A novella by Matthew R. Davis, The Dark Matter of Natasha is exactly what the title indicates - dark. It's a story about adolescence, coming of age, lust, regret, and trauma. I don't trust myself to give a comprehensive list of trigger warnings for this novella, but I will list the most prominent ones at the very end of this blog post.*
We follow the story through the eyes of our main character, as he looks back on a time in his youth when things started going downhill for himself. When he made a string of decisions that led him to hurt himself and the people around him. He's a typical teenage boy - full of lust and desire, with a sex drive that's essentially reaching overdrive. He's not a particularly likeable character, and I don't think he's a particularly memorable one, either, but he is very believable.
The atmosphere was a 10/10 for me. Though I found the writing style to be a bit presumptuous at times, it did kind of work at times, helping to create the dark, unsettling atmosphere of the novella. My intrigue level was pretty high, as I was very much curious as to where the story would go, though I did see the ending coming at one point before the main character did, which I'm not sure was the author's intention.
Overall, a decent read, and it gets extra points for being a quick one, but I don't think it's one I will be remembering. I feel like if this had come out during my grungy teen days, it would have had the power to stay with me, but sadly I feel like I've grown out of this type of story.
Huge thanks to The Write Reads and Grey Matter Press for the early access to this book and allowing me to review it!
*Trigger warnings for this novella: suicide, drug and alcohol abuse, sexual assault.
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