Did I know what I was getting myself into when I first started reading this book? No. But did I know that I was going to get through it as quickly as I did? Also no, but wow. From the start, I had a hunch that this would be a book that stayed with me for a while, and I think it might, but reading it, per its subject matter, it’s definitely not for everyone, so proceed with caution.
Something’s going to happen …
and it did. A whole lot did. Facing trials and tribulations, the story of Vanessa is a dark one, but such an engaging one that it is hard to break away, mimicking almost, the plot of the novel. The reader is faced with a story of one girl, woman, shifting between a gap of 15 years. It is a cautionary tale, on that is not for the faint-hearted, delving into topics that the protagonist herself struggles with processing, going backward in forwards, reflecting the journeys of therapy and the struggle to get better. The teenage angst is intertwined with the confusion and troubles, spinning a tale that is easy to get entangled in, and not easy to get out of. Frustrations demonstrated in such ways that reflect the inner being of the protagonist, making the reader one with the main character, giving you insight into her emotions and the path which her life has taken since stepping into a classroom 17 years prior.
Five stars, yes. I devoured this book within 24 hours, not being able to put it down. As a debut novel, it was fantastic, where part of me wishes I don’t know what happens so that I could read it again. An exemplary tale that stays with you, filled with meticulous attention to detail, vivid metaphors, and nothing left unanswered, with integrations of the Lolita-Esque narrative, it leaves little in ways of one’s own interpretation; it’s all there on the page. With that, it is not an easy book to recommend if you are unaware of the life and the experiences of someone. The harsh reality is, this is not a tale for everyone, no matter the place in their journey.
It's easy to pinpoint when it all started, that moment of walking into his sun-soaked classroom and feeling his eyes drink me in for the first time, but it's harder to know when it ended, if it really ended at all. (6) If there's one thing you take away from this class, it should be that the world is made of endlessly intersecting stories, each one valid and true. (21) I choose to think of this as the lull in my story, a period of banishment that tests my loyalties but will ultimately make me stronger. (202) The weather cools to a raw gray. The leaves change and fall, the wood turns sparse with skeletal trees. (214) Atlantica College is morning fog and salt-drenched air, seals sunning their speckled bodies on the pink granite shore, whaler mansions converted into classrooms, a giant humpback skull hanging in the cafeteria. (269)
aga is reading 