Category Archives: Book Reviews

Book Reviews, books, creativity, fiction, interesting reads

Book Review: My dark Vanessa

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“There must be a point where you’re allowed to be defined by something other than what he did to you” 

I tried reading this book in 2020 but I wasn’t ready for it so after reading the first few pages I decided to put it down and wait for my emotions to settle. 2020 was a lot like that, most things were started and not completed because half way through I realised I had to get myself settled; my emotions, my mind and my body needed soothing on most days. 

I picked this book up again on the 20th of January 2021 and I was completely drawn in by it this time around. I couldn’t put it down, I would look at it longingly during my work day, wishing that in the pages to follow Vanessa was okay, that she had found a way to heal and a way to be more than her abuse. 

My Dark Vanessa is a book about a fifteen year old girl who enters into a relationship with her 42 year old English teacher and who now in her thirties is coming to terms with the fact that what she deemed a great love story was rape and abuse. The story is gripping, painful and Kate Elizabeth Russell wrote a “all in, not holding back” book. She was not afraid to make us go there and to make the reader feel every necessary feeling with this book. 

The book moves between two timelines. The early 2000’s when Jacob Strane singled Vanessa out and started grooming her and the following relationship through the years. The second timeline is in 2017, at the height of the “MeToo” movement when allegations against Strane surface and Vanessa has to reconcile what happened to her and her desperate desire to not be seen as a victim but rather as someone who had agency and entered the relationship with wide open eyes. 

“ “How much strength does it take to hurt a little girl? How much strength does it take for the girl to get over it? Which one of them do you think is stronger?” The questions hangs there, the answers obvious – she’s the strong one. I’m strong, too, stronger than anyone has ever given me credit for.” 

The writing in this book is immaculate and tender, Kate Elizabeth Russel wrote this book with it’s very heavy topic with a sort of precise care that cannot be ignored. She did not tip-toe around the subject, the conversations  and the topics – she dug her hands in deep and did it in a way that invited the reader to feel and understand both versions of Vanessa. The Vanessa that was desperate for this to be a beautiful love story and a sexual awakening and the Vanessa that wanted to say out loud that it was abuse and still ask that she be seen as more than her abuse. 

I feel like in this book I experienced Vanessa’s fears of being branded by his abuse for her whole life and her desire to not be seen as a victim. I understood it all and I sympathised with it all. I wanted things for Vanessa that I did not know I could want for a character. I wanted her to be safe once I finished the book, I wanted her to be taken care of and I wanted her to heal. I so badly wanted her to heal. 

I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars because I think the writer did an excellent job of telling a story that had no option but to be a bad story. No one goes into this book thinking “this will be jolly, there will be a happy ending” but one leaves the book feeling like the author is currently out there taking care of Vanessa and making sure she’s alright, Vanessa was written with a lot of care and I enjoyed that about the book. I also liked that there wasn’t much suspense, the book started off with what had happened and so when reading the book I wasn’t scared that some other monster would pop up and make the story even worse, I felt like I was following along as Vanessa told the story while she interrupted herself with her own questions of “what”, “why” and “how”. This was a great book. I do however think it’s the sort of book one has to be ready for, I think reading it when you aren’t ready for it could make you spiral. It’s a book that says the obvious, “abuse is permanent, the abused carries it with them for a lifetime” and I think Kate Elizabeth Russell did an excellent job telling this story the way she did. 

Book Reviews, books, fiction, interesting reads, lifestyle

Ann K Book Review

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I stumbled onto Anna K by pure coincidence. I typed Anna Karenina into the search bar on my kindle and Anna K came up. I soon learnt that Anna K was the modern day adaptation of Anna Karenina so I decided it might be a good idea to read the books side by side. While I am far from finishing Leo Tolstoy’s original telling of the story I have just finished Jenny Lee’s version.

Anna K is a love story between two super rich teens living in New York. The book really does feel like if Gossip Girl was a book. There’s mentioning of high-end designers (I had to google a few while reading), elaborate parties and a healthy dose of absent parents. The only thing missing was the catty and sassy narration of the story as it unfolded.

The book took me longer to finish because hit was hard for me to sometimes stomach the teenage angst but it was a story worth sticking around for. Jenny Lee gave us a brief look into the teenage lives of the superrich and my first point on the book is that if you hated Gossip Girl because you found it unrealistic then you should certainly avoid this book.

