A review by lili_victoire
My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

5.0

I enjoyed this book, the setup of having it be half in the past and half in the present worked really well. It does a great job delving into the feelings of obsession and longing and I also appreciated that even with everything said and done, the main character was still somewhat unsure as to her take on the relationship with her teacher/lover. The conflict and indecision allows the reader to form their own opinion which is something I personally appreciate much more than being beaten over the head with how you're "supposed" to feel- this was a much more human interpretation and emotions aren't always logical, which made it feel real.

I also appreciated that this isn't a typical Lolita story in the sense that so many of them end abruptly and unresolved. In this one, we actually get to see the aftermath and what happens when a dynamic continues and the two people involved stay in contact for years. That was a nice change from most similar novels that tend to only focus on a very specific period in time and end with some variation of "and they never saw each other again" etc. I definitely think this was a unique read.