Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood

101 reviews

oriana095's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

yilliun's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I have never felt more conflicted about a book. I would not call Wavy and Kellen’s relationship a love story. Kellen could have taken that parental role without their relationship turning sexual. 

Wavy really tried to make the best of a bad situation and I understand many of those decisions were made under duress.

This book will leave you with many mixed feelings and the story will stay with you for a long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Child abuse

Moderate: Sexual content and Death of parent

wyabook234's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Drug abuse

tcrivera12's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

freadman666's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, and Abandonment

bootsmom3's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

sambo_0103's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent

Moderate: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Car accident

literatureleaf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Age: 18+

Reading time: 2 days

Difficulty level: 2 out of 5

Overall Rating: 7.5/10


All the Ugly and Wonderful Things follows protagonist Wavy as she comes of age in a small midwestern town where the most lucrative business opportunity is dealing, and by default doing, drugs. Her parents are caught up in this lifestyle, and the raising of her younger brother, Donal, falls to her. That is, until she meets an unlikely savior in the form of Kellen, a beefy biker who does business with her father. As Wavy ages, her relationship with Kellen deepens into something seen as wrong and broken by the world, but beautiful to them.

This book had more than a few moments that caused me to stop reading and gasp, or even throw the book across the room. I alternated between feeling visceral disgust, complete shock, deep sadness, and genuine compassion for what I was reading. The writing was raw and inspiring, yet easy to digest. The plot was solid, and, again easy to follow without feeling too simplistic or childish. The characterizations were executed extremely well, and the author was able to invoke genuine feelings of empathy for characters that, by and large, society sees as inhuman and disgusting in the real world. 

The story is told through the viewpoint of many different characters throughout the book, including Wavy herself, Kellen, Wavy’s cousin Amy, and several adults who witness different aspects of Wavy and Kellen’s relationship throughout the story. I thought these differing perspectives added a lot of depth to the book, and the contrast between how Wavy and Kellen viewed their bond, and how it appeared to the rest of the world, was painfully realistic and raw. It also served to remind the reader of the innate inappropriateness of the relationship that they may have found themselves beginning to root for. 

Despite how much I enjoyed this book, I must admit that it was not perfect. Overall, the first half of the book was much stronger than the latter half. There is a turning point in the story that results in the separation of Wavy and Kellen, and from there the story moves through time at a much faster pace. The overall chapter length becomes shorter, and much of the beautiful prose and stylistic character and setting depictions from earlier in the book become scarce. I felt rushed while reading the second portion of this book, as if the author was just hurrying through events to get to the end.

Character development was also lacking in the latter half of the book. I thought that Wavy and Kellen became stagnant, almost as though they were stuck at the same ages they were when they first separated. This felt unrealistic to me, as the amount of time that passed during their separation would almost certainly result in neither character feeling the same when they finally reunite. The second part of the book also has a much more dramatic feel to it than the first half. Certain sequences feel dramatized for dramas sake, and the actions and feelings of the characters did not reflect how the author had set them up to think, feel, and behave throughout the course of the story. 

Regardless of the flaws of this book, I would wholly recommend it to anyone looking for a quick and easy read that will leave you thinking about it for weeks to come. This book toes the line between order and deviancy, love and hate, and empathy and disgust, while simultaneously taking the reader on a beautiful ride of lyrical prose, genuine dialogue, and thought-provoking interactions that will leave them questioning everything they thought they understood about life, love, and growing up.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, and Violence

Moderate: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Death of parent

Minor: Animal death and Eating disorder

jreads2me's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Very engaging book. Makes you think. Different perspectives are written well. Cried many times throughout the book. Don’t look at chapter names in the TOC, has minor spoilers. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Dysphoria

theblushbookworm's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This novel is incredibly uncomfortable to read but impossible to not finish. It completely drew me in despite the “romance” which is more or less pedophilia and only some of the book’s disturbing content. Nonetheless I recommend it, but check content warnings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Pedophilia, and Sexual content