Boundless Press | My Dark Vanessa: A Novel
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My Dark Vanessa: A Novel
Kate Elizabeth Russell
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INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
“[An] exceedingly complex, inventive, resourceful examination of harm and power.” —The New York Times Book Review, Editors’ Choice
“A lightning rod . . . brilliantly crafted.” —The Washington Post
A most anticipated book by The New York Times • USA Today • Entertainment Weekly • Marie Claire • Elle • Harper's Bazaar • Bustle • Newsweek • New York Post • Esquire • Real Simple • The Sunday Times • The Guardian
Exploring the psychological dynamics of the relationship between a precocious yet naïve teenage girl and her magnetic and manipulative teacher, a brilliant, all-consuming read that marks the explosive debut of an extraordinary new writer.
Bright, ambitious, and yearning for adulthood, fifteen-year-old Vanessa Wye becomes entangled in an affair with Jacob Strane, her magnetic and guileful forty-two-year-old English teacher.
Amid the rising wave of allegations against powerful men, a reckoning is coming due. Strane has been accused of sexual abuse by a former student, who reaches out to Vanessa, and now Vanessa suddenly finds herself facing an impossible choice: remain silent, firm in the belief that her teenage self willingly engaged in this relationship, or redefine herself and the events of her past.
But how can Vanessa reject her first love, the man who fundamentally transformed her and has been a persistent presence in her life? Is it possible that the man she loved as a teenager—and who professed to worship only her—may be far different from what she has always believed?
Alternating between Vanessa’s present and her past, My Dark Vanessa juxtaposes memory and trauma with the breathless excitement of a teenage girl discovering the power her own body can wield.
Thought-provoking and impossible to put down, this is a masterful portrayal of troubled adolescence and its repercussions that raises vital questions about agency, consent, complicity, and victimhood.
Written with the haunting intimacy of The Girls and the creeping intensity of Room, My Dark Vanessa is an era-defining novel that brilliantly captures and reflects the shifting cultural mores transforming our relationships and society itself.
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Posts about this title from Boundless Press
Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • Mar 10 2023
what i read in february + march reading plans
Use my code STORY to get your first Book of the Month box for only $9.99! (U.S). In Canada, grab your first box for $14.99 with code BLOOM! https://www.bookofthemonth.com/?utm\_source=youtube&utm\_medium=video&utm\_campaign=This\_Story\_Ain%27t\_Over This video was sponsored by Book of the Month.
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socials 🤍 instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisstoryaintover/ 🤍 twitter: https://twitter.com/jananiekvelu 🤍 tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisstoryaintover?lang=en 🤍 storygraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/thisstoryaintover 🤍 goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/thisstoryaintover
💌 for business/sponsorship inquiries please contact eric@smallscreenmarketing.com 💌 for all other inquiries please contact me at thisstoryaintover@gmail.com
faqs 🤍 how do you pronounce your name? - my name is Jananie—pronounced JEN-nah-nee (like a knee!)
🤍 what's your background/ethnicity/etc? - both my parents are Sri Lankan Tamil, and I was born and raised in Canada!
🤍 what is your job? - aside from youtube I also work in product marketing!
14 books
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Infinite Realms Book Club \ \ Nozomi \ \ • Apr 3
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March reading wrapup! #booktok #readingwrapup #fantasybooks #daggermouth #thrillerbooks
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Stuff Celine Reads\ \ Celine\ \ • Feb 16
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Daph's Reads 📚✨\ \ Daphne\ \ • Mar 25 2025
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Contemporary fiction recommendations!
Contemporary fiction recommendations! 📚
#bookstagram #booktok #bookrecommendations #bookrecs #bookhaul #literaryfiction #historicalfiction
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The Book Was Better\ \ Kayla\ \ • Aug 20 2024
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this video is pretty much me just trying to convince you to read some of my favorite books ❤️🔥 #bo
this video is pretty much me just trying to convince you to read some of my favorite books ❤️🔥 #books #reading #booktok #booktoker #booktokfyp #bookrecs #bookrecommendations #fivestarbooks #fivestarreads #booksilove #myfavoritebooks #bookworm #bookstan #booklover #tbwb #thebookwasbetter #CapCut
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Boneyard Picnic\ \ Natalie Meagan\ \ • Apr 25 2024
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Short and sweet, do I recommend buying these books? Yes or no!?
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Boneyard Picnic\ \ Natalie Meagan\ \ • Apr 8 2024
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\ \ Upgrade for $5 or login](https://boneyardpicnic.binderybooks.com/item/J8Lztr1JNEel1vcL4ikB/)
Everything I've Read This Year (so far & no spoilers)
Can you believe I am somewhat on time with putting out a recap video?! Me either! I recorded a short and sweet, yes or no video including all of these books but if you want a little more (no spoilers!) here is the longer version!
ALL THE LINKS YOU COULD EVER WANT
🛍 Shop my wares? https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheCrybabyClub
📚 Join the book club? https://bit.ly/3Hgz1ex
You can also find me here: Newsletter: https://weirdobookclub.substack.com/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@weirdobookclub Bookstagram: http://instagram.com/weirdobookclub StoryGraph: https://bit.ly/3TWDw5N GoodReads: https://bit.ly/3TTHpYX
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Boneyard Picnic\ \ Natalie Meagan\ \ • Jan 8 2024
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I don't like sticking to lists, I am a mood reader with an aversion to being told what to do - even if I am the one doing the telling. BUT if I did stick to a list this year, this would be the list!
