*contains spoilers*

This was by far one of the best books I’ve ever read. It was written so well and the author dealt with difficult topics in a respectful way. It was so traumatising to read but I couldn’t take my eyes away from the pages. 
As I was reading this book I felt as though I was really in Vanessa’s mind. I felt manipulated by Strane in the same way that Vanessa did, I felt loved, betrayed, scared, every feeling that she felt. At the start, I found myself believing everything that Strane was telling Vanessa, thinking that he really did care for her and love her. And when it was found out that he was perusing other girls, it felt like a betrayal because wasn’t Vanessa “special”?
Vanessa is a very complex character and therefore it’s very difficult to like her, no matter how much I empathise for her. My main issue with her is that she refused to help other girls who were in the same situation as her, even though she knew how much Strane had destroyed her. For example, when a grown man was clearly making Inez uncomfortable and she ignored it, or when she knew that a customer at the hotel was taking an underage girl up to his hotel room and raping her. She also could’ve helped the other victims of Strane without exposing herself, yet chose to protect him even after his death. My heart broke for her as a child, and I truly understand the hold that he had over her, but I just think she could’ve done more to help as an adult. 
Strane’s suicide made me cry with frustration. He took the cowards way out and will never be held accountable and justice will never be properly served. He truly was a horrible man and the fact that he was so in denial that he was a pedophile and that he raped Vanessa was so scary. 
One character I will never forgive in this book is Vanessa’s mother. She KNEW that her daughter had been groomed and raped by her teacher and didn’t even try to send that man to jail. How a mother could let that slide is beyond me. The Browick school was to blame almost as much. They knew something was going on and refused to investigate further to avoid a scandal. I really wish Taylor Birch would’ve been able to shut them down for good. 
I would genuinely read pages and pages of essays about this book. It will always be a favourite of mine from here on out and I think Vanessa’s story was an extremely important one to tell.