Dear Medusa. Our protagonist, Alicia Rivers, writes her journal entries and poetry to Medusa, wanting to channel the badass hero who can turn men to stone. Alicia falls into the “troubled teen” category, mostly because she is promiscuous. After being sexually abused by one of her teachers, Alicia finds that she feels better about sex when she is in control. Even if it’s not what others find romantic or socially acceptable, Alicia wants to rewrite her narrative and she is doing it one random sexual encounter at a time. Alicia wants, also, to believe that there are decent men out there. But when she stares back at them with a challenge in her eyes, she is almost always disappointed by their reaction: rarely do they ask how old she is and if they do ask, they don’t care.

It’s high school: sleeping around gains her a reputation. Gosh the rumors and name-calling made me sad. Especially when Alicia’s brother gets involved in some of the finger pointing, it hurt my soul.

This story is mostly sad. It’s adolescent angst at its finest. But there are redeeming moments with Alicia’s friendships. Her relationships with Deja and Geneva bring inspiration and warmth, a salve to my hurt spirit. And yet, I loved this so much. I don’t read many novels in verse, but the ones I have have all been exceptional. Dear Medusa follows that vein. And there is power, too. Highly recommended. Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

So many favorite lines:
“This world is full of wolves. I’ve already met worse wolves than Terry. Terry is just a dog. Running from a dog At this point, at this juncture in my career with wolves, feels like admitting I’m a rabbit when every day I feel more like a bull. Sometimes wolves hunt bulls and they win. But sometimes they get the horns.”

People always wonder what I was wearing. Why when it comes to girls and wolves do we let our brains look for reasons why she deserved to be prey before we notice his fangs?)

I give enough fucks to fill a thimble. My fucks are the empty side of the hourglass: I have none left, they have trickled down like sand.

…that if you welcome touch, you must also welcome blame,

In the movies there are two kinds of women: Ones who have sex and people still look them in the eye, and ones who have sex and people look through them.

Although I wasn’t embarrassed at first. When you’re fourteen and just realizing maybe someone thinks you’re beautiful you can mistake the sound of howling for a heart song.

Rumors are like wildfire: a little breath and the flames are running catching burning The only difference is wildfire burns everything in its path, and a rumor about a slut only burns one.

It is incredible to me that boys are allowed to be boys for so long, while girls are made women years before we’re ready.

She’s the kind of person who carries a torch in her face. Every smile is electric…

Let me tell you a list of things that don’t exist: Flying pigs Dinosaurs——at least not anymore
Zombies
The Queen of Canada
Freddy Krueger
and
Sluts.

if all these things we talked about periods and body-shaming and hormones and gender roles or whatever and racism and slut-shaming if these are all weapons formed against us then we’re helping them prosper when we turn them against each other.

Alicia: Do you ever feel like if you have to balance one more thing on your head, everything will come crashing down
Geneva: Sometimes. But you know what the answer is when you feel like that?
Alicia: No
Geneva: Handing something to someone to hold;)
Alicia: I don’t think your hands are big enough
Geneva: Then maybe we can just put it down
Alicia: Or burn it
Geneva: Burning it is always an option

Dear Medusa is a book that is emotional and a glimpse at the sexism, privilege, and pains of growing up. Of the 'monstrosity' and the defense mechanism, the ways our body is weaponized or portrayed without our consent. I've been a fan of Olivia A. Cole for a few books now, and I knew I had to read this one! It's rage inducing because of how relatable certain scenes are: the predatory nature of some men, the ways they can be wolves in disguise, and how we can want to speak out, but are afraid.

Beautifully written! This novel in verse is everything that you would expect from a book written like this. You can feel the pain the shame the anger and the loneliness of the character. You can feel the hurt and how alone she feels in this cruel world. Loved it!

This was a really stunning book and especially translated well via audio. I've seen some other reviews talking about how it felt stilted when reading it in verse and I didn't experience that when listening to it. I did have it at a fairly fast speed so that probably plays a part in it but just something to consider if you choose to read this book.

It's a heavy one that has its central focus on sexual assault. I do wish that the Medusa aspect had been more fleshed out and discussed along with the main characters relationship with her mom and brother, but there were so many parts of the stuff that I really really liked. One of my favorite bits was that of her friend and figuring out her asexuality and discussing it. Our main character is bisexual and her best friend is asexual and I loved seeing The Ace and Bi comparisons regarding expectations and stereotypes because there's so much crossover that's wild. I also really loved the group facilitated by a researcher full of girls learning how to not only stand up for themselves but dismantle these systems that are put in place to pit women against each other and oppress us further for the benefit of men. I feel like there were a lot of great topics brought up during that and I would have liked to see it as a larger part of the story.

