A review by erica_reads01
All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

My immediate reaction when I finished this book was that I don’t know how I feel. The story was beautifully written but it’s a horrible, traumatic story. There are multiple point of views which help to articulate how the two main characters feel and how others perceive them and the situation. You feel sympathy for people you don’t want to sympathize with and I think there’s an unnecessary level of shock value. It’s highly controversial and it didn’t have to be, but I’ll certainly be thinking about it for a while. And it gets people talking about it whether they’re defending or criticizing it. It’s not a love story. But it could have been. And I would have loved it if it were. In many ways I think the story could have been beautiful and uplifting if it were about a girl and a boy of similar age in similar life circumstance. 
I would have loved the ending if that were the case. Instead when Kellen and Wavy end up together, part of me wanted them to go their separate ways. I think realistically they would have never lasted. Kellen is described as slow and uneducated. He’s rough and likes to fight and doesn’t think much about his actions. He’s described like a boy personality wise and physically portrayed like a big scary man. But he doesn’t grow up, and in the end Wavy does grow. What happens when she outgrows him? Will she ever? Or will she feel bonded by the trauma they endured? Did he prevent her from living a better life and meeting people her own age or were her home circumstances so messed up that she would have never gotten out? Could something worse have happened to her if he didn’t step in? Did he help her or hurt her? He did both.
 

This is not an age gap romance. This is not a happy love story. This is about a girl who’s had a really tough life and the people who either take advantage of her or try to help her. Her aunt was portrayed like a villain for the way in which she tried to help. She was an antagonist but her opinions and feelings on their inappropriate relationship was probably the only realistic one.  I don’t think the time period or the circumstances justify what kellen does. Wavy wasn’t mature for her age. Parentification forced her to grow up and care for others in a way no child should have to. And she was a child. In the end I felt such a strong emotional connection to her and wanted her and her brother to find happiness.  I couldn’t put this book down. I read it in less than two days but I’ll be thinking about it a lot longer. 
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