My Dark Vanessa

This review can also be found on my blog.Wow. So, I read this almost entirely in one sitting and was absolutely blown away by it. Yet another book that tackles the intricacies of abuse and how things aren't always black & white. While as a reader it is easy to condemn Strane and even to see where Vanessa went “wrong,” the novel also delves into the impact of grooming and how it can impact one's thought processes for life. It faces head-on the idea of agency in young women and why some people may opt to see themselves as something other than a victim. This is unbelievably compelling and unbelievably important and in lieu of a full review (that would just be me gushing), I'll leave you with some of the lines that struck me most while reading this.It's important that you never feel coerced. That's the only way I'll be able to live with myself.~“Haven't you always felt like an outsider, a misfit?” he asks. “I'll bet for as long as you can remember, you were called mature for your age. Weren't you?”I think back to third grade, how it felt to bring home a report card with a teacher's note scribbled on the bottom: Vanessa is very advanced, seems like she's eight years old going on thirty. I'm not sure I was ever really a kid at all.~Slowly guided into the fire–why is everyone so scared to admit how good that can feel? To be groomed is to be loved and handled like a precious, delicate thing.~Because if it isn't a love story, then what is it?Blog Twitter Instagram Facebook Ko-fi