Flatiron Books Being Lolita: A Memoir

“Have you ever read Lolita?”Trigger warnings: sexual/verbal abuse, pedophilia, depression etc.Being Lolita is a raw, genuine & heartbreaking account of Alissons own experiance. It is such an important topic to be spoken about but seeing it through the eyes of someone who went through it first hand, at such a young age, absolutely broke my heart. It is another book that I absolutely hated reading but loved every second of it at the same time (weird I know... But if you have read this one or My Dark Vanessa you will know the feeling I'm talking about)Alisson's writing is incredible - she did an amazing job at painting the scene & different people in my mind as well as making you feel her emotions. It had quite short chapters which I absolutely love in a book & it all flowed smoothly in an easy to understand way. I found the language used throughout the book to be perfect - in my opinion it was the perfect level of complexity in the way that it wasn't too intricate to overpower the strength & importance of the story but it wasn't so simple that it lost my attention and fell flat. I also really enjoyed the way Alisson mixed through the parallels of Lolita through her own story showing the similarities & her thoughts behind them at a young age.Overall I think Alisson did an amazing job sharing her story - she handled the heavy subject matter & complicated emotions in such a delicate way while still powerfully getting her story across. I think Being Lolita makes you think & bring up conversations about a topic that needs to be had. It is at times an incredibly uncomfortable read but it is also such an important read. I can't thank Alisson enough for taking the step forward & sharing her story.

Book Review: Being Lolita -Alisson Wood.Trigger Warnings: Abuse, Sexual Assault, Child Grooming, Rape.•After seeing a lot of five star reviews of this book throughout bookstagram, I had pretty high hopes for this book. I was hoping for a combination of My Dark Vanessa and Know My Name. I feel like I didn’t get that.•Because this book is a memoir and it introduces us to the author and her abusive relationship with her high school English teacher, I still believe it is worth the read. Alisson explains her “love story” and how she thought it correlated to the book Lolita, only to find as she got older that the relationship wasn’t love at all. It was very controlling, abusive, and honestly super sad.•I finished this book in two sittings and definitely think it’s worth the read (although not as good as MDV and KMN). It’s easy to want to root for Alisson as the relationship falls apart and be there with her when she finally discovers her worth. Overall, I’d rate it a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/ 5 Star Rating.•Some of my favorite quotes are:1. “I didn’t know that that night was everything our relationship would be, wouldn’t be. I didn’t understand what had happened, I thought it was going to be completely different. I had wanted it so badly for so long. I had to accept the fact: this, in all its difference from my fantasy, this was what I wanted”.2. “I longed for a leather notebook, ink, another tattoo. I wanted something permanent, to mark what was happening in a way that couldn’t be erased. Everything I wrote he would still destroy”.3. “I wish I had understood Lolita when I read it for the first time. When the teacher read it to me. I wish I had questioned him, questioned everything about us. I wish someone else in my life, another teacher, one of my parents, even a friend had pushed against the lies I had created, that he created for me. I wish I understood what I was giving up when I let him write our story”.

Yes yes yes! This is a beautifully written coming of age story. A young girl who finds herself despite many obstacles; this is a story of growth and change. Well written, grabs your attention immediately and holds on until the end. Highly recommend.

While this is specifically a memoir about a girl groomed by her high school teacher, I believe anyone who has been manipulated by their partner can relate to the effort of dismantling learned feelings of worthlessness.

I was incredibly moved by the journey of a fragile teenager, manipulated and abused by a trusted adult, who grew into a person who could tell her story without judgement. I salute you, Professor.