Wild and Crooked is the story of two kids who are living the consequences of the actions their parents took before they were born. Kalyn’s father is in prison for the murder of Gus’s dad. And yet the two form an unlikely friendship that leads to discoveries of long buried secrets and the upheaval of an entire town.
While this novel isn’t billed as a mystery, it reads like one. Kalyn and Gus form an unlikely friendship and through that friendship they begin to explore the story they have been told of how Gus’s father was killed. When pieces of the puzzle just don’t seem to make sense, they dig further. They unearth a culture of violence, bullying, and secrets that has long held the town in its grips.
This is a very raw novel. Emotions run very high throughout and the imagery and content are mature and graphic in nature. As such, this book is far more appropriate for the older young adult audience. While the end of the story is one of redemption and finding friendships in a search for honesty, some readers may be turned off by the abundance of language as outlined below.
Overall, the book is a little bit of a slower read, but doesn’t overly suffer from that fact. Fans of Thomas’s previous works such as When Light Left Us will find the writing and style similar and the same edginess that exists in her previous works.
Review of an Advance Reading Copy
This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Bloomsbury Children’s Books
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: 20 religious exclamations; 137 mild obscenities; 15 religious profanities; 5 derogatory names; 90 scatological words; 28 anatomical terms; 2 offensive hand gestures; 57 f-word derivatives.
Violence/Gore: Numerous references to murder; reference to a stabbing; spanking; two instances of fist fights; teen cuts off another’s hair; fall results in minor injuries; report of boy being pushed into bonfire resulting in severe burns; recounting of multiple instances of severe bullying; cut to hand; references to bruises from spousal and child abuse on multiple occasions; lunch tray is thrown at teen’s head; teen is pulled over ledge inside building resulting in injury; pulling hair; hot chocolate thrown in teen’s face; 2 page violent riot with severe beating of teen.
Sex/Nudity: Reference to penis/erection; two discussions of sexuality of characters; crude references to cold tits in metal bras; two instances of hand on thigh/under skirt; three kisses between same sex and opposite sex partners.
Mature Subject Matter:
Socioeconomic conflict; death; abortion; unplanned pregnancy; mental disorders; child abuse; spouse abuse; ethics; stealing; murder; incarceration.
Alcohol / Drug Use:
Smoking marijuana.
