Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

the prose is stunning. it truly knocks the wind out of you how something can be phrased so simply, so light, and yet send your entire day reeling. i wanted to fall into this book. i wanted to stop reading when it nauseated me. i wanted to call in sick to work and finish in one sitting. i didn't want it to end. the last words in this complex, exquisite story made me immediately burst into tears. there was not a single moment where i wished for more detail about a different character. the story is vanessa's and hers alone. we see it through her eyes. for better or for worse, we are in it with her. we see what she saw, what she remembered of those (besides strane) who made a deep enough mark on her to leave an impression. the details given about other characters are minute, carefully chosen. they paint sincere details that provide shocking depth to minor characters that don't require much to serve their purpose in the novel, their purpose to vanessa. it was not too long. it did not feel repetitive or have a lull. this story consumed over fifteen years of vanessa's life. she struggled with what happened in a confusing, messed up, imperfect way. for better for for worse, we went on that ride with her. we're taken through such an intimate, painful, sometimes borderline thrilling journey, and russell does a beautiful job grappling with the myriad of feelings you may experience as a victim. was it my fault? did i ask for it? did i deserve it? if i'm being blamed, could it have been even a little bit me? if it was me, was it because i liked it? because i wanted it? will i make it out alive? if you've made it here after the ort*z essay, please call to mind ort*z's initial point: racism and glass ceilings in the publishing industry are a disgusting, rampant problem. yes, perhaps other books discussing abuse may not have gotten the same hype MDV received. that, in part, may be due to a white woman telling this story. that is certainly an issue. we can't package abuse to be palatable if it is coming from the "right" place, the place we feel is most accessible, relatable, marketable. what is a bigger issue is the conversation of a plagiarism that did not happen eclipsing a stunning debut that will surely stick with you as long as you have memories to grasp. it's a bigger issue to force a survivor to out themselves to attain some sort of depraved credibility because you assumed she couldn't write her version of an abuse narrative. it's an issue to hide when you're in the wrong and refocus the conversation because you don't feel like facing the blowup it causes. take ownership. several times when i read this book, i needed to put it down and stare into middle distance to really digest what i'd read. i'm glad i kept coming back. i had to. it was a like having a warm blanket wrapped around your shoulders after hearing horrible news. it was so inviting and wonderful while turning your gut in revulsion. i hope you pick up a copy. i hope you read it when you're ready. i hope you find empathy. i hope you find healing. i hope we get more from russell soon, but if fifteen years is what it takes to bring something else crafted as precariously as my dark vanessa, i'll see you in 2035.