This book broke my heart. From the moment the first sentence began until the last sentence ended, my heart felt as if it were folding in on itself. Bouncing back and forth between a call~and~response type pattern with flashes forward into the future and tumbles into the past, this is an emotionally charged narrative that will leave you wondering why?

Emma Jean’s desire for a daughter was born of her own need to feel loved, wanted and needed (an overall theme in this book, which is why I think the characters in this book are so relatable). But it’s not just the emotional, physical and psychological damage that is done to Perfect that begs to be examined, it’s the damage that was been done to Emma Jean in her past that made me pity her. No member of the Peace family remains unscathed by this tragedy and Black does a wonderful job of exploring the hurt and rage that the revelation of the truth provokes.

This novel made me question everything that I associate with gender and sexuality ~ what does it mean to be a girl or to be a boy? Can one’s gender be changed by nature or nurture?

What I liked most was that Black didn’t wrap the book up with a pretty little bow at the end, the characters are given some measure of healing but deep down you know that they’ll continue to pay the price for Emma Jean’s deceptions for the rest of their lives.