Reviews tagging 'Fatphobia'

Mia inquieta Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

23 reviews

herelieshenry's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, and Rape

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual content, Suicide, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal death, Fatphobia, and Sexual harassment

nina_mk's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Bullying, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Stalking, Lesbophobia, and Classism

shakattxck's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

matildamercury's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Fantastically well written book that captures shame (in the younger years) and low self worth (in current day) in a special way. I listened to the audiobook which was a fantastic way to experience Vanessa. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

ellementary's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book wrecked me. I am still emotionally shook from reading it... completely excavated. It is not the kind of book you delightedly recommend to everyone you know but, my God, was it impossible to put down. I was mesmerized by this story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Body shaming, Drug use, Fatphobia, Suicide, Stalking, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Infidelity, Vomit, and Death of parent

b_barnes's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

jengambale's review against another edition

dark hopeful tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

So uncomfortable, but so good

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual assault

Minor: Fatphobia

cateyeschloe's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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? It's complicated

4.75

There’s so much to say about this book and it’s difficult to put everything it made me feel into words. 

Vanessa’s pain and conflicting emotions are so very visceral in every page, and I often found myself setting down the book for a few moments just to sit with how she felt, how I felt reading it, and how what she was going through affected her. 

This book perfectly walks the line of depicting how a relationship like Vanessa’s and Strane’s can seem from Vanessa’s perspective - romantic, beautiful, a love story, “not that bad, really” - and how brutal it actually is from the outside - heartrending, manipulative, narcissistic, and cruel. 

I think the thing that stood out the most to me was asking myself the question “if something made me feel abused - even if my mind is insistent that it ‘wasn’t that bad, really’ - isn’t that still abuse?”. And I really appreciate how the book brings this perspective to light. 

It can be really easy to bury yourself under the excuses of “others had it so much worse than me” or “what happened to me wasn’t even that bad” or “I didn’t complain; didn’t that mean I was okay with it?”. And despite all of those protests, the truth still remains true if you were hurt or used or manipulated. That is still valid and you deserve to let yourself be heard, to heal, and, ultimately, to forgive yourself for something that was beyond your control and never your fault. 

This book was painful to read and beautifully written. Vanessa is relatable and agonizing to discover. The author does a phenomenal job of weaving the abuser together both from his narcissism and his charm as he walks the line between the light of day and shadow. 

This is an essential read if you have any interest in the Me Too movement or supporting and believing victims of any abuse across the board. 

This book felt like a gut punch, but it will absolutely be added to my list of favorites from now on. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Death and Sexual content

Minor: Animal death, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Stalking, and Death of parent

reneetrinket's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Dysphoria, and Classism

angrboda'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? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

wow. this book has been on my “READ THIS BOOK NOW!!!” list for over a year.. finally decided to pick it up and oh my god. i finished in the span of only two days. it was impossible to put down. it was horrifying, thought provoking, and completely messed up. the honest pain i felt when reading it; i had to take breaks everytime it got too much. i definitely see myself in the main character, vanessa, gone through a similar experience she did. i think this story did an amazing job at portraying how accurate abuse is, how it’s so easy to manipulate and control young girls who eventually spend their entire lives not understanding that what happened was bad.  this book is will stick with me for a long time.

as much as i loved the writing and the plot development, i wished for the downfall of stane SO badly. i despised him. i was manifesting some sort of revenge plot in the last portion, where vanessa finally exposed all he did, where stane finally admits defeat and is thrown in jail for life. the constant dismissal and disrespect vanessa had over the situations made me mad, i honestly disliked so many of her choices, but it’s so real. she’s so real. her mind is corrupted, she’s gone. she’s split off permanently and it’s so real. so real.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Drug use, Sexism, Grief, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal death, Body shaming, Cursing, Fatphobia, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship