What I loved about this book:
– The narration of the audio book was amazing! The narrator did an awesome job with different character voices, inflections, dialogue. Honestly, I don’t think I would’ve liked the book nearly as much if I would’ve read it instead of listened to it.
– Each chapter bouncing around to the different character’s points of view and narration. I enjoyed the way the author told the story through every character, and I looked forward to which character would be narrating the next chapter.
– The connectedness of the characters. From as minor as a teacher, or a roommate, to as major as the main protagonists, all the characters had a relationship with one another and were connected. Honestly, take out the child-man “love story” and I would’ve liked the book even more because the backdrop of the neglectful parents, the concerned relatives, the active meth lab with a slew of sketchy thugs and mistresses…all of that would’ve made a well rounded story without the pedophilia.
What I did NOT like:
– The entire premise of the 20+ year old thug immediately falling in love with an 8 year-old (already neglected and abused) girl was disturbing to say the least. The moment he started talking about her looks (her wispy hair, her tiny figure) at just 8 years-old, left a pit in my stomach. Not to mention the graphic sex scenes, especially when the girl CHILD narrated was extremely unsettling.
– The fantasizing and romanticizing of the entire child-man relationship: the initial “love at first sight”, the grooming, the “falling in love”, and the eventual ending up “happily ever after”… GROSS! And the fact that the girl still looked like a child even at the end of the book didn’t help at all.
– Finally, the ending was very unsettling. Family members and friends helping a pedophilic relationship to flourish, while an aunt who literally got a divorce over trying to ruin their relationship all of a sudden is ok with it?! No. I wish it would’ve ended up more realistically and less romanticism.