What a narrative to get swept up in. Something that I personally find hard to wrap my head around and probably only because of the climate I have been raised in. Why would it be so far fetched to believe that a love story could be developed that way? That age is the only thing that separates a “sweet” love story into an “uncomfortable” story with labels like pedophile and rape. I still don’t know how I feel about it. I was very uncomfortable reading it, I was gutted by how raw the scenario was—the neglect and hardship that Wavy had to endure to find protection, acceptance, love and support in someone that was unlikely.
The layering of this story was done well and I found it unique in the sense that we didn’t get the perspective from just Wavy. I couldn’t find myself liking or disliking any one character. They were all just observers playing the hand that was dealt the best way they knew how. I think the author picks at the readers moral compass well—as I said, I was very uncomfortable with how the relationship evolved and how that discomfort lessened just when the age range changed. Greenwood proposed the question, “(Kellen) sought to ‘delineate and define boundaries and to seek mutual respect. The end result is not what (we) would wish for any young girl…but then—what part of Wavy’s life is?” And this is where I find my thoughts reeling… for Wavy’s character was dealt the worst kind of hand and found her HAE in a way that most would not find savoury at all. But then—I wonder—why is it that I can stomach the fact that she grew up neglected and in perpetual fear of her own mother and father… yet fell in love with the ONLY man to offer her love, support and protection.
This is definitely a book to read and discuss. Something to stick with you for a while even after finishing that last chapter.