My Dark Vanessa

This was such a difficult read. At times I found myself very annoyed with how coy and naive Vanessa was, along with how awful and irritating she was PB (post-browick (idk how you spell it)) It made me so angry to see how absolutely wrong and relentlessly pitiful she was. But it really isn't her fault. It's what she went through that made her this way.

I think it's safe to say I didn't like Strane, duh. Who did? At the beginning, imagining yourself as a young high school student with a super hot teacher, it's like scandalous and fun, until moves are made and then it's scandalous, terrifying, and incredibly illegal.

I think it's the fact that I cannot relate to almost any of this that makes me so irritated at nearly every point in this story. I am seeing it all from an outsider perspective, and it makes me want to pick up the entire story and throw it out a window. I wanted to scream, “How could you be so stupid?!” or “She's fucking 15! What do you mean!?” or “Yes that's fucking rape! Are you blind?” but she was. She was blind, in a way. Life and mind completely altered. Seeing everything through Strane-colored lenses, something I have the privilege of not dealing with.

I also hated every cliche younger Vanessa portrayed. It made me want to gouge my eyes out with a barbecue skewer.

But that doesn't mean you shouldn't read it. It deals with very important topics, and a very important perspective to things a lot of people slide under the rug.

This book is difficult to stomach, and could be triggering to some. Proceed with caution. 4/5