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

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I don't know how to rate this one. While the content of this book is disturbing, the structure and Greenwood's writing and storytelling is beautiful and gripping; I could not put this book down once I started it. Greenwood uses multiple POVs to tell this story and provide different perspectives. This serves to not only give the reader a glimpse into Wavy and Kellen's insight (the two main characters who form a problematic, disturbing, and co-dependent "romantic" relationship), it also provides readers with a semblance of relief through characters like Aunt Brenda and, lesser so, Butch and minor characters who show some concern in their narrative about Wavy and Kellen. 

Greenwood's note to readers at the end is worth reading and provides valuable context; this book was loosely based on her own childhood. All the Ugly and Wonderful Things explores important topics such as consent, poverty, and misogyny and domestic violence, and highlights the failures of individuals and systems in Wavy's life that led her as a child to only feel safe and secure with a man 10+ years older than her. While we can be (rightfully) angry and disturbed at Wavy and Kellen's relationship, we should point that same anger toward the teachers who turned a blind eye to Wavy, the social workers who failed to properly assess Wavy and Donal's safety, and to Aunt Brenda who sensed their was something seriously wrong but alerted no authorities. Both Wavy and Kellen grew up in abusive homes where the appropriate love and support were never given or demonstrated to them. It is also implied that Kellen has Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, which can impair impulse control, understanding actions and their consequences, and judgment. 

This book is disturbing and not for everyone. This is not a romance. There is explicit child abuse (physical, emotional, and sexual) and the reading experiencing is frustrating and emotional. But the book itself - the writing, the storytelling, and the characters - is masterfully done, and I look forward to reading more from Greenwood. 
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