All the Ugly and Wonderful Things
A Novel
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4.4 • 1.3K Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
- 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
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Bryn Greenwood’s defiant debut is an unorthodox––and often uncomfortable––love story. Wavy Quinn, the abused daughter of Kansas meth dealers, is only eight when she meets Jesse Joe Kellen, a kindly twentysomething biker in her father’s employ. As their relationship escalates from ad hoc guardianship to true romance, their 13-year age gap is scrutinized by various characters, whose reactions range from curiosity to disgust. Despite the provocative, occasionally histrionic plot, Greenwood finds genuine tenderness between two tragically neglected people as she tries to make sense of life on the margins. She challenges readers to do the same.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Greenwood's strong debut, set throughout the United States, is about a young girl's triumph over the sordid life she might have led as the daughter of drug addicts, one of whom is a meth dealer. The author skillfully creates widely varied and original voices, as the story unfolds from a variety of characters' viewpoints, whether it's Wavy, the main character, whom we see growing from a six-year-old to a young adult; Wavy's grandmother, who takes care of her for a time before succumbing to cancer; or the loving Kellen, whose street smarts makes up for his lack of education. The relationship at the heart of the novel is between Wavy and Kellen, a drug runner for her father who changes her life. In Wavy, Greenwood has fashioned a resilient girl who doesn't speak much, hiding a fierce intelligence and strong will that enables her to take care of herself and her infant brother despite her parents' drug habits. This is a memorable coming-of-age tale about loyalty, defiance, and the power of love under the most improbable circumstances.
Customer Reviews
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.
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.
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.