*Many thanks to Flatiron Books, NetGalley, and Alisson Wood for an ARC of this book!*

Raw, engrossing, and unputdownable! Being Lolita is a journey through Alisson Wood's experiences as a teenager and young woman, from her descent as the idealized 'nymphet' created by the grooming of her teacher Mr. North's Humbert Humbert to the poised, strong and unabashedly honest woman she is today.

This memoir is completely consuming---I finished it in a matter of hours! Wood manages to handle such delicate topics and complicated emotions with effortless ability. Not once does she idealize her abuser, even in her reflections of her past, but she still manages to give the reader a sense of how easily a situation can spiral and how quickly innocence can be stolen with the right words and actions. This book also incorporates a fascinating study of the source material Lolita itself, with plenty of exploration of context, origin, and allusions used in Nabokov's work which is interesting in its own right.

This is one of the most unique and fast-paced memoirs I've ever read, and I would strongly recommend it to anyone interested in the concept of Lolita, as long as sensitive topics discussed in the book are not triggering to you. An essentially important conversation to be had, and kudos to Alisson Wood for taking this step and sharing her story! 4.5

An intense, distressing book that should be required for anyone interested in Lolita or #metoo. Alisson Wood takes us through a terrifying and strange journey in which she is groomed and abused by her teacher, "Mr. North." Beautifully written and well-paced. I finished it all in one sitting. Would make a great book club discussion.

This was an easy read. I feel funny saying I "enjoyed it" given the book is about an abusive relationship, but I was invested in the story. Very well written.

This book is different than any I’ve ever read. It’s a quick read but it’s incredibly well-written and literary. I felt like I was talking with Alisson the entire time—not that I was reading her story. She manages to combine her experience and beautiful language in a way that feels like you’re in a high level English class. The amount of self reflection and awareness in this memoir is amazing. There is so much growth and insight into the relationship between Alisson and the teacher. Highly recommend.

Being Lolita is a different read for me. I enjoy reading this book. This is the second Memoir I read this year that I enjoyed. When it's published I will be purchasing a physical copy of this book. I need a physical copy on hand. I couldn't put it down. It flowed so smoothly. It's raw, emotional, vulnerable, and efficacious book. I love a memoir that reads like a novel. It kept my interest. Majoring in psychology I get to read about a teen who suffered from abuse from someone way older than Lolita that had no business being involved with her. I really felt for Lolita the manipulation, the abuse, how he hurts her every time you can only imagine the mental she suffers from. I really feel like this should be a English read in high school and college because what Lolita went through can damage someone mentally. I would recommend this book especially to young women. I'm quite sure some of us then crushed on or professors are teachers who we even had a fantasy of being involved with. But nobody deserves that at all. A person older will always manipulate but that's more damaging than anything. Well done such and amazing read the rawness that was delivered is what kept me reading. Thank you Net galley for granting me the early access to read this one. This is one book that I would talk about when being asked what my favorite memoir is.

Being Lolita is a more a story of abuse than it is about a loss of innocence. Set in the early 2000s, before the #MeToo movement, it's hard to believe that the author was unaware of the abuse of power the Teacher had over her. Read today, it makes me angry. Read through the lens of my own experiences, I understand how it could happen. Ali, as she is called throughout the book, is a high school student, already reeling from a year in an alternative school, with a history of depression and cutting. Gifted in language arts, she is assigned to a creative writing class with Mr North, a new teacher to the school. He is young, and in her eyes cute, and she develops a crush on him. He gifts her a copy of Nabokov's Lolita and says it reminds him of her.
This book is written in a casual prose style - it reads like a novel. Where the book takes a turn into the surreal for me is how a high school senior, who has a history of insomnia and late arrivals to school, is so unsupervised in her home life that nightly meetings at diners and coffee shops go entirely unnoticed by her family. There is mention of a younger sister and parents, but off-the-cuff pronouncements about 'studying with friends' go unchallenged.
When she turns 18, then graduates from high school, Ali thinks it will be ok for their relationship to go public - he resists and maintains the secrecy. When the relationship turn to sex, he hurts her every time. She still doesn't break away. She had also committed to attending university in Ithaca where he claimed to be moving to continue his own graduate work at Cornell, The abuse of power is so overwhelming. I feel bad about what the author experienced, but I am horrified that not one person intervened.
This book is well written and there is a sort of happy ending. My wish for all who read it recognize that it is a cautionary tale, not a romance.

(SPOILERS) Beautifully written book about the author’s experience in high school and beyond with a predatory teacher obsessed with the book Lolita.

This was a difficult book to enjoy. The teacher was a repulsive “character” grooming his teenage student victim through flattery and secrets and humiliation. Throughout the wonderfully-written small chapters, I was uneasy and angry. My heart hurt reading page after page of his manipulation of his student.
The author reflects as an adult on her experiences with the teacher. There seemed to be gaps to the story that I’m sure were intentional but I wanted more. As a reader I wanted more information about how she healed and grew following the abuse and manipulation. As an avid reader and an English major I loved the new things I learned about Poe and Nabokov as well as how it felt to read about how much a teacher can help us grow from reading and questioning literature.

This would be an excellent book discussion choice.


