Published: 1st April 2015
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Pages: 247
Format: Book
Genre: Young Adult
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Stars
A rock chick.
An artist with attitude.
A girl with a past.
A party animal.
Four lives collide when one of the world’s most famous paintings is stolen. It’s a mystery that has the nation talking, but while Picasso’s Weeping Woman might be absent from the walls of the National Gallery, in other parts of Melbourne the controversial painting’s presence is being felt by Guy, Rafi, Luke and Penny for four very different reasons.
Life, love, art and one giant party intersect in this offbeat comedy about good intentions, unexpected consequences and the irresistible force of true love.
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this story. It was a great story already and Williams tells it in a way that engages you and intrigues you, especially with so many characters and their agendas to work around. It was a different story than the kind I had been reading and it definitely stood out.
Set in the 80s and based on true events, there is a great history woven into this narrative. It brings the story and characters to life as Williams puts us inside her character’s minds. I’m not sure whether it was because I knew this was based off true events, or whether Williams created such unique and fleshed out characters, but each of them felt real. We’re inside their heads, we see so many different points of view we get to know them all individually, not through the eyes of one character. I could picture them so easily, I was there with them, I understood their motives and I loved it. Different voices also contribute to the different points of view, Williams making them each stand out and distinctive.
I could not put this down once I had started, I was engaged and invested in these characters and even though it was history it felt like it could have been fictional. One thing I found clever was how Williams has overlapped events, the same moment through the eyes of different characters. It adds another layer of style and creativity, plus form a storytelling aspect gives you another point of view to the same moment.
The fact that you don’t know what is happening is good, and the fact you are trying to piece it all together is great, especially as you are unaware if there even is anything to understand.
The theft takes place in the 80s, but Williams has thankfully not shoved the 80s into our faces. Enough to set a place and a time but not overloaded so nostalgia and a need to remind people of the era takes away from the story.
I was impressed by the ending and I think Williams has wrapped up this story allowing the real events to play out, but also round out each of the characters we have come to know.
You can purchase The Guy, The Girl, The Artist and the Ex via the following
QBD | Booktopia | Book Depository
Angus and Robinson | Dymocks | Wordery
Fishpond | Amazon Aust | Amazon
The slide opened and I heard a gentle, kind voice: What is your confession, my child? 
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister’s ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.
Dana and Hope used to be best friends in elementary school. When they got to high school they lost touch. Dana got busy with soccer and Hope found a boyfriend. When they are paired up together for a project, Dana and Hope get the chance to get to know each other all over again. They’ll realize that both girls have changed in the last three years of high school. 
Ellingham Academy is a famous private school in Vermont for the brightest thinkers, inventors, and artists. It was founded by Albert Ellingham, an early twentieth century tycoon, who wanted to make a wonderful place full of riddles, twisting pathways, and gardens. “A place” he said, “where learning is a game.”
