erica_reads_things's review
- 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
5.0
There are many reviews that I have seen that reduce this to a " groomer pedophile book", and I have to disagree. We clearly see Kellan's perspective because it is written. We clearly see Wavy's perspective because it is written. This book highlights how complicated human emotions can be and are, especially amongst families and communities that have been deeply traumatized. Traumatized people sometimes make choices that others don't understand; that maybe aren't healthy or "right", but what they feel they and those in their lives need.
This book made me feel a lot of things: uncomfortable, sad, hopeful, weepy. For that, I'd call this a win. It's understandibly not for everyone though, so check triggers.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Body shaming, Car accident, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content
Moderate: Gun violence, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Murder, Violence, Eating disorder, Mental illness, and Rape
Minor: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Classism
juliesbooksandbujo's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Graphic: Violence, Death, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Addiction, Cursing, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Murder, Pedophilia, Blood, Child abuse, Eating disorder, and Rape
betterly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Violence, Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Child abuse, and Drug use
raebooks's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Domestic abuse, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent
tcrivera12's review against another edition
2.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment
freadman666's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Violence, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Blood, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Car accident, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
bootsmom3's review
- 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
Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Body shaming, Mental illness, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Murder, Sexual violence, Addiction, Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Physical abuse
literatureleaf's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content, Drug use, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Animal death and Eating disorder
jreads2me's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, Body shaming, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Abandonment, Death of parent, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders
happilywilted's review
- 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
1.5
The only characters I didn't dislike were Donal, Leslie, and Darrin, the guy that Renee dates at the end.
I spent the whole book wondering if the author was for or against grooming and sexual abuse, as she writes the perspective of both supporters and people against the two main characters being together, but at the end of the book on the authors note she talks about how making them not platonic was the only option and tries to justify it in some way.
Every page made me deeply uncomfortable in a way that I haven't felt since I read Lolita in 2019, which isn't surprising, because the author recommends Lolita as saying it is similar. Horrid.
I hated Kellen so much, as he was a groomer and child molester. I could’ve done without reading the descriptions of his smell, his sweat, and the graphic sexual descriptions of him, an adult, touching Wavy. I had bought this book back in October after it had somehow gotten in to my TBR pile on Goodreads, and I bought it having read no spoilers, just seeing that it was a "beautiful and provocative love story". Well, it was provocative, but it wasn't anywhere close to beautiful or a love story. It was a story about a groomer who sexually assaults a child and makes her think that the relationship they had was a family and safe. But really, he was a creeper.
I despised reading Amy saying that Wavy wanted him to touch her, as if that excuses what he did to her at thirteen. Also, the judge taking back the protective order because Wavy said she was a "real person". As if being real excuses a pedophile and allows him to contact his victim.
I mean, they met when she was eight. When they first met, he was described as a giant and I was confused because I assumed this was the guy in the love story, and wondered how a child could be giant, when much to my chagrin I found out he was around twenty years old. I wish the age gap could've been at least just four years if she wanted him to be arrested for what he did to further the plot.
I almost DNF'd, but since I owned the book, I wanted to give it a chance, but every page of people ignoring the grooming and allowing it to continue pissed me off and made me almost throw the book across the room. Also, mama didn't raise no quitter.
Thankfully, now I'm done, and can attempt to scrub my brain clean of this frustrating and uncomfortable read.
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Drug use, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexual content, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship