This book is so disturbing. It is about a child that is mentally and physically abused by her parents to the point that she hardly speaks, eats out of the trash and refuses to be touched by age 5. At age eight she meets a grown man that takes on a “fatherly” role by protecting her, taking her to school, going to parent teacher meetings. That relationship turns into him sexually abusing her by age 13. The author tries to make it seem consensual but children can not consent. The only adult in the book that is horrified by this situation (the aunt) and takes the steps to see the pedophile put in prison is vilified. The man goes to jail for 6 of the 10 years he was sentenced for and while the main character spends that time growing up graduating and going to college, she is still emotionally and physically stunted. The author tried to make it into a love story and the man and the victim end up together after he is released from prison. I have read some amazing books about children that were molested as children and the way they grow as an adult. This is not one of those books.