My Dark Vanessa

This was so good.

It's like a modern day Lolita told from the perspective of Lolita. So, you can imagine it tackles pretty difficult subject matter, but I thought the author did it very tastefully, albeit explicitly.

The book follows Vanessa from the age of 15, when she starts a sexual relationship with one of her teachers, through her 30's. I found it fascinating, because as the reader you get to see the reality of what is happening, but then it's through the lense of a 15 year old girl who's been groomed to think this is love and romance and special.

I don't have personal experience with this type of situation, but this seemed so real. Especially the way she grew up to view her relationship and how the book ends. It all just made sense, even if it's not the happy ending you might want.

I listened to the audiobook, which was very well done, and at the end there was an interview with the author. I loved the discussion at the end and it prompted me to look up more interviews and discussions about this book. One thing I had totally overlooked that they brought up was how as a society we sexualize young girls, for example Brittney Spears, and how we are all complicit in allowing it. Just the examination of what is normalized in our society and the consequences of that was very interesting. Definitely a book worthy of a read and a discussion.