My Dark Vanessa: A Novel

Kate Elizabeth Russell

Mar 2020 · Sold by HarperCollins

About this ebook

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 

“[An] exceedingly complex, inventive, resourceful examination of harm and power.” —The New York Times Book Review, Editors’ Choice

“A lightning rod . . . brilliantly crafted.”—The Washington Post

Recommended by The New York Times • USA Today • Entertainment Weekly • Marie Claire • Elle • Harper's Bazaar • Newsweek • New York Post • Esquire • Real Simple • The Sunday Times • The Guardian • and more!

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?

Alternating between Vanessa’s present and her past, My Dark Vanessa juxtaposes memory and trauma with the breathless excitement of a teenage girl discovering the power her own body can wield. Thought-provoking and impossible to put down, this is a masterful portrayal of troubled adolescence and its repercussions that raises vital questions about agency, consent, complicity, and victimhood. Written with the haunting intimacy of The Girls and the creeping intensity of Room, My Dark Vanessa is an era-defining novel that brilliantly captures and reflects the shifting cultural mores transforming our relationships and society itself.

Ratings and reviews

Haunting, emotional, disturbing. Middle aged Jacob Strain English teacher has been grooming and sexually assaulting his young students. This story follows Vanessa one of his 15 year old students and her experience with Mr. Strain. It goes back and forth between the past and the present. Vanessa has been so manipulated that she blames herself and believes he really loved her, my heart breaks for this girl. This was a difficult book, being that the book is fictional not addressing a very real thin

My Review: Wow, wow, wow, this book took my breathe away!!!!! I haven’t read a book like this in a very long time. This story will stay with me and forever impact me. This is definitely my number one book I read for this year. It was just that good. This book was about a teenage girl who was lost and confused. She was seeking love and attention in all the wrong places. She was forever impacted by the choices she’s made. I want to start by saying that I was amazed by this debut novel. With a debut novel you expect flaws but with this one I found none. It was so beautifully well written. It really felt as if I was there living the story with all of them. It was so descriptive and I loved that. Even the plot kept me going. There was never a dull moment and you really felt for Vanessa and what she was going through. You also wanted to shake her at some parts and tell her she’s a victim and to stop blaming herself for what happened. It was not her fault that an older authority figure took advantage of her at such a young age. Now that brings me to the teacher who thought he did nothing wrong. I felt nothing but hate towards this man through the whole entire book. He was a master manipulator but acted like he did nothing wrong. He wanted to be able to live with himself for what he did and knew it was wrong. He did get what was coming to him in the end. Not the best of justice but it would do. This one of the best books I’ve read in my whole life and I’ve read a lot of books. It did live up to his hype and I’m so glad I read this great debut novel. Between the plot, characters and all the twists in this book it made it an easy and fast read. I would definitely recommend it and happily give it 5 Hearts❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

How do you even begin to rate a book like this knowing there is a tangent of truth to it? As a mother, this entire book is a nightmare come to fruition. I often had horrible night terrors of just this type of situation. Trying to wade through these haunting images and disturbing paragraphs was extremely hard. I'm in such a foggy state after this I just want to curl up and disappear. Definitely need something uplifting after this as I feel so weighed down. I suppose that's the point though right? Books like this don't always end with a hopeful or improved disposition for the one who is suffering. If you decided to read this one...be prepared. It's not an easy read.

About the author

Kate Elizabeth Russell is originally from eastern Maine. She holds a PhD in creative writing from the University of Kansas and an MFA from Indiana University. My Dark Vanessa is her first novel.