Review: All the Ugly and Wonderful Things

All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I'm obviously in the minority with this one. All the Ugly and Wonderful Things is captivating from the very beginning and I didn't want to put it down. The writing and the raw emotion is five-star quality. Even with all of that I still couldn't love it because of the content.

Wavy is deeply damaged from her life with two abusive drug dealers/addicts as parents. The things she's witnessed in her short time on earth leave no question as to why she is the way she is. When she meets Kellen (who is somewhat slow but he's still a grown man) he takes care of her in a way her parents never have. The two of them develop an unlikely friendship that would never be allowed outside of this toxic family. As disturbing as I found their relationship, I was also glad that Wavy finally had someone who was looking out for her best interests. That inner conflict made it hard for me to determine how I felt about the book in general. As she gets older their relationship naturally progresses and it's that turning point that happens a little too soon that prevents me from absolutely loving this book.

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