I enjoyed how the protagonist, Anna K, was this perfectly poised teenager and that she also spoke almost no teenage slang. I think this was a necessary part of the storyline in order for the reader to place her on her a pedestal. Anna’s brother was also aptly painted as being a superrich party boy who lived for the here and now and so, it is unexpected when he turns on the reader and proves to be a great big brother who encourages Anna to be a teenager and do teenage stuff.

I did find it a bit off putting that the author’s narrating of black characters had to be so desperate to point out how diverse the book and the characters were. For example I don’t think it was necessary to say “black arm emoji” when a Black character was texting. I can confirm that as an African person when I send an emoji I don’t think “Black yoga girl emoji” so that was a bit of strange thing to do.

I don’t remember laughing out loud while reading it or highlighting much of the book while reading but I remember dreaming and trying to picture the characters in my head so that was a wonderful little trip. If you enjoy occasionally re-watching Gossip Girl and you are looking for a new love story with a poised half-Korean and half-White protagonist this is the book for you. And if you enjoy retellings of old classics this is definitely the book for you. While there are some distractions that might keep you from getting into the story I think Jenny Lee did a good job of telling the love story and you should definitely give it a read.

Thanks for reading this review, please let me know whether you have read the book and whether you agree of disagree.

Until next time, remember to be kinder than you think is necessary.

Book Reviews, books, fiction, interesting reads, lifestyle, Uncategorized, Writing

Little Fires Everywhere Book Review

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Last weekend, Easter weekend, was a great reading weekend. I finished off two books and started two new books. This is a big deal for me because it means that I managed to convince myself that the world would not collapse with me fully immersed in reading and away from my laptop. Two of the books I read last week were about fire, one book was about two children who spontaneously combust (Nothing to See Here book review coming soon) and the other was a little well-known book called Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng.

Little Fires Everywhere has been on my radar for a long time. Most probably since it came onto the scene and it was mentioned by some pretty famous book clubs. It is always a bit hard to read a book that is overly hyped, for no reason other than feeling really bad when you don’t like it. Like maybe there’s something intrinsically wrong with my literary palate.

Over the years however I have discovered that I struggle to read overhyped books because I build a pretty strong wall of expectations and if the author is unable to climb that wall and reach my unrealistic anticipations I tend to not enjoy the book and I rarely ever finish the book. With Little Fires Everywhere however I decided to get over myself and just read the darn book!

With all that being said I walked into Celeste Ng’s book with very little knowledge of the storyline. I didn’t know any of the characters, I’d never actually read or watched a single book review, I just knew that it was a good book that had been on Reece’s book club in 2017. This is a great way to get into a book because I went in with no truths or beliefs that I needed to be confirmed.

The book starts off at the tail end of the story in that it starts with a fire and the rest of the book takes us through the events leading up to that fire. We are introduced to an upper middle-class family the Richardson’s and their two mysterious tenants mother and daughter, Mia and Pearl. Mia and Pearl move into a home owned by Mrs Richardson whose family has been part of the Shaker Heights community for three generations. The community is a perfectly planned community where everything is orchestrated according the Shaker Heights by-laws. The grass is cut at a certain height, the houses are all painted the same colours and the people in Shaker tend to all follow a strict set of rules. Shaker seems like a place that Mia and Pearl who have been nomads for all of Pearl’s life would not fit in, but of course they manage to fit in with Pearl befriending the Richardson children and Mia taking on one of the children, Izzy, as somewhat of a protégé.

As I have stated I went into the book with no background about what the book is about. The one thing I enjoy about reading strictly on kindle is that I am unable to read the back cover of books so I really do go into books partially clueless. The book did not manage to grip me as much as I thought it would. Getting through the story was actually quite challenging for me. I think it could be that when the scene is set as “perfect little community versus rogue mother and daughter duo who don’t follow the rules” my mind already starts to construct it’s own story and 80% of the time I am spot on about what will happen and this is exactly what happened with this book give or take a few twits. I expected them to face the challenges they faced, I expected them to fall for the people they fell for and I expected them to act in a way they acted.

For me finishing the book became more about confirming my expectations as opposed to savouring and enjoying the actual story. The book is however written quite well. I cannot fault Ceelste’s writing at all. The story itself is told wonderfully and under any circumstances I would have been more than happy to give it five stars on good reads. I think I was at the point in my fiction reading wherein I wanted a bit more thrill or maybe characters who do the unexpected, which is what I have been reading a lot of lately.

