ALL THE UGLY AND WONDERFUL THINGS BY BRYN GREENWOOD

All the Ugly and Wonderful Things is an unexpected, controversial, and overwhelmingly beautiful novel of a love that runs so deep it’s hard for others to understand.

Rating: ★★★★★
​Release Date: August 9, 2016
Genre: Literary Fiction. Taboo/Age Gap Romance.
Series: None. Complete Standalone. 
Pages: 421 pages
Format: Paperback. Source: ​Purchased. ​

​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.

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𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪 𝗦𝗡𝗔𝗣𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗧: All the Ugly and Wonderful Things is an unexpected, controversial, and overwhelmingly beautiful novel of a love that runs so deep it’s hard for others to understand.

This book! Gosh, I 𝗪𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗢 𝗛𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗜𝗧 because the subject matter is so controversial and hard to digest but I simply 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗𝗡'𝗧. This is a raw look at a love so powerful that everyday people couldn’t possibly comprehend. This is a story that will twist your guts, tear out your heart, and slowly put it back together again. I certainly don’t condone some of the things that happened in this novel and those who do should be locked up but 𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗖𝗔𝗡 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 the undeniable chemistry between Wavy and Kellan? Both are so messed up from their childhoods and I think it’s because of everything they had been through that they connected on such a deep level. Ah, I’m honestly still reeling from the raw and emotional love story between two people who never should have been together because of societal rules and norms.

I won’t discuss the plot in a lot of detail, but I do want to warn readers because 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞 𝗜𝗦 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬𝗢𝗡𝗘. There are plenty of things that take place in this novel that will shock even the boldest of readers so if you have triggers or if certain things bother you then you should find another book. Those things include:

🌾 An underage romance. Their love story STARTS when she’s only 8 but the actual ROMANTIC ASPECTS don’t occur until she is 13. Still super young but that’s what happens…

🌾 Murder / Child Abuse / Drug Abuse / Domestic Abuse

Really, I recommend reading the blurb and other peoples reviews (without spoilers of course) in order to determine if this is a book you could read. It won’t be for everyone but if you can keep an open mind and see WHY their love story is perfect for THEM then you may really love this one.

𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗙𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝗢𝗙:
• Taboo/Forbidden Romance