Kate Elizabeth Russell | MY DARK VANESSA

Plot (via Goodreads):

Exploring the psychological dynamics of the relationship between a precocious yet naïve teenage girl and her magnetic and manipulative teacher, a brilliant, all-consuming read that marks the explosive debut of an extraordinary new writer.

2000. Bright, ambitious, and yearning for adulthood, fifteen-year-old Vanessa Wye becomes entangled in an affair with Jacob Strane, her magnetic and guileful forty-two-year-old English teacher.

2017. Amid the rising wave of allegations against powerful men, a reckoning is coming due. Strane has been accused of sexual abuse by a former student, who reaches out to Vanessa, and now Vanessa suddenly finds herself facing an impossible choice: remain silent, firm in the belief that her teenage self willingly engaged in this relationship, or redefine herself and the events of her past. But how can Vanessa reject her first love, the man who fundamentally transformed her and has been a persistent presence in her life? Is it possible that the man she loved as a teenager—and who professed to worship only her—may be far different from what she has always believed?

Review:

I will never forget the eighth grade for one reason and one reason only - Go Ask Alice. I think in my entire reading history, I have never had a novel that hit me so hard and made me as emotional as the brutal honesty and poignant story that this one had...until now. I loved the in-your-face brutality and honesty of Go Ask Alice and the emotions it made me feel when I was reading it and My Dark Vanessa is like Alice's older sister. This read was really dark, harrowing, and brilliantly written.

While it may be disturbing, I really appreciated how Russell wrote this story and painted an honest portrayal of rape and grooming. This is definitely not for the faint of heart because this story and the way it's told will stick with you long after you finish. I will admit, this one was really emotional and at times depressing, so I did stretch this one out over a span of four or five days just because it is so dark and emotionally challenging. Don't get me wrong, I loved this book and it truly is remarkably written, but I just needed some breaks here and there to kind of process what was happening and take a mental break. I honestly think with this type of read that I did enjoy it more spacing it out than I would have if I just read it all within one sitting, and I never admit that. I loved the dual timeline and how it went back and forth, I enjoyed the chapters that were longer and felt that the pacing complimented Russell's writing sensationally, and I loved the very ending. I'm not giving away anything more than that other than the final chapter was just an emotional release for both Vanessa and the reader that I just had to sit back for a few moments and process the journey that Kate Elizabeth Russell just took me on.

I don't want to say anything else about this read, not because I couldn't talk about it for months, but because I spoke of the important things: trigger warnings, phenomenal writing, a harrowing and yet beautiful story, and a glorious ending. This is an amazingly well-written book that will take you places emotionally and leave you breathless. I loved it and I think it's perfect and I think you will too.

Rating: 5/5