All The Ugly And Wonderful Things: by Bryn Greenwood

Apr 19

I have never been proved more wrong by a book. I’ll be honest, I didn’t have the highest expectations for this going in. Since my tastes tend to lean more toward dark, depraved, and shocking, I did not think I would be satisfied by a book that was traditionally published. In my experience trad books are made for the masses meaning they tend to be gatekept. That just isn’t my jam. HOWEVER, this book showed that may not always be the case.

There is a bit of controversy around this book claiming that it is “pedophilia” and “grooming”. I do not agree with either of those statements. Kellen (the male lead) had no ill will toward Wavy (the female lead) in any capacity. He cared for her deeply, and though his choices may not always been the best, there was a realness about it that I can appreciate. Not everything is cut and dry. Black and white.

Not only was this book impeccably written, I thought it was very clever to show us how everyone around Wavy and Kellen perceived them through their eyes. This is one story that will stick with me for a while. It was simply INCREDIBLE. It’s not very often that I finish a book and wish it could be a television show or a movie, but this is one that I hope does get an adaptation someday.