All the Beautiful Things - Paperback

QL likes to collect heads. Not just any heads, mind. The heads of the things he loves. And he likes to keep them all on his special wall of beautiful things, so that even in death, they can still be his forever.

QL Buscemi grew up with a hard life. Abandoned at birth, he was raised by his aunt and uncle in an abusive home. That was until his fixation for collecting the heads of dead animals became a problem. Soon he started talking to a voice in his head and acting strangely around other people. Fed up with his issues, his aunt and uncle place him into a home for "special children," despite its reputation for neglecting patients. There, QL encounters even more abuse, neglect and intolerance for his mental health issues, which only get worse since he refuses to take his medication. He finally leaves "the center" after twenty brutal years.

Finally free to live on his own at last, a 31-year-old QL becomes infatuated with his pretty neighbor who lives across the street, 20-year-old Danielle Pinota, who is herself finally free of a home where she was a "second mom" to her kid brother. As QL's attachment to Danielle grows, he wants to get to know her better. And keep her close to him forever. But he has to be careful. He always hurts the things he loves. At least if he hurts Danielle from loving her too much, just like he had with his pets, she could still be his forever ... on his wall of beautiful things.