All the Ugly and Wonderful Things Book Reviews

AUTHOR
Bryn Greenwood
SCORE
4.5
TOTAL RATINGS
1,385

All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood Book Summary

- A New York Times and USA Today bestseller
- Book of the Month Club 2016 Book of the Year
- Second Place Goodreads Best Fiction of 2016

A beautiful and provocative love story between two unlikely people and the hard-won relationship that elevates them above the Midwestern meth lab backdrop of their lives.

As the daughter of a drug dealer, Wavy knows not to trust people, not even her own parents. It's safer to keep her mouth shut and stay out of sight. Struggling to raise her little brother, Donal, eight-year-old Wavy is the only responsible adult around. Obsessed with the constellations, she finds peace in the starry night sky above the fields behind her house, until one night her star gazing causes an accident. After witnessing his motorcycle wreck, she forms an unusual friendship with one of her father's thugs, Kellen, a tattooed ex-con with a heart of gold.

By the time Wavy is a teenager, her relationship with Kellen is the only tender thing in a brutal world of addicts and debauchery. When tragedy rips Wavy's family apart, a well-meaning aunt steps in, and what is beautiful to Wavy looks ugly under the scrutiny of the outside world. A powerful novel you won’t soon forget, Bryn Greenwood's All the Ugly and Wonderful Things challenges all we know and believe about love.

31 Books Bringing the Heat this Summer —Bustle

Top Ten Hottest Reads of 2016 —New York Daily News

Best Books of 2016 —St. Louis Post Dispatch

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Book Name All the Ugly and Wonderful Things
Genre Literary Fiction
Published
Language English
E-Book Size 1.53 MB

All the Ugly and Wonderful Things (Bryn Greenwood) Book Reviews 2024

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It’s captivating. I read this book back when I was in sixth grade myself and I decided to buy and reread the book at sixteen since I think I can understand it more than I did at 12 years old. It has a certain something that makes you want to just keep reading it. Now, I’m aware of the controversial relationship in the book and I don’t think the book at all is trying to romanticize pedophilia. It’s more complex than that if anything. There are lives out there that are just awful and tragic. I don’t think the author at all is trying to say that the relationship between Wavy and Kellen is okay. What happened between them is obviously not okay when she was a minor but neither was the rest of her childhood. Wavy was emotionally stunted and affected. Wavy’s messed up background and the way she acts gears toward the fact that her life was never going to be normal. Including her love life, the love she could have would never be what any of us consider normal. Do I agree with pedophilia and the grooming of minors? No. This book just completely gives you a new perspective on young, vulnerable women who have lived harsh, tragic lives and how they’re forced to grow up too fast. They don’t see what’s wrong or right because they didn’t have guidance or stability since day one. The title of the book says it all. Things are ugly and it is a book that really shows how the world can be. The book is very beautiful and well written yet haunting. You really do need an open mind to read this book.

Powerful, horrifying and sad-. This book is so extraordinarily accurate relative to the way in which some people live, getting by the best way they can and looking for love and compassion often without even knowing the boundaries of either. The astute reader will look past the potentially uncomfortable relationship between two characters to get a chance to walk in the shoes of others who we pass by in our daily lives, with barely a look.

Harrowing read about abuse/neglect&coming of age. A story set in poverty based around drugs about a child named Wavy who was deeply neglected, abused and exposed to sexual drugs and adult violence far too young. She falls in love with a man several years her senior while underage and begins to see him as her only good thing in life, her grandmother was deplorable she was used by her father and was often assaulted and attempted to use as a sex worker for money by the several addicts and dealers living on or around her property.

All the ugly. This book starts of great, then you get in a little deeper and it changes the feeling about the rest of the book. It's disturbing a grown man sneaking in a little girls room, and falling asleep on her bed, and waking up with a hard on. Disgusting !!!

Romanticizes Pedophilia. This book is extremely problematic and perpetuates dangerous narratives. It’s a textbook abusive relationship spun to be romantic. Shocked this was a NYT best seller and so many people recommend it.

Loved it!. Seriously struggled to put it down to do housework.

Gross.. Trigger warning. This book glorifies and romanticizes child molestation. I regret buying this book, it is absolutely disgusting. I can’t believe this got published.

