All the Ugly and Wonderful Things

Product Information

I'm sorry for initially saying that the novel is being marketed as YA. I think I'm wrong on that one.

I was so invested in this book, nothing could pull me away (except when my Kindle died and I couldn't find the charger). I couldn't possibly guess how it was going to end. I didn't care that it was four in the morning. I HAD to know what was going to happen next. I thought this format served to give us even more insight into the story and the characters. In some ways, it reminded me a little bit of Nine Minutes in that I felt like Morgan Freeman was reading it to me.

it's official - coolest author-present ever!! thank you for this, and for writing this book, o bryn greenwood!! Couldn’t put it down. Not your average love story full of heartbreak & misunderstandings. It’s an interesting & unique story that you feel like you shouldn’t be rooting for, but the ending… the ending Gritty and dark and tough and uncomfortable, but it's brilliantly constructed...Greenwood develops an incredible and resilient character in Wavy. It's an outstanding debut novel and I am itching for Greenwood's next book." —Kelly Jensen, Book Riot Kellen was the only person in Wavy's life that treated her with the slightest bit of compassion and concern. She was the same for him in many ways. These were two lost souls that clung to each other with everything they had. Wavy is a neglected and abused child who broke my heart. Her father is a meth dealer and her mother is an addict. She is constantly exposed to openly casual sex, and therefore, sees it as normal. The ugly.

All the Ugly and Wonderful Things is the ultimate noir fairy tale, with Wavy as the wounded beauty, small and blonde, abused in body and spirit, and Kellen as the beast, big and hulking but just as broken. The evil father, wasted mother, and other family members, all have their roles to play - and they all impart truths that move the book along at a fast and mesmerizing pace.ALL THE UGLY AND WONDERFUL THINGS is a romance between a twenty-four-year-old man and a thirteen-year-old girl. Wavy is the daughter of abusive, mentally ill meth dealers. She's shunted from home from home for a while, from a grandmother who loves her but dies, to an aunt who doesn't love her and is afraid of the influence Wavy will have over her own girls, before being returned to her completely unfit parents. The title says it all. You will hold your little heart in your hands and keep blowing on it to make sure it's alive." —The Top Ten Hottest Reads of 2016, New York Daily News Bryn Greenwood: All books are hard in their own way, and this one was no different. There were moments where I didn’t like how the story was going, and I tried to write my way out of it. I hated seeing Wavy suffer. I hated some of the decisions that Kellen made. The heart wants what it wants, though, and every time I tried to write around it, I kept getting tripped up. As a result, a lot of things got deleted. That’s what happens when your first draft is over two hundred thousand words, and you write a hundred thousand words of an entirely different version of the story.

Call me narrow-minded, conservative, judgmental or stupid if you want to. I’ve read books about killers, mobsters, monsters, outlaws, kidnappers and I enjoyed most of them. But when children are involved, I’m NOT okay with that. Yes, this book is beautifully written and utterly compelling. And I hate leaving books unfinished because I feel like I can't judge a book rightfully without reading the last word, which is why I didn't DNF it. But not the most amazing book in the world would set paedophilia right. Not one. So open your eyes. And call it what it is. Wow! This was a spectacular book. I devoured this story. Beginning to end, I was completely lost in this disturbing, yet beautiful, love story. I love reading romance books- it’s my preferred genre. But is this a romance? I guess it is. But it’s more of a love story than true romance if that makes any sense. A lot of this story isn’t romantic and I think that’s what made it so special. The love between these two was beautiful and pure for much of the story and if it started as romance it wouldn’t have worked. This is a couple a rooted for. My heart broke for them both and I wanted nothing more than for them to have each other. Kellan is big and overweight, biker and tattooed, ex-convict and son of an abusive parent. He is not attractive, but generous, of a great personality and, most importantly for Wavy, respects her space and accepts hers silences without questioning them.Wavy hasn't had an easy life so far and seen things that no five-year old should ever have to see. She doesn't talk very much but she's smart as a whip. Wavy is the daughter of meth addicts. Parents who often ignore her and abuse her. She's silent most of the time, preferring not to speak and not to be touched as she has been taught by her mom it's dirty. She is; her body is; her mouth is. Wavy's fears and her efforts to resist fear are major themes in the story. How does the refrain "nothing left to be afraid of" guide Wavy's life? It is a strange sensation to be rooting for a little girl and the much older thug who goes beyond rescuer to become her lover. But amid all the very ugly things in the world these two inhabit (very, very ugly), their connection is the only wonderful thing they have. If you fell for the fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast (and who didn't?) you will fall for this very offbeat pair. So I found myself wishing the couple happiness through their many trials. The course of true love never runs easy, not in fairy tales and certainly not in the very real, very grim world the two lovers inhabit. My mother got out of the car and ran across the library parking lot. She looked so ferocious, loping toward me in her nightgown and coat, that I expected a blow. Punishment. Instead, she jerked me into her arms and pressed me to her chest.

Speaking of Jonah... he recently relaunched his Taco App, with 50% of proceeds going to a different charity each month that supports BIPOC and immigrants in L.A. That’s it,” Sue said. “She came to us wearing a man’s undershirt. Those are the clothes the foster family got together for her.” There is a whole lot of ugly going on in this novel. It made me feel uncomfortable and squirmy as I read it. But....Wavy and I eavesdropped from the other side of the kitchen door. Her games all involved sneaking around and finding people’s secrets, like the cigarettes my father hid in a coffee can in the garage. Bryn Greenwood: Obviously, my agent and my editor at St. Martin’s Press were my strongest supporters for this book. My agent loved the story enough that she took it to auction. My editor loved it enough that she bought and published it. Neither of them ever suggested to me that I should change it. As for me, the riskier something is the more likely I am to try it. I wrote the book with my whole heart and it never occurred to me to be afraid to send it out into the world. I would rather write books that are problematic but passionate than something I feel lukewarm about.