Bryn Greenwood

A Novel

All the Ugly and Wonderful Things

- 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

Kirsten Kim

disturbing and unnecessary. if u think this is a love story u r sick!!!!!!

Allison Dempsey

Ultimately 2.5 stars… this was a tough one to rate. While the storytelling was compelling and the characters well-developed, I can’t read and rate in a vacuum and therefore I have to acknowledge that the love story between the 13-year-old girl and the 25-year-old man was creepy at best and downright disturbing at worst. It struck me as bizarre that the villain of the story was made out to be Wavy’s aunt, who was the only person acknowledging the situation for what it rightfully was. Can’t shake the icky feeling.

THIS BOOK DESTROYED ME.

I don't know how to function after reading this, was staring at the wall after I have read the epilogue. This book is not for everybody, it tackled heavy and controversial issues. I felt so disgusted, mad, brokenhearted, happy.

AGAIN, THIS BOOK DESTROYED ME.

I WOULD SAY I WILL NEVER FORGET THIS BOOK ANYTIME SOON.

Today is January 25, 2022
First read: August 8, 2016

This book randomly came up to my mind again.

garnet

It is so hard to review a book like this. I loved it, but at the same time it is so difficult to sum up all of my feelings about this book in such a short statement. 

Romances between people of age gaps with 13+ years (when one of the characters is a minor!) are definitely not my cup of tea. However, this relationship was not so much of a romance, more of a soulmates/family type pairing, which I found myself really enjoying. 

I initially felt uncomfortable when things began to get sexual. However, this novel navigated such a tumultuous relationship in such a great and heartfelt way that I had no qualms supporting it. I just finished reading My Dark Vanessa, and this was in no way something that I felt physically queasy thinking about. It made me happy. 

Wavy deserved her happiness, and that happiness was Kellen. It is by no means an easy road to travel, and I am thankful to have gone along on this journey.

Grace M

This was my third re-read of this book and it has cemented its place in my top five favorite books of all time. All of my favorite books evoke strong emotions in me, for better or worse. All The Ugly and Wonderful Things still makes me feel the way it did the first time I read it, which is a pretty magical thing to me. 
Truly my only complaint about this book is that I wish it was longer. I would’ve loved to have heard more from Donal in particular. I think his POV could have filled another book entirely. 
This is a deeply controversial book, and for good reason, but I don’t think that should stop anyone from reading it. The afterword with the author is crucial to understanding the story and the authors motivation as it speaks to her lived experiences. Bryn Greenwood created something very special and those who don’t experience it due to a controversial plot point are truly depriving themselves of an amazing reading experience.

Barbara Williford

I have so many mixed emotions about this book. This book was a required reading for my book club. Not something I would have typically chosen for myself. About 5 chapters in I started to get the heebie jeebies and came here to look at the reviews to find out exactly what I was reading. The reviews were all over the place and I had to set the book aside and think real hard on whether I wanted to finish the book or not.

The book was well written and had well developed characters. The audible was well narrated. It was easy to get caught up in the story and your heart wretched for the children involved. Children of a hard core meth dealer and an addict mother who could care less about them unless it pertained to her twisted neurosis. The only grounded force in Wavy’s life was the grandmother and that didn’t last long.

The struggle with the book came with trying to normalize pedophilia. At first the author made it seem that Wavy and Donal had someone in their corner to take care of them and look out for them. Someone who understood a little about their life. Just when you think a father figure is there for them it turns dark quick. The main character who is 24ish “falls in love” with an 8 years old and is portrayed as a normal, loving relationship that leads to marriage. Romanticizing this to the bitter end and having all the rave reviews is so sick and twisted. This is a disturbing book on so many levels. I really wished I had researched more and had not wasted my money.

Trigger warnings: strong sexual content with a minor (pediophilia), strong language, child abuse and neglect, domestic abuse, human trafficking, murder and drugs.

Claire Cantlon

i hated this book. mmmm yeah… normalizing statutory rape is super dope…? 😑

First off, this book should probably have a trigger warning on it… or several. 

That was one book… the entire time, I was oscillating between feeling very concerned/confused/disgusted/wildly uncomfortable and questioning if I was reading too far into the main relationship in Wavy’s life. This book was a lot to get through. What kept me going was needing to know how it all played out, even if I had to cringe through some parts.

There was an interesting debate in my head about grooming. Does intention determine grooming? If not, what does? Would I be okay if these characters ended up together when wavy reached adulthood? Would it be as sweet as any other romantic ending? Or, would it be soured by the unanswered question of the nature of grooming and the factors it played in leading her to be with him later in life?

These are tough questions… and if the provocative, disconcerting factors of the boom are what lead it to be so awarded, I guess I can understand.  If that is not the reason, I am concerned and confused, much like I have been for the past two days.

Katie Avila

First off, this book should probably have a trigger warning on it… or several. 

