A review by mafeladeira
Everything Beautiful Is Not Ruined by Danielle Younge-Ullman

4.0

A beautiful, beautiful book. Granted, I was weirdly super emotional last night and feeling like - pardon my french - utter crap, but this story was special and strong in ways I wasn't exactly expecting, so it's safe to say the tears I cried could've easily been less of a PMS issue and more of a reaction to Ingrid's journey. The way Younge-Ullman shaped this book was incredibly gripping, alternating between Ingrid's present at the camp and her past, and the little bits of information that were presented on each chapter altogether snapped the story into focus with an unstoppable force. By the end of the book, not only everything made sense, but it could also be seen that it was okay that, before one point, it didn't; what mattered, really, was the path towards self-acceptance that the members of the camp, individually, took throughout the book - especially Ingrid's, who, besides being the main character, was initially opposed to the whole endeavor, which made the shift in her mentality all the more perceptible and emotional. Overall, this was an impactful and delightful surprise of a read.