A review by morebedsidebooks
Wild and Crooked by Leah Thomas

mysterious

3.0

In Wild and Crooked by Leah Thomas, Kalyn and Gus are two teenagers that become unlikely friends despite a decades old murder that connects them. Set in small-town lush Kentucky autumn with a smell “like sticky cinnamon”, the slow burn here isn’t romance— but a mystery. As the friend to Gus, Phil, a Shakespeare quoting English Lit nerd puts it “I assumed Kayln’s arrival signified the commencement of a coming-of-age romantic comedy. In truth, this is a murder mystery. Perhaps a tragedy. I wasn’t wrong to think our lives a story. I was wrong about which genre we belong to.” 

Along with the sensationalism involved with true crime and the clash of so-called small-town values, identity is also a key theme. Less around sexuality, though there’s abundant queerness: Kalyn likes girls. Gus questions, regarded as pansexual by many readers and critics to quote “When it comes to people, I care about personality before anything else, and gender’s another characteristic that factors into that. Maybe that does land me in one queer realm or another”. Plus, his mother has a female partner. The story additionally touches on disability and mental health. Gus has cerebral palsy while Phil has antisocial personality disorder. It’s part character study, in the end what internal or external factors do or don’t define someone? 

Further to note, garnering young adult award nominations, this is another title that has been listed among book challenges. 
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