A review by raisingself
All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood

3.0

All the Ugly and Wonderful Things is a beautiful, disturbing, and poetic novel that follows a child of abusive and neglectful drug dealers/addicts. The seemingly fragile female protagonist has a fierce strength and intelligence hard earned through much suffering. It's a book filled with brokenness and beautiful prose. There are sections that get under the readers skin and others that pry tears from the readers eyes. It is a book that is not for the faint of heart but if you are willing to challenge yourself, you will enter world that both breaks your heart while filling your mind. No matter how conflicted I feel about some of the content and the near overwhelming sadness of this fascinating and difficult story, in the end, I have to describe it as extraordinary.

****Trigger warning for topics related to child abuse and rape.

I heavily considered giving this book 4 stars but the difficult bits of this novel that got under my skin and made me cry prevented it for reasons that aren't truly rational.