#mydarkvanessa

[skysreadz]

🌟 Review🌟 - - 18+ 🚨CHECK TW🚨 - - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 I’m going to be completely upfront and say I don’t think this book is for everyone. I usually post my reviews the same day I read the book but felt compelled to properly absorb what I had read. I myself found this book especially hard to read at certain times because of the subject matter. That being said; to say that this was an astounding read would be an unequivocal understatement. The story follows fifteen-year-old Vanessa Wye and Forty-two-year-old Jacob Strane and their “transgressions” together. Through interspersed chapters of Vanessa’s past and present we get a first hand recount of her affair with her English teacher whom she still believes did nothing wrong 17 years later. My Dark Venessa delves into the power imbalance, manipulation tactics, and coherence of the affair and the after affects it has on Venessa and the people she loves. What I found so profound in this novel were the thought provoking and tragic revaluations and Anecdotes from Both past and present Vanessa. @kateelizabethrussell first novel is a riveting testament on manipulation and heartbreak from abuse. This novel deeply effected me, in a way I’m afraid I cannot properly put into words. I’m going to share a few quotes from the novel below that particularly shook me. 🚨SPOILER WARNING🚨 “To be groomed is to be loved and handled like a precious, delicate thing.” “Groomed. I repeat the word over and over, try to understand what it means, but all I can think of is the lovely warm feeling I’d get when he stroked my hair.” “At the time I was how old? I count in my head: six, a first grader, barely a person and nine years away from being in bed with him, squirming under his hands as he told me to calm down” - - #mydarkvanessa #mydarkvanessareview #bookreview #mydarkvanessabook #sadbooks #hardtoread #novel #teacherstudent #tropes #manipulation #illegal #books #bookiesagainstalgorithm #algorithm #vanessa #kateelizabethrussell #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookreviewersofinstagram #mustread #tbr #reading #bookstagram #books #booklover #book #bookworm #bookstagrammer #reading #bookish #bookaddict (at Bookstagram) https://www.instagram.com/p/CmM4udsPZIq/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[luveluxx]

I’ve been lost recently. And I don’t know how to find my way back. Or if I ever will. I haven’t decided if I want to be found yet either. For now, I’ll wait here.

[ananlivingoutofasuitcase]

Books, books everywhere

I’ve made it a goal this year to read more. And read I did as I got lost in the most wonderful stories. And while some made me dream, some made me certain of my path, this one is just making me fume. My Dark Vanessa, by Kate Elizabeth Russell, is driving me mad! I’m halfway through this book and I just have to put it down, take a little walk and a breather every now and again and then I can…

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[leewebb]

My Dark Vanessa is the kind of story that requires you to invest mentally and think critically while reading it. It was never meant to be for entertainment, never meant to make you feel good. It is disturbing and claustrophobic, and I imagine it’s not a piece you’ll want to spend too long on. I recommend carving out some time over two or three days to devote to it and get it over with, because after a while you may dread going back to the pages. Not because the writing or pacing are problematic—they actually demonstrate immense skill from debut author Kate Elizabeth Russell—but because this novel has a calculated way of reeling you into an atmosphere, a creeping feeling, a sense of helpless isolation that is all too affecting after a while. The story is not easy to hear, but I think it must be told.

Russell writes poignantly and in detail, executing descriptions, similes and metaphors with fluency. It is not the most lyrical or innovative prose to be found, but it serves the story well and never distracts save for a few particularly well-executed lines that demand to be admired for a few moments.

The narrative is paced and plotted well, never really lagging. This is much-needed given the subject matter that would have been despair-inducing if certain scenes had been allowed to draw on for too long. Russell seems to use this steady pace to soften the blow of some particularly traumatic moments by moving on from them in just enough time, allowing the reader to breathe before plunging them back into the depths.

Main characters are rounded out well enough, especially Vanessa and Strane. The supporting cast might be slightly underdeveloped, but I also wonder if this was intentionally done to intensify the isolating feeling of Vanessa’s internal loneliness and dependency on Strane. Could be interpreted either way.

My only concern is what I feel might have been a slightly gratuitous handling of Vanessa’s relationship with Strane—which I should go ahead and identify unequivocally as rape and abuse. Everything is Vanessa’s life comes back to Strane, even the little things. It’s incredibly exhausting, and I don’t know whether to label is as unrealistic or not. I have thankfully never been through Vanessa’s experience, so I can’t really speak to this, but I will say that the way Vanessa’s entire life revolved around Strane for more than a decade in so many ways made me question the believability of the story once or twice. The other piece to this is the sheer amount of graphic intimate (I can’t recall if there was actually a single encounter that wouldn’t warrant the label of rape) scenes between Vanessa and Strane, and the depth they were described in. They feel necessary in the first half, but might come across as gratuitously repetitive in the latter. Some have interpreted this as potentially romanticizing, but I’m skeptical of that myself.

All in all, My Dark Vanessa sticks the difficult landing it set out to. Nuance and complex emotional and mental processes are navigated with expertise. The novel teaches you a hard lesson and opens your mind to a small sliver of the difficult and complex thought processes of a survivor. It is incredibly valuable for that reason, coming packed with empathetic potential and emotional information. It is also quite apparent that author Kate Elizabeth Russell has a very promising career in front of her should she choose to continue writing. If you can handle the subject matter, consider this a recommendation.

[bookworms95]

[adayinbookland]

Mar 17th, 2020 || @carlaslittlelibrary tagged me to do the #tenonmytbr last week and i wanted to do it sooner but we lost all natural light where i live because clouds decided to hide the sun permanently 🙄🙄 here is my stack. better late than never: . 🌿if we were villains by M. L. Rio 🌿cantoras by Carolina de Robertis 🌿maus by Art Spiegelman 🌿she should be king by Wayetu Moore 🌿before the devil breaks you by Libba Bray 🌿know my name by Chanel Miller 🌿my dark vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell 🌿always another country by Sisonke Msimang 🌿the lies of locke lamora by Scott Lynch 🌿a fine balance by Rohinton Mistry . two of these i wil be reading very soon: before the devil breaks you - continuing with the series asap - and the lies of locke lamora -because i promised () i’ll get to it in april. the other 8 i wish to read before we get halfway through 2020 but who knows… i never stick to my tbr . i have tagged a few of you but no pressure to do it. • • • #afinebalance #theliesoflockelamora #alwaysanothercountry #mydarkvanessa #knowmyname #beforethedevilbreaksyou #shewouldbeking #maus #cantoras #ifwewerevillains #nonfiction #literaryfiction #yafiction #yaliterature #unitedbookstagram #bookaesthetics #bookstagram #pileofbooks #stackofbooks #booksoutofdoors #fortheloveofreading #ilovereadingbooks #tbrpile https://www.instagram.com/p/B916WMPo_fY/?igshid=1t9fns7btdi96

[adayinbookland]

August 26th, 2019 || so excited to have received this in the mail 🥳🥳 it is signed as well 🙌🏼 . I won the giveaway hosted by @4thestatebooks and I just cannot wait to dive into this one. Will read it in September 🌻 • • • Do you have any anticipated releases you are very excited about? 🎉 • #mydarkvanessa #fourthestatebooks #anticipatedreads #booklover #kateelizabethrussell #booksaremylife #bookslover #booksfordays https://www.instagram.com/p/B1n18KZo6pN/?igshid=1tx9ghknhiha8

[wavewillow123]

Oh, my dear vanessa. In my heart she moves out of Maine, starts that grad program, and writes again. Finds herself somewhere on the outside of what Strane reduced her to. I hope she finds happiness. I hope she finds peace.