In my room, Wavy stood between the two beds, dripping onto the rug. Mom looked anxious, but I was thrilled to have my real live cousin in my room.

Inappropriate usage of drugs - such as cocaine - in front of children ( putting a spoon up their nose starts to look like it might be the next step to growing up) Wow! This was a spectacular book. I devoured this story. Beginning to end, I was completely lost in this disturbing, yet beautiful, love story. The police came to make a report, to get a picture, to put out a bulletin. The neighbors turned out to look for Wavy, but at dawn she returned on her own. We read how Wavy and Kellen view their relationship. But we also get to see how other people feel about it. Not just Wavy's Aunt Brenda and her cousins, but also school teachers, social workers, judges, lawyers, drug dealers, jewelers and many others. While I loved the story, I know that this is a story that many people will not enjoy. There are several difficult and highly controversial topics in this book. I'm pretty open-minded, but even I had a hard time with the relationship turning physical between Wavy (13-14 years old) and Kellen (25 or so years old). As a fictitious story, I was able to come to terms with it eventually. However, in no way would I ever condone that relationship in real life.

Reader Reviews

Until then I hadn’t known the stars had names. Arm extended, finger pointing, Wavy traced out shapes above her head, as though she were guiding the movements of the stars. A conductor directing a symphony. Bryn Greenwood: I mostly avoid them. After all, it’s too late to revise the book to please anyone else. Plus, I remind myself that not every book is for everybody. People who don’t like my book, it’s not for them. Things might have gotten better after that, if it hadn’t been for the other secret between Wavy and me. She liked to sneak out of the house at night, and I went with her. Breezing down the stairs on bare feet, we eased open the kitchen door and walked around the neighborhood. But he is 25 for god’s sake and I can’t reconcile with that fact that he has sex with a child. And no matter how neglected, alone, unhappy, abused or mature the heroine is, some boundaries should never be crossed, ever. Especially if you’re sending out a message to a wide audience including teenagers. The baddest of the bad guys were so well written. I hated all the adults and even some of the kids. I don’t know that I truly liked any of them. Well, except maybe Amy.

Esta historia no es bonita. La verdad es que no es para todo el mundo. Es la historia de Wavy y Kellan, dos personas con hogares difíciles y abusos infantiles. Si, es una historia de amor, pero no en el inicio.

In the beginning we read about Wavy staying with her aunt and her cousins. She does strange things, she doesn't talk, but she's fun to one of her cousins. Then she goes home with her mother Val. And her mother is pregnant. Donal comes a little later and Wavy takes care of him. Was it all completely realistic? Maybe not. But in the end this is a fiction book and by remembering that it helped me to relax and just appreciate the story. Are my beliefs changed by what I read? Not really. Maybe this sounds strange and I don't really know how to explain what I mean, but I just feel a bit different after reading this. At the heart of this book is a love story between a child and a man. Wavy meets Kellan when she’s about 8. He’s 24. Kellan starts out as a protector — sort of friend but almost family. As Wavy gets older and becomes a teenager, their relationship takes a turn it shouldn’t. Their relationship becomes more boyfriend and girlfriend. I couldn’t stomach this. Three months spending every day in the same room with child molesters and rapists. The whole thing gave me a creeping dread of myself, but I didn't have to lie in the exit interview. Do you still have sexual fantasies about young girls? they asked. No. I never had. I thought about Wavy a hundred times a day, but Wavy was Wavy, not some young girl. I am so impressed by this author. There were quite a few characters in this book, and they were all interesting and well developed. I had no problem following the story-line and keeping all of the characters straight. In my opinion the story was fantastic and very well written.