All the Ugly and Wonderful Things

All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood
Published by Thomas Dunne Books on August 9th 2016
Genres: General Fiction, Romance
Pages: 346
Format: eBook
Source: NetGalley & St. Martin's Press

New York Times BestsellerGoodreads Best Fiction of 2016 Runner-Up
As the daughter of a meth dealer, Wavy knows not to trust people, not even her own parents. Struggling to raise her little brother, eight-year-old Wavy is the only responsible "adult" around. She finds peace in the starry Midwestern night sky above the fields behind her house. One night everything changes when she witnesses one of her father's thugs, Kellen, a tattooed ex-con with a heart of gold, wreck his motorcycle. What follows is a powerful and shocking love story between two unlikely people that asks tough questions, reminding us of all the ugly and wonderful things that life has to offer.

**Special thanks to NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for supplying my copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**

When life shows its ugliest face, there can still be a place for love. In All the Ugly and Wonderful Things, Bryn Greenwood tells us the story of the precious and wonderful things that can persist even through the ugliest circumstances.

Wavy is an eight year old adorable beautiful girl. However, Wavy is born to an ugly family. Her father is a meth dealer who couldn’t have cared less about her or her mother and little brother. The mother had run away in her teenage years to marry this meth dealer and is now paying enormously for that mistake. But she’s not the only one paying. Since the mother is most of the time desperate and wasted, Wavy is the only one there responsible for her brother. She tries to do all the duties and caring her mother should have done. Still, no one seems to appreciate the little girl or understand her. She is shoved from one home to another like an unwanted piece of junk. She’s neglected, mistreated and hurt.

In this very gloomy surrounding, Wavy meets Kellen. Kellen is an ex-con in his early twenties who works for Wavy’s father. When Wavy shows an act of kindness towards Kellen helping him out after an accident, Kellen’s golden heart seems to be the only comfort for her. For almost six years, Kellen is the only one who takes care of Wavy, takes her to school, pays her school fees, encourages her and protects her even from her neglecting and harsh father.

In a delicate while heart wrenching story, Wavy and Kellen fall for each other. Well, at this point I was freaked out. Are you? A love story between a kid and a grownup! How freaking! But, the smart thing about this book is that it traps you. As weird as it is to read about such a love story, it seems to be the only wonderful and kind thing in both their lives. You feel you are in a trap. I was very uncomfortable. May be disgusted at some times. Still, there were times when I just felt I was glad. May be just glad that there was someone, anyone, out there who could show any kindness towards either of them!

Well, to make things even worse, something tragic happens. Wavy and Kellen’s lives will change forever. As Wavy steps through her teen years, this tragic event will shape both their lives and might cost them more than they could afford. It might cost them the only thing keeping them alive.

I was very uncomfortable reading this book. I don’t have the words to describe it. The author tackles a very critical premise. She’s setting the story in a way where you find such a weird story the most viable scenario. You don’t know whether to hate the story or like it.

However, if you can just get beyond the love story, you will realize why this book is good. It’s not just a book about a love story. It’s a book about unfairness. It’s a story where everyone who should have protected Wavy just turned their eyes away and pretended she didn’t exist. Those same people were the first to point fingers at her. It’s about the irony of the system who is supposed to protect children while it only hurts them more. It’s about the weirdness and the sarcasm when the ugliest thing that can happen to a child can be the most wonderful thing in her life. Isn’t this sad enough?

Prepare yourself to feel sad. Real sad. Just imagine an adorable beautiful little kid searching for food in the garbage! I couldn’t bear reading the girl saying she was dirty while she was the only neat thing in her surrounding! Also, it was very ironic seeing Kellen through the girl’s eyes and then through her father’s friends and girlfriends’ eyes. How contradicting! Kellen with the golden heart whom people couldn’t see beyond his huge and somehow fearsome figure. Something like beauty and the beast theme I guess.

The issue for me with this book was not in the premise of the story.  A dark or ugly premise doesn’t mean a bad book. The issue for me was with the prolonged ending while the author took us through too much teen angst.

While this is one of the most uncomfortable books I read, it’s also a good book. I am glad I read it. I am currently speechless. I have all kinds of feelings and still I don’t know what to think. May be this in itself is a sign of a good book. Please don’t consider my rating because this book is hard to rate. You have to read it yourself.