Note: This article contains heavy topics, including sexual abuse, and a relationship between a teacher and a minor. It also contains spoilers for the book My Dark Vanessa. Reader discretion is advised. 

My Dark Vanessa, one of the most controversial books on BookTok (the side of Instagram dedicated to discussing books), earned its reputation through no small feat. It features the messy entanglement between 15-year-old Vanessa and her forty-two-year-old English teacher, Mr. Strane. We see dual timelines, with half the book being set in 2000, amidst their secret relationship, and the other half set in 2017, when other students start to share their stories about similar relationships, though now call it abuse. Reeling, Vanessa must look back on her teenage years and ask herself if her relationship really was consensual, or if it was an abuse of power, like the other girls lament theirs were. Written with raw emotion, this book explores how the media portrays victims and victimhood, and how tumultuous it is to be a teenage girl in such an oversexualized climate. 

Although My Dark Vanessa is a fictional story, the setting and plot mirror incredibly real events that unfold every day. Unfortunately, many teenage girls are subject to relationships like Vanessa’s, and only when they look back can they realize their experience was ultimately one of abuse. The author of My Dark Vanessa, Kate Elizabeth Russell, says, “For Vanessa, there’s so much shame wrapped up in her understanding of her own past, and defending her relationship with Strane is a way of protecting herself from that shame.” Russel perfectly articulates the guilt that comes with finally admitting the real nature of one’s relationship. Necessarily, along with that realization and acceptance comes hundreds of other questions, actions to take, reports to file, and people to tell. However, victims often find it easier to live in ignorance instead of confronting the harsh realities of their situations simply because it prevents them from having to take the necessary steps after. 

My Dark Vanessa also details how victims are treated, with Vanessa being left on the outskirts and the object of hate for many because of her denial to testify. This mirrors how victims are often cast out and receive hate for not reacting in the way society deems acceptable. The clinical hostility of making the reaction to such events is almost like a second trauma, with no time or empathy left for the victim to grieve the loss of their innocence, or truly process what happened. While there is no doctor’s appointment for Vanessa, that experience is also often cold and clinical, with no empathy left for the horrific incidents the victim endured. 

Discussions of this book find themselves placed in the context of current media culture, featuring the constant sexualization of teenage girls in every aspect. From the songs released by popular artists to the clothes popularized by celebrities, to the movies popularly watched and enjoyed, it feels like everything in the media portrays girls as sexual beings first, and people second. This often leads victims of abuse and other girls alike to shun their more girly side and don a hard, unfeeling version of themselves to mask and protect themselves. This is often something noted and acknowledged by other girls, if even just in passing, and most girls recognize the courage it takes to dress however one wants, regardless of how modest it is. 

Mahi Patel, a junior, chimes in, saying, “I’m happy that other girls can be confident in the way they are, just the way they want to dress.” Indeed, seeing other girls feeling free to dress how they want is often something uplifting—especially in today’s climate. 

My Dark Vanessa employs smart rhetorical choices that mirror the experience of teenage girls today. From the constant sexualization to the placing of victims in boxes, this book is a perfect vehicle through which we can open the door to discuss more serious topics surrounding the nature of teenage girlhood.