Well written but went too far. This was a book that was easy to get get hooked on and read in a few days - no doubt the author is a good storyteller. But left me with a feeling of yuck...sensitive subject and assuming you embrace the ending, would have set better without so many graphical details of the inappropriate relationship. I waited a few days to write this review hoping the bad scenes would wash away from memory to no avail.

All the Ugly and Wonderful Things. When you start All the Ugly and Wonderful Things, you need to keep an open mind. Wavy is not your usual kid. She won't eat in front of people, she won't talk, and she takes care of her brother that's just a few years younger than she is. It isn't an easy life and her parents aren't really a part of it. Even though her childhood was so different and neglected, there is a level at which I was able to connect with and understand her. I understood why she had each and every oneof her odd behaviors, and I didn't find that they made her a freak or wierd, I found that they made her unique and special. Wavy had a brilliant mind. And she loved easily. When she meets an associate of her father's, Kellen, she sort of reverse adopts him. They become inseparable, but their relationship takes a dangerous turn before Kellen and turn it around. There are parts of this relationship that seem incredibly pure and unable to be tainted, and there are parts that made me feel sick to my stomach. The author definitely knew how to make me, as a reader, feel on every single page. The story tells Wavy's story from the beginning until after college. It's one rollercoaster ride of a story. You will either love or hate the people she meets along the way. Some never change, and some do. Just like life. It's hard to describe this book well without giving everything away, but I do think you should read it. It is mind-opening and strange, it has a tarnished purity to it, and I couldn't put it down. As the title suggests, not everything beautiful is good, and not everything ugly is bad.

Very good. This book was hard to put down and really makes you question your morals

Odd Salacious Story. The story is unique and delves into family dysfunction, drug use, and the profound effect on the children, especially a highly sensitive girl child. It tells the story of an unusual relationship between an adult who is marginalized member of society and the child, largely abandoned, neglected and emotionally abused by druggie parents and an assortment of low life adults. While it begins well with revealing entry into the child's world, it declines to what I believe is porn that was seriously disturbing between the child and the man. The storybook ending crammed into one chapter really doesn't adequately defend the writers choice to oversexualize the young girl earlier in the book. Rather than highlight an unusual love with it pretends to do, it simply makes for a disturbing salacious read, and it wasn't necessary. The detail was so finely tuned that I had the feeling it was autobiographical.

Start this book immediately. This book was one of the greatest stories I've read in a long time. I could not put this book down. It pulls you through so many feelings, and makes you experience them through so many different perspectives. Phenomenal read.

Great book. I couldn’t put this one down! Loved it!

All the Ugly and Wonderful Things. I loved this book. It was fascinating and strange and I could t put it down. What interesting characters from the under belly of our society. The message is don't judge. There are wonderful people wrapped up in unusual wrapping paper. I highly recommend.

A mesmerizing, beautiful book. I read a lot and rarely do I find such a mesmerizing story told as well as this one. This is a book whose characters are so real that your heart breaks for every ugliness they encounter and longs for something beautiful for them. The author gives a rare nuanced and sympathetic portrayal of people who the world usually judges harshly. It is the kind of book that will stay with you long after you finish reading.

Great book!. Loved this book. Not quite a Cinderella story and slightly disturbing at points but it's impossible not to root for the unconventional lovers.

Devastatingly Beautiful. This book was recommended to me and I didn’t quite know what I was getting into. It was heartbreaking and there were many tragic characters, however I couldn’t put it down. There were times it was uncomfortable, but knowing that this life could be someone’s reality had me rooting for them in the end.

All the ugly and wonderful things. GROSS!!! I could not finish this book. The book starts out really subtle and makes you think a young adult and a child are forming an innocent relationship and then it changes gradually. I don't understand how this book can get any good reviews. It is hard for me to believe the readers offering high ratings would accept a grown man treating their niece this way. I doubt they would think it was a really touching love story. I'm sure they would call the man a child molester...a grown man kissing, touching, and feeling that way about a kid is not okay. It worries me that an author would choose to play up this very disturbing relationship while allowing several adults to see the wrongness in the relationship and turn a blind eye. Shouldn't the book be about saving abused and mistreated kids instead of glorifying a creepy guy who falls for a kid!

Exceptional. I couldn't put the book down. There were a few places where it didn't make sense.

So stupid.. I can see that the author was trying to spin a love story that existed past things like age-gaps but it didn’t hit the mark. You just can’t make an 11 yr old getting fingered by a mid-20’s guy romantic. This book is meant to be enjoyed by pesos, and people with no critical thinking.

