Dear Medusa

(A Novel in Verse)

By: Olivia A. Cole

Narrated by: Olivia A. Cole

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 is more than a story about sexual violence—this book is about race, sexuality, love, and how anger can be a catalyst for healing."—Gabrielle Union, bestselling author, actress, and producer

Sixteen-year-old Alicia Rivers has a reputation that precedes her. But there’s more to her story than the whispers that follow her throughout the hallways at school—whispers that splinter into a million different insults that really mean: a girl who has had sex. But what her classmates don't know is that Alicia was sexually abused by a popular teacher, and that trauma has rewritten every cell in her body into someone she doesn't recognize. To the world around her, she’s been cast, like the mythical Medusa, as not the victim but the monster of her own story: the slut who asked for it.

Alicia was abandoned by her best friend, quit the track team, and now spends her days in detention feeling isolated and invisible. When mysterious letters left in her locker hint at another victim, Alicia struggles to keep up the walls she's built around her trauma. At the same time, her growing attraction to a new girl in school makes her question what those walls are really keeping out.

"[This] fierce and brightly burning feminist roar…paints a devastating and haunting portrait of a vulnerable young woman discovering the power of her voice, her courage, and her rage."—Samira Ahmed, New York Times bestselling author of Internment and Hollow Fires

©2023 Olivia A. Cole (P)2023 Listening Library

Critic reviews

★ "Emotionally raw verse critically portrays one teenager’s experience dealing with the aftermath of assault, and provides a sharp look into cultures built on oppressing survivors’ voices....both vulnerable and fierce, Cole boldly examines agency, bodily autonomy, and internalized misogyny."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Dazzling with clarity, blistering with anger....In shimmering verse, Cole breathes life into each young woman....This book is as wide in scope as it is economical in its language. Illuminating." —Kirkus Reviews

“A #MeToo novel-in-verse that tackles purity culture, slut-shaming, and female rage all while honoring survivors with a plot that centers the healing journey of the main character. This book is brutal and ugly in its truth, but gentle and gorgeous in its embodiment of hope.” —Ashley Woodfolk, New York Times Book Review “20 Great Queer YA books to Add to Your Reading List”

Striking metaphor about men and young women

I enjoyed this unlikely narrator. It was a unique POV and a relevant topic. I also liked the way the narrator referred to men as wolves and women as rabbits. There was a lyrical nature to the language that translated well to the audio format. However, the story fell a bit flat. I wish there was more to the characters than just their experiences with coming of age and sex. Toward the end it felt repetitive.