Et cetera : What We're Reading: My Dark Vanessa

In college, I was mesmerized by 'Lolita' by Vladimir Nabokov-it was the late '90s, and it struck me as a dark, twisted romance. But after reading 'My Dark Vanessa' by Kate Elizabeth Russell, my view has shifted sharply. Russell's novel tells the harrowing story of 15-year-old Vanessa Wye, an outsider and only child who is drawn into a manipulative, abusive relationship with her much older teacher at a prestigious boarding school. Told in dual timelines, the novel explores Vanessa's adult life as she struggles to reconcile her past and come to terms with the grooming she mistook for love. It's haunting, deeply unsettling, and pulls back the curtain on how predators can sometimes hide behind the prestige of academia. 'My Dark Vanessa' isn't just a response to Lolita-it's a reckoning.

Check it out on the Libby App (4.10 rating on Goodreads) and happy reading, friends! ~Heather