Could not put it down. This book is raw and ugly and wonderful and beautiful. It made me feel things and I definitely shed a few tears. A beautifully written love story filled with devastation, trials, and some triumphs. I cannot say enough good things about it. I smiled, i laughed, i cried, and it ended with my questions answered and my heart feeling warm. Wow!

I can’t believe what I just read.. I finished this book last night and I can’t stop thinking about it. I don’t normally write reviews, but I’m just so disgusted and disturbed by the book’s ending that I need to vent somewhere . I appreciated the quality of the writing, and the alternating perspectives. I had no problem with the explicit language. However, a 13 year old can NOT consent! Why did the relationship between Wavy and Kellen have to be sexual? He loved her since the first time he saw her, and knew he wanted to be with her, even though she was 8. Why couldn’t he nurture her without being predatory? Even if she “wanted it,” she was too young DEVELOPMENTALLY to make those decisions. I honestly thought she was going to move on, and get rid of this messed up relationship so I kept reading, regrettably. Also, her aunt was simply trying to keep her safe! She jeopardized and ultimately lost her marriage to take care of Wavy and Donal, not to mention fostered and supported her education. I mean, she was majoring in astrophysics. She was completely painted as the bad guy for trying to keep her underage niece from a sexual predator who couldn’t control himself. The message I got from this book is that older men preying on young girls is ok, as long as they truly “love” them. Disappointing and gross. I will not be recommending this book or reading any more from this author.

So nice to have a more realistic version. Of how life for a lot of kids and families is...or closer to it than almost any other book has come to it at least that I've read.

Loved it!. Great book!

Mesmerizing. I could hardly wait to read this book every day, and it was difficult to put down. What a story! It was so well written and felt so believable. I can’t wait to read another one of her books.

Start reading. Stop - don’t read anymore reviews. Just read the book. It’s that good.

Breathtakingly heartbreaking. This book is not for everyone, I think we can all agree on that. The story is controversial, disturbing, and uncomfortable. But all the good stories should make us a little uncomfortable. If we aren’t feeling anything why engage at all? Wavy is one of the most well written characters I have ever encountered. She’s heartbreaking, endearing, and confused. This might be one of my all time favorite books. And again, I understand if it isn’t you’re shot of whiskey. But no one can deny the amazing characters, the descriptive and perfectly written story, and a book that makes you feel.

Raw and unorthodox. Truly an amazing story that many would find taboo. This fresh take on love is so worth reading.

Powerful. I really enjoyed reading this book. I didn’t know anything about it but it captured me from the very start ....it was raw ...visceral ....poignant, and incredibly powerful.

Pedofile delight! Finally a book for them. Anyone on here who thinks a child being groomed by a grown man for sex is a pedofile in there own right. Disgusting book

All the Ugly and Wonderful Things. A subject hard to read about, but pretty sure it happens. In bygone days 13 was not too young to marry, but these days I understand why it seems shocking. What an environment Wavy and Donal were forced to live in, pretty sure again, that there are children that live in that same environment today. I believed Kellan did his best to control his feelings for Wavy, to protect her from himself. Wavy was always the aggressor , she was old beyond her years. I felt sympathy for some of these dysfunctional characters.

Enthralled.. I read this book in 24hrs. A lot of reviews have been directed towards the relationship between Wavy and Kellen. Let me say this, for those of us who’s childhood was about survival, this book is for you. You will feel and see so much. For those of you who only read and see the story of a young girl and her relationship with an adult, I’m proud for you. Proud that you had a childhood in which was ignorance from Wavy’s, and many others, struggle. This book touched my soul and challenged me. I hope those that read this book will start with a clear mind. A different perspective to allow it to move you. The events in this book, happen every single day. Let that challenge you. This book is written seamlessly, and I could not put it down. Worth every single star.

NOT a love story. I feel like I must be reading a different book than the one described. This is not a beautiful love story. It’s a story about a twenty-something year old man falling in love with a traumatized 11 year old. My opinion: read something else.

All the ugly and wonderful things. Honestly, it isn’t fast pace or thrilling! But for someone who enjoys raw emotion a true story line and relatable life issues around us all. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND

Unexpected. I usually dont read books like this. I am more into psychological thrillers. I was expecting more of that aspect out of this book but was not disappointed in the end. I was so drawn into this book. First page to last page couldnt put down. The characters were very well developed and the book is well written. The subject matter really makes you think about things that are uncomfortable. This book had me thinking for a while after I had finished.

