novel written in verse that unapologetically tackles many topics such as sexual assault, coping mechanisms, race, status, and girlhood.
Very big trigger warning for sexual assault/abuse.
A little background info...
I am sure you have heard of Medusa and you can picture her head covered in snakes. You probably know she could turn people into stone with just one look. And you might even know of her demise—the hero, Perseus, defeated Medusa once and for all with a slice of his sword. Her head was still used as a weapon after being removed from her body.
If you are not a greek mythology obsessed individual, then perhaps you don't know that there are different versions to Medusa's origin story. The most popular is the one Ovid wrote—he gave Medusa a backstory that sparked many a retelling of her story. Medusa wasn't always a monster. She was a young woman who was raped. Her transformation into the gorgon we all picture was her punishment.
The Plot
Having known this of Medusa, I knew what I could expect from this novel from the title alone.
And, in a nutshell, that's what this book is about: Alicia, a sixteen year old girl that has been sexually abused by older men. Of course, there is so much more to our narrator and the story she tells. Alicia slowly begins to unravel her past, revealing why she is picked on at school and how she has come to cope with her trauma. There is not only pain from abuse, but deep hurt from an ex best friend and all those that call her names. There are issues at home with her parents and brother. There are questions Alicia cannot answer about herself, and she rather remain quiet than give anyone else the chance to not believe her. But kindness seems to find her and seep in through the cracks anyway, reminding Alicia that she isn't truly alone.
What I enjoyed...
- The complexity of how Alicia views herself
- Her arc
- The many examples of girlhood; the good and the bad
- The overall exploration of very heavy subject matter
Why I didn't love it 100%...
- The writing was sometimes lovely, but other times kinda clunky
- Certain points were made in a way that seemed very black and white, and it wasn't consistent with the voice of our mc; this can feel like it's just the author telling me what I should think instead of telling a story through the narrator
- I maybe have just read very similar books with the same topics, so it all starts to feel oversaturated in my brain
Overall, I think the target audience will enjoy this one. I read similar books when I was in high school and they heavily impacted me.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and Random House Children's—Labyrinth Road for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Very big trigger warning for sexual assault/abuse.
A little background info...
I am sure you have heard of Medusa and you can picture her head covered in snakes. You probably know she could turn people into stone with just one look. And you might even know of her demise—the hero, Perseus, defeated Medusa once and for all with a slice of his sword. Her head was still used as a weapon after being removed from her body.
If you are not a greek mythology obsessed individual, then perhaps you don't know that there are different versions to Medusa's origin story. The most popular is the one Ovid wrote—he gave Medusa a backstory that sparked many a retelling of her story. Medusa wasn't always a monster. She was a young woman who was raped. Her transformation into the gorgon we all picture was her punishment.
The Plot
Having known this of Medusa, I knew what I could expect from this novel from the title alone.
And, in a nutshell, that's what this book is about: Alicia, a sixteen year old girl that has been sexually abused by older men. Of course, there is so much more to our narrator and the story she tells. Alicia slowly begins to unravel her past, revealing why she is picked on at school and how she has come to cope with her trauma. There is not only pain from abuse, but deep hurt from an ex best friend and all those that call her names. There are issues at home with her parents and brother. There are questions Alicia cannot answer about herself, and she rather remain quiet than give anyone else the chance to not believe her. But kindness seems to find her and seep in through the cracks anyway, reminding Alicia that she isn't truly alone.
What I enjoyed...
- The complexity of how Alicia views herself
- Her arc
- The many examples of girlhood; the good and the bad
- The overall exploration of very heavy subject matter
Why I didn't love it 100%...
- The writing was sometimes lovely, but other times kinda clunky
- Certain points were made in a way that seemed very black and white, and it wasn't consistent with the voice of our mc; this can feel like it's just the author telling me what I should think instead of telling a story through the narrator
- I maybe have just read very similar books with the same topics, so it all starts to feel oversaturated in my brain
Overall, I think the target audience will enjoy this one. I read similar books when I was in high school and they heavily impacted me.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and Random House Children's—Labyrinth Road for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.