This is one of those books whose story, if you heard about it on the news or glimpsed some sensationalist headline, would be horrifying, but in THIS book, with THESE characters, where you are privy to interior monologues and backstories and a hundred examples of what defines them as people, it makes sense. with me, balls always win, so greg remains a free man. 'blah blah blah meth blah blah blah eight-year-old Wavy blah blah blah tattooed ex-con with a heart of gold blah blah blah powerful and shocking love story wait, WHAT?'Īnd i reared back and gave him my closest approximation of the skeptical single raised eyebrow and i said, 'love story?' and greg said, 'yeah.' and i said, 'between an eight-year-old girl and a grown-ass man?' and greg said, 'yeah, kinda.'Īnd part of me considered calling the authorities and getting him onto some kind of watchlist, but another part of me was naturally intrigued by an author with these kinda balls. Greg told me i would love it, and here is a reenactment of me reading the back of his copy:

i had one of the first reviews of Tampa on here, too, and i know i'm gonna get a reputation for being totes pro-pedophilia if i keep being such an early cheerleader for these kinds of books, but i'll risk it because this book right here is a stunner. that's not something i usually worry about, but when it's a potentially controvershul book, i get a little leery of being the only target for potential outrage.

Oh, good, i get to be the first reviewer of this book on here.

A powerful novel you wont soon forget, Bryn Greenwood's All the Ugly and Wonderful Things challenges all we know and believe about love.ĪND NOW WE ARE BEST FRIENDS WITH SIMILAR TASTE IN B/W GRAPHIC PRINT FASHION! 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. 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.īy the time Wavy is a teenager, her relationship with Kellen is the only tender thing in a brutal world of addicts and debauchery. 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. Struggling to raise her little brother, Donal, eight-year-old Wavy is the only responsible adult around. It's safer to keep her mouth shut and stay out of sight. 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.Īs the daughter of a drug dealer, Wavy knows not to trust people, not even her own parents.

Books by bryn greenwood