As a whole I think this is a very important book and one that I would recommend with the caveat that sexual assault is a very large content warning.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC.

I love books in verse and had high hopes for this YA novel on some really tough topics. Unfortunately, maybe it was the overall length, it never quite worked for me. Parts of it was moving and heart wrenching and then others I felt came off disjointed and almost confusing.

Nonetheless, I’d recommend.

Dear Medusa is a novel in verse about 16 yo Alicia Rivers. I didn't know much about this book when I started it, and it may the best way to read it in my opinion, but TW for: slutshaming, sexual abuse, rape (not on page), abuse by a man in power, sexual assault, racism, lesbophobia...

While I did receive an ARC of this through Netgalley, I ended up listening to the audiobook cause reading with my eyes has been a challenge these past weeks.
Anyway, the audiobook is narrated by the author and it was really good. It's also a pretty fast read but it's definitely a heavy one. I did like the verse of it all, it made it go straight to the point and I enjoyed that. The main character was really layered and I found her very interesting but overall, I thought this did lack a little depth. Maybe it was a bit too short even. I didn't feel all the things I thought I would but also, maybe I disconnected cause it hits a little bit too close to home on some fronts. So, don't trust me, and go read this. It's definitely one of a kind.
This was barely a review, let's blame it on my work schedule.

This meant a lot to me. I think sexual assault and trauma can happen to anyone, at any age, but this author speaking from 16 year old Alicia's pov really gave this particular trauma a strong voice.

Alicia's whole life changed after being sexually assaulted by a popular teacher. The girl who ran track and wanted a future was gone, but throughout this story told in verse, Alicia does regain her strength. Particularly with the help of other girls, other strong girls that show her that she is worth fighting for.

I loved the tie-in with Medusa, particularly the ending. I have heard and read many variations on Medussa's story at this point, and it has become so clear to me that she was not the monster in her tale. I am so thankful to all the strong people out there, including this author, writing these stories and helping everyone no matter where they are in life with a problem that is so much more common than what I believe many people think.

This novel in verse tells the story of a teen who has been sexually abused and all of the negative that her perceived reputation has brought her. In it, she compares herself and her situation to that of Medusa's and it's very insightful to how not every is as it appears. It was heart wrenching and difficult to get through because of the content but it was a powerful read.

Well written verse that looks at sexual assault and trauma. Cole provides excellent character development for both main and supporting characters as well as examining trauma without focusing on the abuser.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this one early! As a fan of THE POET X and as someone who works in a secondary school setting, DEAR MEDUSA seemed like a similarly powerful story that may serve as a mirror for teens in the building. There is a lot of social commentary here that was well-discussed and absolutely important to see on-page, but the depth and analysis felt uneven. There were also some choices in the book's construction (i.e. some plot points not being explored at all/enough, some important things happening off-page, etc.) that brought the book down for me. However, I appreciate the conversations DEAR MEDUSA brought to light and could see myself recommending it to students who may need it in the future.

*Actual rating: 4.5 stars*

This was a very powerful story told in verse. It made me emotional by the end, and I can definitely see myself revisiting it in the future.

CW:
slut shaming
Bullying
Sexual assault by an educator
Harassment
Religious trauma

In short this is a powerful story of a survivor of sexual assault and the unfortunate but true aftermath they have to deal with. This story is very real, raw , and emotional. So much so that it is hard to read at times. Alicia will fight to reclaim herself and her power.

I really appreciate the chance to have read this.

Dear Medusa is a novel-in-verse about a 16-year-old girl named Alicia coping with her sexual abuse, primarily sexual abuse from one of her teachers.

I knew this book would be tough to read going into it, but I truly didn't realize how hard it would be to get through. Usually, poetry/poetic writing doesn't really get to me, but novels in verse always hit so much harder because of their quick pace. The quick pace along with the heavy, HEAVY content made it so so hard to get through it without anxiety because I just felt for Alicia so much every time she talked about feeling disconnected from her body because of her abuse. While this book was so so hard to get through, I think the message of being able to reclaim your body and learn to cope with trauma is so important. It really was powerful and the ending made me tear up a bit.