That was one book… the entire time, I was oscillating between feeling very concerned/confused/disgusted/wildly uncomfortable and questioning if I was reading too far into the main relationship in Wavy’s life. This book was a lot to get through. What kept me going was needing to know how it all played out, even if I had to cringe through some parts.

There was an interesting debate in my head about grooming. Does intention determine grooming? If not, what does? Would I be okay if these characters ended up together when wavy reached adulthood? Would it be as sweet as any other romantic ending? Or, would it be soured by the unanswered question of the nature of grooming and the factors it played in leading her to be with him later in life?

These are tough questions… and if the provocative, disconcerting factors of the boom are what lead it to be so awarded, I guess I can understand.  If that is not the reason, I am concerned and confused, much like I have been for the past two days.

What a horrendous read. I hated every second of it. I wanted to like it, I really tried. It was good writing, and drew me in, but had a terrible romance plot that I could've done without. 

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.

Sarah Campbell

What a horrendous read. I hated every second of it. I wanted to like it, I really tried. It was good writing, and drew me in, but had a terrible romance plot that I could've done without. 

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.

Lacy W

I didn't want to like this book.  There. I said it. I didn't expect all the emotions that I felt while reading this. I didn't want the characters to affect me and I certainly didn't want to cry over and over at the abuse and overall general heartbreak that the MCs went through. 

 But I did like it.  

I am one of those people that will read books that gets everyone in a tizzy. I am a naturally curious person so when I see a book that is causing a ruckus in the book world, I have to know why. And now, I know why this book caused a lot of problems and pushed a lot of people's buttons. 

This book made me feel...weird, for lack of better words but I think that was the purpose. My psychology brain was telling me that this...whatever it was...wasn't okay. Wavy is a just a child and Kellen was an adult. But Bryn Greenwood wrote this in such a way, that I found myself being more and more okay with what was going on. And that is what got me in the end. 

Even right now, I am just sitting here, looking at the Goodreads edit page. Pondering how to even begin to write a review on a book such as this. I honestly think that you simply just have to read the book to understand why I can't write a coherent review like I normally. I didn't even have any notes about my feelings in my notebook. Just the multiple POVs that this book (which by the way, was some of the best POV work I've ever seen). There were a lot but each brought something to the table. But that is it. Nothing else. 

That being said, this book  isn't  for everyone. Be cautious while reading this book. Because when you're done, it will haunt you.

NOTE: Book contains depictions and discussions of grooming, child abuse, and child sexual abuse. 

This book succeeding at making me feel very uncomfortable. I will say the writing is masterful and it is quick to read. With that being said, I won't be reading it again just because I wasn't fond of how the relationship and the problematic elements of the story were handled.

The story centers around a young girl and her affections for a much older man. The novel is framed as a 'love story' and its treated as such by almost every single character in the story.  And nobody around our protagonist, Wavy, seems to care how weird, gross and predatory it is except for one character (who is portrayed in some POVs as controlling, manipulative, overbearing etc). In fact, some if not all of the other characters seem to view Wavy as cool or mysterious and are supportive. She is seen as powerful and grown up even though she is a very much a victim. Everyone was rooting for the pedophilic relationship. It is even WRITTEN in a way that seems like the author wants you as the reader to root for them. 

NOTE: Book contains depictions and discussions of grooming, child abuse, and child sexual abuse. 

This book succeeding at making me feel very uncomfortable. I will say the writing is masterful and it is quick to read. With that being said, I won't be reading it again just because I wasn't fond of how the relationship and the problematic elements of the story were handled.

The story centers around a young girl and her affections for a much older man. The novel is framed as a 'love story' and its treated as such by almost every single character in the story.  And nobody around our protagonist, Wavy, seems to care how weird, gross and predatory it is except for one character (who is portrayed in some POVs as controlling, manipulative, overbearing etc). In fact, some if not all of the other characters seem to view Wavy as cool or mysterious and are supportive. She is seen as powerful and grown up even though she is a very much a victim. Everyone was rooting for the pedophilic relationship. It is even WRITTEN in a way that seems like the author wants you as the reader to root for them. 

Alexa M

whatta story. apparently i had no IDEA what this book was going to be about when i picked it up lol but not disappointed that i did! this was equally disgusting and enthralling at the same time. i liked the story, but the subject matter was ... gross. looved Wavy but Kellen u r a perv srry bud lol anyways overall, i think this was a really interesting story! i really liked all the perspective jumps and how short the chapters were, it made the book go by so quick.

Alli

This book was a rollercoaster. I almost stopped reading at several points. I’m still not sure how I really feel about it.

celene

Jessica Ford

This book is disturbing and heartbreaking but it is by far one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. I can’t say that I liked the story, because so many horrendous things happened to Wavy, but it is an amazing story of living through and rising out of a terrible situation.