Thanks to Flatiron Books and Netgalley for the electronic book. #bookstagram #books #bookstagrammer #flatiron_books @flatiron_books #alissonwood #beinglolita @literarytswift

Being Lolita is both gripping and appalling. Alisson Wood has been unsparing in sharing her story of being sexually abused at the hands of her charming and charismatic high school English teacher who convinced her that she was his Lolita. He took advantage of her youth, naivete, and vulnerability in the worst way possible, all while pretending to be a loving mentor. I could not put the book down, and yet had to walk away at times. Ms. Wood's story is a painful and horrific one and she is not coy about the details. I was pulled in instantly. This is a story I know is all too common but it is rarely shared. That's what makes this an important memoir which I hope will be widely read and discussed. Perfect for book groups. I know I will be adding it to my book group's reading list as soon as possible.

“He read to me from the book in his bed, Nabokov’s lines, the opening of Lolita’s part two: It was then that began our extensive travels all over... I understood how romantic this all would be. How much like Lolita this really was.”

The year is 2001, 17 year old Alisson just returned to high school after bouts of depression and ultimately ECT therapy. She feels empty and unmotivated until a certain attractive English teacher starts to take an interest.

There have been and always be “Lolitas” in this world but damn, Alisson’s story is eeriely parallel to Nabokov’s Lolita - from her Humbert Humbert (re: Nick North), to the diary entries and everything in between. While some of these parallels Alisson admitted her 17 year old did on purpose (Nick gave her a copy of Lolita and glorified it in every way so she often embodied Lolita in her actions when she didn’t know what to do), most of them were just a coincidence and clear only on later reflection.

At the core of this story is ultimately the heart-wrenching story of a teenager and her abusive, manipulative, perverse, gas-lighting, Lolita-obsessed older lover.

I hate to say that I “liked it” but i couldn’t put it down. “Being Lolita” is a very well-written, raw, emotional, vulnerable and impactful book. I have no doubt it will leave a lasting impression on many.

Trigger warnings: sexual/verbal abuse, pedophilia, depression etc.

Cover art: 5/5
Audience: Adult
Memoir/Non-fiction

This book had so much potential but due to the format on the e-book not being edited yet, it was extremely hard to get through with all of the words smashed together in certain places which really took away from the book. I felt like it could’ve been written in a way that was easier to understand as it felt a bit choppy for me.

Alison Wood’s brave story should be required alongside reading whenever “Lolita” is required to be read. This side of the teacher/student relationship is rarely shared.

A compelling story, and I appreciate what it must've taken to write this, but the writing felt a little basic. And maybe this is because it was written from the teenage perspective, but the tone felt a little too lighthearted for the seriousness of the subject matter. Also worth mentioning that this is incredibly similar to My Dark Vanessa.

This book will break your heart, then pull it back together again through moments of healing. Alisson Wood is a gifted storyteller who uses a propulsive sense of plot to grip her reader and keep you turning pages. This is a story about a woman who decides to confront her past traumas from an abusive relationship with her high school teacher to better understand herself as an adult through a journey marked by tremendous self-awareness and unlearning of false narratives. What really elevates "Being Lolita," for me, is Wood's way of bringing her story full-circle and breaking the cycle of abuse in a classroom environment. As a teacher herself now, she writes movingly of being the kind of caring mentor who can see aspects of herself in her students. This is an urgent, timely read for our current moment.

Being Lolita by Alisson Wood, has been a heartbreaking privilege that has captivated me for the last week. I made the decision to read this memoir slow, a few chapters each night so that I could let each word resonate in me.

The author tells her own story, as it parallels the life of the ever popular, Lolita. Both young, both beautiful, both manipulated, both preyed upon, by older men.

This book is raw. This book brings up buried emotions. This book is uncomfortable. This book is important.

A coming of an age memoir of a young girl whom is groomed by her writing tutor while in high school. It is a shocking portrayal of the dark side of a man exoiting the innocence of a young girl. Fabulously written. Emotionally compelling.

Beautifully written memoir about the relationship between the author and her high school English teacher that lasted for two years, as he groomed her to be his Lolita. He was fixated on the novel and basically their entire abusive relationship revolved in a perverted way around the book.
Thanks to FlatIron Books and Netgalley for the digital review copy.

A sad story of abuse that read a bit like high school gossip; lots of details about notes and after school meetings. Tone didn’t meet the gravity of the topic.

The Kindle version had so many formatting issues it was impossible for me to read. No spacing between words for a page at a time. The book was interesting and I stuck with it as long as I could.

I look forward to reviewing an updated copy.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC for an honest opinion.

This was at times hard to read as this follows a teacher student relationship but it was well done. This was a breathtakingly written novel that tackles such a controversial topic and if you enjoyed “My Dark Vanessa” then you will enjoy this memoir about this young women’s journey of self discovery and overcoming this difficult time in her life. This book tackles a lot of issues such as obsession, manipulation and so many other topics. This is a coming of age hard hitting memoir not to be missed!

What a beautiful memoir by Alisson Wood, who did an amazing job with this book. What an important theme of a book, through the eyes of the victim as a young girl. As a student, Wood shares how she fell victim and was groomed by her English teacher in high school. The author shares with us her memories, I loved how raw and genuine she was about her expirience and rewrites her own life.
This book would be excellent for book club discussions and buddy reads.

Thank you to Netgalley and Flat Iron for this opportunity.

[ I will be posting my review on my social media handles on publication day ]