Amazing. I haven’t read a 500+ page book in ages. It felt good to read again, and I’m glad I decided on this on. If you’re looking for a fun read, or something to spark your delight for reading again purchase this book, you won’t be disappointed (:

Loved. This book was disturbing but oh so good! My heart went out to little Wavy as she struggled with her drug addicted mom, abusive father, an aunt who didn’t understand her, and a boyfriend that was too old for her. Through all her anguish, she managed to persevere!

Good read. Well written, but sometimes can be hard to follow based on who is narrating each chapter. I sometimes had to go back and look to see who was narrating. Otherwise, very good read.

Outstanding!. Buy this book and cancel all your plans; like nothing I’ve read in a long, long time. Unforgettable!

Great book. I read this book in two days, which is incredible since I have a 10 month old, but I couldn't but it down.

Wow. All I can say is that this book is very disturbing. I could not put it down though. I had to find out what would happen at the end.

Interesting read. Its a story of how to make lemonade with a bag full of rotten lemons. Its a complicated issue of sexual exploitation of minors and abuse and neglect. But you also see how people can persevere under the ugliest of circumstances.

A shock of reality. This book made me sad, angry and then torn over what it must be like to pick up the pieces of a broken life. This book was difficult to put down and I truly fell in love with the characters. I definitely would recommend this book.

My whole heart!. This book was amazing. I can understand the controversy over the age difference but when you go through a hard life you mature much faster than others, I speak from experience. This was phenomenal, from the way the author jumped between narrators to give thoughts and sides of all characters… I have nothing but great things to say. I finished this book in two days!

Sick. Books basically idealizes a grown Man having sex with a child. I would not recommend this book to anyone. I read books aloud to my wife. We couldn’t make it half threw this one and had to stop reading.

All the Ugly and Wonderful Things. This is a story that I normally would not have been interested in. The writing and characters drew me in. I could not imagine knowing any of these people or their circumstances and yet it is such a strong, compelling and beautiful love story in the weirdest way. I loved this book.

Disgusting. Disgusting book. Pedophelia is not romance.

Way to romanticize pedophilia.. The author captures you with this troubled little 8 year old GIRL. Your heart goes out to her & you’re dying to see if she’s going to thrive despite everything she’s been through. & then you are introduced to the 24 year old MAN who allows himself to catch feelings for a CHILD. I don’t care how innocent it starts out or how the relationship progresses. This book is trying to make pedophilia relatable & it’s absolutely disgusting.

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Fantastic, Compelling, Sometimes Disturbing Story. 4.3. It took a bit of diligence at times for me to understand their relationship considering my immediate reaction to want to hate the book, to hate anything remotely associated to pedophelia, but I have to say that this book makes you look past that position in a very compelling way. Their relationship is very circumstantial. I strongly detest anything remotely related to pedophelia to the utmost degree, but this story clearly tells a tale of love as it evolves over time, between two individuals with harrowing pasts of abuse and mistreatment. Starting off as innocent companionship, moving to a caretaker relationship, eventually to a deeply trusting and intimate one, the speed of those transitions is challenging, breaking social norms along the way. But those closest to Wavy & Kellen who saw it evolve, saw it for what it was we're accepting of it. The book is so deep and multi-dimensional with its play between what the heart wants and acceptable social norms. It's a wonderful story and is very well written. It's tragic and beautiful, challenging and rewarding, a beautiful story to say the least. This one will be with me for some time to come.

Ok. Great beginning! Interesting middle but boring ending. It’s as though the author lost steam.

Great easy read. Well written. Good story.

A fascinating story. This book is one of my favourites for sure! I would highly recommend this to anyone who enjoyed The Glass Castle or similar books. Parts of the story are beautiful and peaceful, while other parts are quite disturbing and thrilling! What a page turner!

Great Read. I really liked this authors writing style. She really takes you on an adventure with these characters and you feel like you’re in their world.

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Summary of All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood

The All the Ugly and Wonderful Things book written by Bryn Greenwood was published on 09 August 2016, Tuesday in the Literary Fiction category. A total of 1,385 readers of the book gave the book 4.5 points out of 5.

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