Books Mentioned: Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russel We Spread by Iain Reid Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier Book Lovers, Happy Place and Funny Story by Emily Henry The Warm Hands of Ghosts, The Bear and the Nightingale and Small Spaces by Katherine Arden Cackle and Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchison Beautiful World, Where Are You? And Normal People by Sally Rooney The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky Spark of the Everflame by Penn Cole
ALL THE LINKS YOU COULD EVER WANT
✨ Support me on Bindery? https://boneyardpicnic.binderybooks.com/
🛍 Shop my wares? https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheCrybabyClub
☕ Donate a coffee? http://ko-fi.com/weirdobookclub
📚 Join the book club? https://bit.ly/3Hgz1ex
14 books
Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • Sep 11 2023
the 40+ books on my fall TBR 🍁🍂 fall book recommendations ☕️
tell me your fall book recommendations in the comments! 🍁🍂
🎃 books mentioned 🎃
Misc. ↳ rouge ↳ she walks in shadows ↳ silver nitrate
Dark Academia ↳ in these hallowed halls: a dark academia anthology ↳ vita nostra ↳ plain bad heroines
“Classic” horror ↳ rebecca ↳ interview with a vampire ↳ dark tales
Real World Horror ↳ natural beauty ↳ lakewood ↳ her body and other parties ↳ bad cree ↳ weight of blood
Vampires ↳ vampires of el norte ↳ a dowry of blood ↳ masters of death ↳ house of hunger ↳ the book eaters
Haunted House books ↳ a house with good bones ↳ she is a haunting ↳ the hacienda ↳ just like home
Deathly Retellings ↳ a haunting on the hill ↳ the death i gave him ↳ one for my enemy
Cozy fantasies ↳ legends & lattes ↳ the very secret society of irregular witches ↳ venco ↳ emily wilde's encyclopaedia of faeries
Fantasies ↳ nettle & bone ↳ gods of jade and shadow ↳ juniper & thorn ↳the wolf & the woodsman ↳ the bone orchard ↳ the adventures of amina al-sirafi
Other ↳ my dark vanessa ↳ station eleven ↳ glass hotel ↳ sea of tranquility
💌 for business/sponsorship inquiries please contact eric@smallscreenmarketing.com 💌 for all other inquiries please contact me at thisstoryaintover@gmail.com
faqs 🤍 how do you pronounce your name? - my name is Jananie—pronounced JEN-nuh-nee (like a knee!)
🤍 what's your background/ethnicity/etc? - both my parents are Sri Lankan Tamil, and I was born and raised in Canada!
🤍 what is your job? - aside from youtube I also work in product marketing!
40 books
Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • Mar 10 2023
what i read in february + march reading plans
💓 join as a channel member to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJn0v3OAEAX3-V4crjcHtRA/join
💌 for business/sponsorship inquiries please contact eric@smallscreenmarketing.com 💌 for all other inquiries please contact me at thisstoryaintover@gmail.com
faqs 🤍 how do you pronounce your name? - my name is Jananie—pronounced JEN-nah-nee (like a knee!)
🤍 what's your background/ethnicity/etc? - both my parents are Sri Lankan Tamil, and I was born and raised in Canada!
🤍 what is your job? - aside from youtube I also work in product marketing!
14 books
Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • Oct 5 2022
all 149 books i own but haven't read.... 📚🙈 YET | 😳 my ENTIRE physical TBR 😳
I've done this video once before back in 2019 and I thought it was time for a refresher—here are all 149 books on my physical tbr! My hope with this video is that I'll be able to look back on it and check off all the books I've read in the future. Hope you enjoy!
The 2019 version of this video: https://youtu.be/TrGojZ8sHy0
📚 join my book club 📚 read books by BIPOC each month and join me during monthly liveshows to discuss! 🤍 announcement Video: https://youtu.be/u-aI8tD1RcQ 🤍 discuss on Fable: https://l.fable.co/readincolour 🤍 discuss on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/readincolourbookclub/ 🤍 discuss on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ReadinColorClub
socials 🤍 instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisstoryaintover/ 🤍 twitter: https://twitter.com/jananiekvelu 🤍 tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisstoryaintover?lang=en 🤍 goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/thisstoryaintover
other places to find me 🤍 my website: https://www.jananiekvelu.com/ 🤍 my series # EpicBookRecs on the Epic Reads Channel: https://bit.ly/2XziOfz
discount codes 🤍 get one month FREE on Skillshare using my link: https://skl.sh/MKR96 🤍 use my code STORY to get your first Book of the Month box for only $9.99 https://www.bookofthemonth.com/?utm\_source=youtube&utm\_medium=video&utm\_campaign=This\_Story\_Ain%27t\_Over
💌 for business/sponsorship inquiries please contact eric@smallscreenmarketing.com 💌 for all other inquiries please contact me at thisstoryaintover@gmail.com
faqs 🤍 how do you pronounce your name? - my name is Jananie—pronounced JEN-nah-nee (like a knee!)
🤍 what's your background/ethnicity/etc? - both my parents are Sri Lankan Tamil, and I was born and raised in Canada!
🤍 what is your job? - aside from youtube I also work in product marketing!
97 books