I do think though that the book is worth the read. It is generally a good enough entertaining read and it definitely felt like I was watching a series while reading it and I can totally see what the fuss was about it in 2017. The book might not thrill you, but Celeste Ng is a gifted writer who does some wonderful things in telling a story that feels like it is as old as time itself.

Thanks for reading this review, please let me know whether you have read the book and whether you agree or disagree.

Until next time, remember to be kinder than you think is necessary.

Book Reviews, books, interesting reads, Uncategorized

Not a book review: Children of Blood and Bone

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The title of this blog is not an attempt at attention seeking, this is really not a book review.

I just finished reading Toni Adeyemi’s book, it took me two weeks of not being able to put it down, days of throwing my kindle on my bed exasperated by the story and the very complex characters and moments of screaming and cheering hopeful that there are no more barriers to the trio fulfilling their mission. What I am saying is, I finished Children of Blood and Bone the book tore me apart.

It was hard for me to get behind a protagonist who was so impulsive, who acted with so much unapologetic rage (which I respected) and at the same time was so unsure of herself so much of the time when I needed certainty from her.

Amari and Tzain kept me in the book, they were the anchors and the voice of reason when Zelie was too much for me to handle. They reminded me of our mission (our because I really got involved) and I really connected to Tzain with his “first born” baggage – I was right there with him screaming “WOW LITTLE SIBLINGS, AM I RIGHT?”

Then there was the issue of Zelie’s love interest that angered me and left me so uninterested in the story because I’m just not a fan of romance being thrown into big world changing event. Like the world is ending, where are you finding time to kiss?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I enjoyed (most times) stanning for Zelie, especially when her rage came through the pages. It made me think: “sometimes not so soft, sometimes not so sweet, sometimes not so small – sometimes rage, rage, fucken rage!”

This morning first thing I did was get the second book. Ready to dive in.

Book Reviews, books, Young Adult

Book review: PET by Akwaeke Emezi

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I am always sceptical to review books. This is because I believe books are incredibly personal things that speak to us at different times in different ways. So it is always hard to make a decision on a book, not only for me because I will change my mind, but because I will also be influencing someone else’s perception on the book.

With that being said, I have been wanting to get into reviewing books for quite some time, if not to just give others feedback on the books I read but also as a reminder to myself for why I enjoyed some books and others not so much.

To make this first review easy for myself (and you) I decided to start with a book I actually loved and enjoyed and that book is “Pet” by Akwaeke Emezi.

So here is “Pet” in a nutshell with hopefully not too many spoilers: Pet is a story that is set against the futuristic town Lucile, a town that has managed to rid itself of all its monsters. The story follows Jam, the protagonist, her best friend Redemption and their new hunter “friend” Pet who is in Lucile to hunt for a monster despite Lucile having no monsters.

The story then chronicles Jam, Pet and Redemption journeying through Lucile and finding this so-called monster. The book, in my opinion is a wonderful story about friendship. I think there are a lot of themes but the one that reached its gentle hand out of the pages and embraced me tenderly was the theme of friendship.

 This is my second book by the author and I fell head over heels for their first book and this book was no different. I really enjoyed the characters, I enjoyed the very descriptive names, I think it is because I am mostwana and our names tend be very descriptive and sometimes we tend to name children based on the events surrounding their birth or conception, so I was all for the very descriptive names.

I also enjoyed how the author took the time out to not only make the book inclusive and diverse but to do it in a way in which what would be seen as “other” was not the focal point of a character but merely a “by the way”. Jam for example didn’t speak much as she much rather preferred signing and that was what the reader got. There was no long drawn out story about how this has affected her life, no tales of struggling to make friends and communicate, none of that. It was simply a by the way and we got to focus on how smart and kind Jam was. 

The book is about child abuse although this is never explicitly explored in the book but I think it is a credit to Akwaeke’s writing that the book doesn’t feel that heavy all the time. Even Pet who is here to hunt the monster is equal parts scary and sassy. I found myself reading the book and then trying to guess Pet’s reaction.

The wonderful thing that this book does is it leaves us with the question of what do we do with monsters. Do we condemn monsters for life? Do we try and rehabilitate the monsters or do we give monsters the ultimate punishment which is death? I enjoyed that I was made to explore my rage at the monsters and then under the same breath made to tap into another side of considering alternative ways in which we can deal with monsters.

In summary I think this is an important book and I am so grateful to the author for writing it.

Please let me know what you think of this book review and how you think I can improve in the future.

Thank you again for reading, until next time – be kind more times than you think is necessary.