All the Ugly and Wonderful Things

⭐: 4.5📖: Wavy's father is a drug dealer. Her mother is a schizophrenic. Wavy cannot eat in front of people. A mouth is a dirty place. She doesn't speak more than a couple of words. One day she helps to rescue one or her father's 'business associates', Kellen, following a motorbike accident and the two form an unlikely friendship.💭: I have starting diving straight into books without knowing what they are about, therefore I didn't know beforehand, but this is a controversial book; a 13 year old girl dating a man almost double her age whom she formed a friendship with when she was 8 years old. But this book is not alike My Dark Vanessa which I read earlier this year. Kellen is not portrayed as the stereotypical predatory peadophile. Greenwood explains in the About the Author section how her father was also a meth dealer and she also dated a man more than twice her age at the age of 13, therefore her personal experiences have helped shape this book into something honest and believable.This book is extremely well written and the story is told from multiple perspectives. You are immediately drawn in. Wavy is such an immensely interesting character but her childhood is heartbreaking. Although she falls in love with Kellen, he is the only person in her life who has ever shown her any ounce of care or love, therefore it is understandable why, as a child, she is drawn to him. This shouldn't be viewed as a love story.

This book needs a trigger warning for people that have gone through sexual abuse. This book is dangerous. It's glamorising pedophilia and calling it a controversial relationship. I have never ever destroyed a book but reading about a 14 year old girl talk about how her hands couldn't fit around a pedophiles intimate area was just too much. I am so angry. I have never read anything so vile and disgusting in my whole life.This book needs to be off the shelves in case a child reads it.

I don't think I've ever read a book with such a difficult subject and still managed to absolutely love it. I've seen this book billed as many things - a romance, a love story, a tragic lover's tale - but the dirty truth of the matter is that it is a story of paedophilia, one which I was totally drawn in by and totally repulsed by in equal measure. This book should never be considered a 'good read', but it is! It's more than a good read, it's absolutely brilliant! I think the reason why I loved it so much is because the two lead characters, Wavy and Kellen, are both broken souls. Broken by their upbringing, the lack of parental love and guidance, and finding each other in a life where everything is just really, really awful, these two were always going to be drawn together. It's a tough one for sure, and I think the author has been really brave to come up with this as her debut. It's without a doubt one of my all time favourite books.

The book was written well especially the beginning it really pulled you in. But have to agree with previous reviews this is not a love story and the neat tie it in a bow ending made me sick. As did the unnecessary graphic details of a 13 year old child performing sex acts on an adult.

but wonderful - would write more but i'm watching cricket