When a story grabs you and holds you it’s a well-written one. I couldn’t put this down today. It is a story told in verse and with so much emotion. I appreciated all the perspectives and emotions. Wow! The story flows and the characters grow and experience the rollercoaster of life. It captures how the kids in high school think and how they feel. I highly recommend this book.

This was a searing portrayal of a 16 year old girl dealing with the aftermath of sexual abuse by a “favorite” teacher, called The Colonel. Cole does NOT hold back, the anger and horror of what has happened to Alicia flows throughout this novel in verse. She compares herself to Medusa, to the point of writing letters to her and those who have wronged Medusa. I may need to come back and write more about this one…it’s going to stay with me for a long time.

Dear Medusa is a hard one to read when you delve into why our girl Alicia is doing what she's doing against all of anyone's wants and expects her to do. She wants you to hate her but also leaves her alone, her red hair and lack of physical attire, but it does the opposite for the wolves in her life.
I will say the arc on my kindle chopped it up a lot but when I read it on my iPad it was very palatable to read. I definitely think women should read this, especially teenagers to recognize the signs and have more understanding of what survivors do to cope and look out for them as much as you can on your end.
TW:
CSA
religious shame and trauma
bullying
slut shaming
sexual harassment

“ This searing and intimate novel in verse follows a sixteen-year-old girl coping with sexual abuse as she grapples with how to reclaim her story, her anger, and her body in a world that seems determined to punish her for the sin of surviving.”

This book is written in free form verse, which was very different from my usual reads, but didn’t change my opinion of the story any- which is, this was good. Heavy, emotional, powerful. It was hard to read at times, knowing that this happens every. Single. Day. The wolves are out there. We just have to outrun them. Outsmart them. Not let them win. Thank you Olivia, for this beautifully written novel. Thank you NetGalley and Random House Kids for allowing me to read and review.

Dear Medusa by Olivia A. Cole

Published: March 14, 2023
Labyrinth Road
Genre: Teen & Young Adult Poetry
Pages: 382
KKECReads Rating: 5/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Olivia A. Cole is a writer from Louisville, Kentucky. Her essays have been published by Bitch Media, Real Simple, the Los Angeles Times, HuffPost, Teen Vogue, Gay Mag, and more. She teaches creative writing at Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts, where she guides her students through not only poetry and fiction but also considerations of the world and who they are in it. She is the author of several books for children and adults.

“Ever since last year, everything sounds like justice or its burning absence.”

Alicia is drowning in a secret so vile it’s changed who she is. She does things to help her escape, even if they aren't always things she wants. When she lets her guard down, she meets some people who shine a light in her heart and help clear away the shadows.

This was beautiful, haunting, and brilliantly done. I have never read a novel written like this, and I found the style so powerful. I loved the community Alicia found, despite not looking. And the friendships that blossomed from the depths.

The power of unity is so precious in this book, and the feeling of acceptance is strong. I loved the themes and found the characters brilliantly curated.

Most women will identify with some if not all, aspects of Alicia. Sadly, too many of us have had that door closed and have had to tread the darkness of shame and self-loathing.

I loved the friends Alicia found in this book. And I love the way they saw each other. Human. Flawed but worthy. The bonds were beautiful, and the strength was real.

I loved the use of imagery in this book, and the way running was associated with finding freedom but also avoidance. The use of distraction was clever and heartbreaking.

This was a powerful book, and the messages contained within these poetic lines are so important. Scream. Be loud. Be seen. It is okay to take up space and be visible.

Thank you, NetGalley for allowing me to read this book before publication date.

I don't often read novels written in verse, but I really enjoyed this one. It was tough content, but an important look at that content. Teenagers can be horrible to each other, and Alicia struggles every day. Her family life is falling apart. Her reputation at school has seen better days. And, she is exploring her sexuality, in a society that is often unfair to girls.

I love how Alicia is an example of many many woman who the world labels as “sluts or whores” without even wondering or thinking about her or the trauma she’s been through. The fact that the story is about her dealing with her pain in that way instead of Blake and how she dealt with her pain. Alicia and this book I believe will be relatable to a lot of girls who are labeled the problem or the bad one because everyone talks about the perfect one that hides her pain behind her smile but not about the one who is clearly going through it and not hiding behind it.