Jeannette Ordas

The kind of book that makes you feel uncomfortable at times and I wish it ended differently, but I really did enjoy this book. 4.5 stars.

Arturo Hernández

Teenage tale. There's youth, teens, sex and discovery. A girl that doesn't speak. Painfully ordinary. Has a great title though...

Alexandra Sklar

This was an uncomfortable read for me. Probably wouldn't have read if I had known the primary plotline.

Christine Bruce

A wrenching story. Not a love story (characters are 13 and 29 when their sexual relationship begins) and while a coming of age story, the way the relationship is written to be pure and true because the girl is “mature” is disgusting and Predatory. The girl has maturity, but the way that is used as an excuse in support of the relationship instead of the sad reality that she had to act the adult so young. That the focus is on people keeping the couple apart and not on the fact she needs intense therapy is horrific.
The amount of people praising this book, talking it up and saying it’s amazing BECAUSE of the love story? Disgusting. That it’s a LOVE STORY? No. Full stop. This is a book about the horrific ways a child was taken advantage of again and again and how little by little people in her life caved to allowing that abuse.

"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. Kellen may not be innocent, but he is the fixed point in Wavy and Donal's chaotic universe. Instead of playing it safe, Wavy has to learn to fight for Kellen, for her brother, and for herself."--

All the ugly and wonderful things

Brittany Womble

This is such a taboo read but I did enjoy it. 

Poverty, abuse, neglect, and coming of age of the main character Wavy. Not suspenseful, not thrilling but a good narration which I did enjoy. 
My tip- don’t read all the reviews. You’ll talk yourself out of reading this book if you do.

I’m not sure where I stand with this book…there are some taboo situations in it where you want to be upset/grossed out but then the plot itself is actually really good. Even though there were some cringe moments in this book, I actually reallly enjoyed reading it. 

Autumn Hunsinger

Fraser Simons

As soon as you discover this is about a 13 year old and mid 20s guy having a romance, you ought to be reading this critically. And it’s my view that doesn’t do near enough work to earn the ending or to not be purely a romanticization of problematic issues without nuance, proper characterization, and believability. 

For one, the characters characterization is built up prior to their relationship changing from a caregiver family friend to a sexualized one. As soon as it begins the story becomes plot driven, though still somewhat believable in terms of character driven plot.

However, as soon as that happens, every POV up until the aunt discovering their relationship completely romantizes every interaction they have. Even other people, usually girls, characterize Wavy as powerful, sexy, and beyond her years. And everyone else just sort of succumbs to her newly found mystique. As though she is wise beyond her years and somehow has agency.

Here’s the thing: the author frames the story so this isn’t objective. We are out into the headspace of purely the people who do not object to this, with the very small occasion of an adult being idk man, but does seem like they care about each other from what I can see. 

There is no detail or scene given as much time as the sex and romantic aspects of their relationship. And every other perspective of people who aren’t Wavy’s cousins or friends are framed as antagonistic without us granted the same headspace as those people who approve of their being together. Even the apparent consent of the parents to the couple is glossed over to feed a plot point, rather than give nuance to the actual relationship. 

Afterward the sexualization of Wavy, at 13, the agent of sexual awakening, apparently, and for the later entire half of the entire novel, there’s little to no characterization whatsoever. They no longer feel like they’re going to be fleshed out as actual people as their headspace is dominated by their thoughts of one another and there is no description, action, or any work at all to demonstrate that they’re lived in. And it also skates over things that would have had to have happened in this case. 

Yeah, they’re broken people but even people who do not emotionally develop because of trauma are still situated in time and place and move through the world. Why did Wavy get no counselling? I’m not sure she could have actually refused a medical examination, or did she never go to the doctor ever in her life? Which would have negated a anticlimactic reveal. 

They do not feel like real people, just vehicles for a question the author wants explored: Is there a situation in which this kind of relationship would be okay? The answer being, in a long enough time line and environmental factors adding two broken people, it’s the only way they can be okay, possibly.

Yet, the decision is made already by virtue of whose voices are given screen time, how those voices are slanted, and what information we are restricted from having. In a broken sort of way, a broken relationship can still be beautiful and true, right? 

Except we don’t even get a full picture of the ways in which those traumas actually affect them at the time, nor the full effect. The only external factors are the system that rejects their relationship and their internalized beliefs about their relationship. Both serve no nuance. I don’t even buy the judge granting the other based on what Wavy said. Especially without a psych evaluation. 

The head hopping wants to give the illusion that this is objective but reality is the farthest from intruding. The only thing the story succeeds at is romanticizing a very problematic relationship, in which no consent is possible - and the fact that the system does not support people with trauma. 

Though, what the contours of their trauma actually are, who possibly knows.

Alex Leong

The writing was good but couldn’t get over how weird the relationship was

Carley Whitehead

"She is just as real as I am."



Horrible and lovely all at the same time.

All the Ugly and Wonderful Things A Novel

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