chaiteaolg's review
5.0
audiobook*
the ending to this book made me sob in maccas
fuck predatory men and yes to women healing
the ending to this book made me sob in maccas
fuck predatory men and yes to women healing
charcoalpencils's review
3.0
It’s hard to rate someone else’s memoir of terrible things that happened to them. I wish there was more reflection from adult Wendy, instead of just a presenting of all of the 14 year old antics of sex, drugs, music…
It’s unfortunate for the author that there are comparisons to My Dark Vanessa, but I don’t think that story ripped off this one. I think that this story is unfortunately common, it’s disappointing that I think the fictional story delves more into the complexities of the aftermath and effects of being abused in this particular way. But I also don’t want to make judgement on a piece of non fiction and how the author chose to process/ write about what happened to her.
For an “excavation,” I think it’s quite a shallow one. I want to hear less from 14 year old Wendy and more from an adult Wendy who recognizes the patterns of abuse of her youth.
It’s unfortunate for the author that there are comparisons to My Dark Vanessa, but I don’t think that story ripped off this one. I think that this story is unfortunately common, it’s disappointing that I think the fictional story delves more into the complexities of the aftermath and effects of being abused in this particular way. But I also don’t want to make judgement on a piece of non fiction and how the author chose to process/ write about what happened to her.
For an “excavation,” I think it’s quite a shallow one. I want to hear less from 14 year old Wendy and more from an adult Wendy who recognizes the patterns of abuse of her youth.
acalderbank's review
4.0
It takes bravery to examine a part of your life where there are regrets or abuse. Further bravery allows you to share that story with friends and strangers.
ryanalawson's review
4.0
I honestly read this book because of the connection to My Dark Vanessa, but upon finishing the story, while I do feel that they're dissimilar enough, it's just an unfortunate reality that many stories like this exist within and obviously outside of the publishing world. Unfortunately, I do agree that because My Dark Vanessa was written by a white author, it was met with less backlash and more support, but in addition to that, I found that writing much darker, poignant and compelling, which personally drew me in.
Ortiz's story is more relatable in that while the author endures this tremendous trauma, she continues to push through, live her life, and distance herself from her abuser while balancing this seemingly casual relationship with her past -- even though she may struggle internally, her childhood wounds don't devastate her life wholly. She maintains the strength to give us memories of her adolescence that really shape her growth and show us what life was like as a teenager in the late 80s, and less of a deep dive into the psyche of an abused highschooler. I admired the book for being so easy to read, despite such a dark topic. Ortiz's prose is fine, neither here nor there for me, but that just makes this book a little less treacherous to digest.
Ortiz's story is more relatable in that while the author endures this tremendous trauma, she continues to push through, live her life, and distance herself from her abuser while balancing this seemingly casual relationship with her past -- even though she may struggle internally, her childhood wounds don't devastate her life wholly. She maintains the strength to give us memories of her adolescence that really shape her growth and show us what life was like as a teenager in the late 80s, and less of a deep dive into the psyche of an abused highschooler. I admired the book for being so easy to read, despite such a dark topic. Ortiz's prose is fine, neither here nor there for me, but that just makes this book a little less treacherous to digest.
circularcubes's review
3.0
3.5 stars
I'd read a short essay somewhere online that Ortiz wrote about her relationship with her middle school English teacher, and I was mesmerized, both by Ortiz's voice and by the sordidness of her story. I wanted to know more, so I added her memoir to my to-read list. Excavation delivered on both fleshing out the teenaged Ortiz and detailing the whole of the student-teacher affair she was entangled in for the whole of her teenaged years. I wish there was more attention paid to her reflections as an adult - the sections she writes from the perspective of the present day were some of the most interesting to me. I also wish there was a more satisfying resolution to the teacher in the situation, because while we learn that he slept with students other than Wendy and was found out, we don't hear much about Wendy's reaction to his being caught, or Wendy's family's reaction to learning about the affair. I guess I wanted this memoir to feel more satisfying than it was, but that's the way the cookie crumbles with most memoirs.
I'd read a short essay somewhere online that Ortiz wrote about her relationship with her middle school English teacher, and I was mesmerized, both by Ortiz's voice and by the sordidness of her story. I wanted to know more, so I added her memoir to my to-read list. Excavation delivered on both fleshing out the teenaged Ortiz and detailing the whole of the student-teacher affair she was entangled in for the whole of her teenaged years. I wish there was more attention paid to her reflections as an adult - the sections she writes from the perspective of the present day were some of the most interesting to me. I also wish there was a more satisfying resolution to the teacher in the situation, because while we learn that he slept with students other than Wendy and was found out, we don't hear much about Wendy's reaction to his being caught, or Wendy's family's reaction to learning about the affair. I guess I wanted this memoir to feel more satisfying than it was, but that's the way the cookie crumbles with most memoirs.
m4tr1m0ny's review
5.0
i feel weird about reviewing a memoir because i just instinctively kind of feel like it's fucked up to rate part of somebody's life. i know that i would actually be rating the writing but it just feels too fucked. i also am having a hard time with it for this book specifically because i just felt so protective of wendy the whole time i was reading.
edit: ok i've sat with it for a bit and i think i have to give it five stars just for the combo of the unique & intense writing style, the flashback/flashforward structure which i think really works here, and how hard hitting the subject material was for me. particularly got very emotional in the very last chapter when she talks about the tar pits & being married to a woman. i feel like i need to take a break from reading about this kind of subject material for a while because i find it pretty difficult to process
edit: ok i've sat with it for a bit and i think i have to give it five stars just for the combo of the unique & intense writing style, the flashback/flashforward structure which i think really works here, and how hard hitting the subject material was for me. particularly got very emotional in the very last chapter when she talks about the tar pits & being married to a woman. i feel like i need to take a break from reading about this kind of subject material for a while because i find it pretty difficult to process