alishamegan's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
this book should replace all copies of lolita, especially in classrooms/english lit syllabuses. this book is what lolita should have been imo sorry not sorry. how good can your book really be at being anti-p****phillia and anti-CSA if even TODAY let alone when it was written people read it and blame the girl child for her CSA and sympathise with the abuser?
if masses of people misinterpret your book for exactly the opposite message of what you as the author intended maybe it is not a good enough book to convey that message?
if society has not reached that level of collective consciousness where they would read lolita and automatically condemn the abuser and rally around the victim-survivor then maybe it needs to be more EXPLICITLY anti-CSA and supportive of the victim?
THIS book is that. By being from the perspective of the girl child (and later woman) and her being a complicated, 'imperfect' (whatever that and whatever 'perfect' is meant to be) victim-survivor it gives a real, grounded narrative and experience.
I felt sick reading this but I could not stop reading it constantly. It also made me angry.
men are so $%^$%&$^*"^%^$%^5 URGH like FUCK OFF YOU CREEP
if masses of people misinterpret your book for exactly the opposite message of what you as the author intended maybe it is not a good enough book to convey that message?
if society has not reached that level of collective consciousness where they would read lolita and automatically condemn the abuser and rally around the victim-survivor then maybe it needs to be more EXPLICITLY anti-CSA and supportive of the victim?
THIS book is that. By being from the perspective of the girl child (and later woman) and her being a complicated, 'imperfect' (whatever that and whatever 'perfect' is meant to be) victim-survivor it gives a real, grounded narrative and experience.
I felt sick reading this but I could not stop reading it constantly. It also made me angry.
Spoiler
I wanted the man to die and he did so that felt good.men are so $%^$%&$^*"^%^$%^5 URGH like FUCK OFF YOU CREEP
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Gaslighting, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
nera_frsr's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
crushedroses103_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.5
babsmith's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
msmelissm's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
So well done. This was very confronting, challenging, hard to read. It was incredible raw and empathetic. There is an ideal I think any reader would want for the end, to wrap it up nice and shiny. Instead, the author captured a perspective so honestly. MC isn’t likeable, but relatable. I felt I could really get into her shoes.
jonwesleyhuff's review against another edition
4.0
Involving, horrifying, deeply empathetic. I’m so impressed what the author was able to do here. It feels so authentic but also so gripping. I don’t really remember the last time I hated a character as much as Jacob Strane.
ghostrocknroll's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
jessirosyln's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This was an extremely challenging and confronting read. Aside from the plot, which was off-putting and yet incredibly important and poignant, the hardest thing for me was exploring my own reactions to a victim of horrific abuse when she didn't behave and think in the way that we expect victims to do so.
While I felt for Vanessa, I also struggled with a lot of frustrations for her inability to see and admit that she had been abused. And yet that's what it was: inability. She was groomed to such a degree that her survival was based on clinging to a belief that her relationship with Strane was a love story, and that was a survival tactic. A coping mechanism. And yet incredibly heartbreaking and frustrating to read.
This book was well written, offering a different perspective into this theme of "old man, young girl" Humbert and Dolores dynamic that is explored in so many different novels and I appreciated that it took on a different perspective.
Not usually a fan of time jumps in books, but I think the author did a great job at illustrating the abuse as it happened and then pivoting us to witness the aftermath, over a decade after it originally occurred. I would have loved more resolution though, more of a hint that Vanessa would begin to accept what had happened to her and start shedding some of the blame, of which she deserved absolutely none of.
While I felt for Vanessa, I also struggled with a lot of frustrations for her inability to see and admit that she had been abused. And yet that's what it was: inability. She was groomed to such a degree that her survival was based on clinging to a belief that her relationship with Strane was a love story, and that was a survival tactic. A coping mechanism. And yet incredibly heartbreaking and frustrating to read.
This book was well written, offering a different perspective into this theme of "old man, young girl" Humbert and Dolores dynamic that is explored in so many different novels and I appreciated that it took on a different perspective.
Not usually a fan of time jumps in books, but I think the author did a great job at illustrating the abuse as it happened and then pivoting us to witness the aftermath, over a decade after it originally occurred. I would have loved more resolution though, more of a hint that Vanessa would begin to accept what had happened to her and start shedding some of the blame, of which she deserved absolutely none of.
alisbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
5.0