I spent a long time thinking about how to describe this book. I think this sentence from the SLJ review sums it up pretty well: "This is an astoundingly dark but beautifully written tragedy, brimming with sexual assault, violent murders, and accounts of animal abuse that will be difficult for most individuals, but also tempered with glimpses of genuine human emotion and extremely touching displays of kindness that cross social barriers and species." 
 It was very hard to read. It's both a know your reader/trigger warning kind of book, and also one that deserves to be widely read and discussed by teens and their adults for its look at rape culture and its consequences. 
 A standout scene is when Peekay's dad (the preacher) talks to her and her friend about safety. The scene was both hilarious and tear-inducing, and a shining example of family function in the landscape of dysfunctional families that often populate YA. "There's nothing you can ever do that will make you unwelcome in my house." 
 Other favorite quotes: 
 "Because if there's a version of him that feeds birds as winter descends, then there is a decency that he chose to overlook when he did other things." 
 "Venting your primal self in an emotional moment can be more than your socially constructed self can handle after the fact." 
 "You can love someone down to their core and they can love you right back just as hard, and if you traded diaries you'd learn things you never suspected. There's a part of everyone deep down inside of them not meant for you. And the sooner you learn that, the easier your life is gonna be."