My Dark Vanessa
I don't know how to manage to put every feeling I felt while reading, into words. Disturbing, infuriating and dark, Vanessa's story wraps you into a tight grip. Told by herself, it spirals into a rapid of grooming, emotional abuse and trauma, and you just want to shake Vanessa awake. A literary masterpiece capturing the thoughts to unanswered questions of child grooming and abuse, such as how does it get so far and how does a person deal with it after it. A teacher approaching one of their "special" students and starting a "romantic relationship" with them, sounds like a cliché, but is a cruel reality for many young teenagers. Her not seeing herself as a victim, putting other victims down and herself above them, filled my heart with deep burning anger towards her and I had to remind myself why she thinks and feels that way. I had to go through all the stages Vanessa had to go through, understand her thoughts, understand her parents motives and reactions, had to stand in her shoes in front of her abuser. This novel was an almost unbearable experience. Never read a book that captured this kind of abuse so realistically, and I must say, this is definitely a must-read.