2024 the best reads of all time review

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(as of Nov 17, 2024 02:00:10 UTC - Details)

- A New York Times and USA Today bestseller
- Book of the Month Club 2016 Book of the Year
- Second Place Goodreads Best Fiction of 2016

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.

As the daughter of a drug dealer, Wavy knows not to trust people, not even her own parents. It's safer to keep her mouth shut and stay out of sight. Struggling to raise her little brother, Donal, eight-year-old Wavy is the only responsible adult around. 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. 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.

By the time Wavy is a teenager, her relationship with Kellen is the only tender thing in a brutal world of addicts and debauchery. 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. A powerful novel you won’t soon forget, Bryn Greenwood's All the Ugly and Wonderful Things challenges all we know and believe about love.

31 Books Bringing the Heat this Summer ―Bustle

Top Ten Hottest Reads of 2016 ―New York Daily News

Best Books of 2016 ―St. Louis Post Dispatch

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1250153964
Publisher ‏ : ‎ A Thomas Dunne Book for St. Martin's Griffin; Reprint edition (October 3, 2017)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 432 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781250153968
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250153968
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.4 x 1.05 x 8.2 inches
Reviewer: Vanessa Booked Up
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: 5+ Stars- All the Way!
Review: Speechless. This book made me gasp, cry, and laugh. Impossibly beautiful.It's not often that I write a full review anymore. If I do, it has to be that the book REALLY moved me. Shook me to my core. And, boy, did this story do just that.I love a story that is controversial, taboo, out of the box, and one that is thought provoking. Not in a shock value type of way, but in an authentic way. I know that this book has had its fair share of controversy surrounding it and I am not even going to give voice to any of that. Because there is no way (in my mind) that anyone could interpret what happened in this book as anything but beautiful. To me, Wavy and Kellen are lovers who will love each other for hundreds of years. Soul mates. That type of love that knows no bounds, and cannot be limited by age, race, sex, or any other dividing factor that society imposes upon us to tell us who we can and cannot love.I think old man Cutcheon said it best:"You know," I said. "I married Paola when she was fourteen. And I was twenty-six. Her parents had eleven kids and they was glad to get her settled."Kellen's reply to that was that those were "different days," and they were. Now, because of 1% of the population who is disgusting, sick, and perverse, ALL love that looks like this is filthy and wrong, right? Well, I disagree. I don't like generalizing ANYTHING. Because in my experience, life always comes with exceptions.Anywho, I digress. Back to the book.Wavy is a quiet girl. Smart way beyond her years. Resourceful. Her parents are...jeez, I don't even know what freaking word to use. Her parents (if Liam was even her real dad) are a hot mess. This girl had to fend for herself AND care for her younger infant brother basically from the time she was a small child. Because of some of the deranged things her mother polluted her mind with, she's hyper vigilant of people and germs and pretty much anything.The only thing she takes comfort in is sneaking out at night and watching the stars. And it's on a night like this, when she's lying under the stars, that she happens to meet Kellen. Well, she saves his life actually.I have to say that the writing in this book is some of the most exceptional I've ever read in my life. And that is saying a lot. I've read some great stuff. The way that it is narrated is completely brilliant as well. I don't see another way to have told this story. There are many, many points of view. Probably close to 10 or more. But, all of them are geared toward Kellen and Wavy and how THEY see them. So then when you read Wavy and Kellen's POV, it is SOOOO much more revealing.For example, if you read Kellen's description from Wavy's POV, you would think that he was the most beautiful man who ever roamed the earth. When, in actuality, he is very average looking. Simple. Over-weight. Not super attractive—hardly even swoon-worthy BBF material. But that's not how Wavy sees him. That's just one example. The book is FILLED with things like this. Showing them to you. Brilliant.It's also freaking funny in places that it really shouldn't have been. I seriously almost peed my pants from laughing so hard when Wavy gave her deposition. So freaking wrong, but I laughed my ass off.Basically, Kellen is the only person who gave a shit about Wavy and her brother, Donal. Her parents are the epitome of the word neglectful. And then some. If it weren't for him, she probably would be dead. And vice-versa. They saved each other."Thanks, but I just came to get Wavy." Kellen looked at me for a second, not long enough. Liam [her dad] made me feel invisible. I needed Kellen to see me."And for those of you who are squeamish about the underage thing, just know that this book is just not like that. It's not written in an in your face, taboo for the sake of being taboo way. It's raw and unapologetic and honest. Yes, lines are crossed. Big ones. SOME things happen when Wavy is thirteen that any OTHER thirteen year old probably wouldn't be emotionally ready for, but it is consensual and if anything, she is the one pushing for it. I have two girls. I get it. But for me, this book never rubbed me the wrong way. Yes, she was 13, BUT the girl was pretty much an adult mentally by then. Based on the hard life she had led. At least, that is the story that I read. Of course, it is open for interpretation and not everyone will feel the same way. That is the beauty of reading. Me? I was so rooting for these two to get their HEA.But, fret not, the very controversy that this book is getting is ironic because it's what happens in this story. People vilify Kellen. They think he's a monster, a pedophile. They want to beat him up, keep him from a job, keep him from living any type of normal life. They don't want him to exist. Just like many did not want this book to exist.I pretty much felt like Wavy's roommate, Renee, who was one of my fave secondary characters of the book, by the way. Chick was hilarious!"I wanted a fairy tale ending for Wavy, because if she could find happiness, there would be hope for me, too."This was one of my top 5 reads of 2016 so far. I think it should be made into a film. I don't have enough wonderful things to say about it except that I highly, highly recommend it.

Reviewer: Sarahocha
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Worth every chance
Review: I don't know where to begin. The writing in this book is so beautiful. I felt like I was cocooned in a safety blanket in the early first half of the book. Whenever Kellen and Wavy were out in the meadow, I felt that summer heat or the autumn breeze, and if I just closed my eyes I'd be able to see the stars along side them.For a book to give me that much feeling is something magical. Let me live in it forever. Which, the book pretty much lets me do. For it's not just some "hey look at the pretty stars" thing. Nope. It's naming and mapping and it's brought up countless times throughout the book. The stars are as much a part of them (Kellen and Wavy) as their love is. Hearing it repeated while going through all the ups and downs of their life makes it a constant comfort. Wavy even studies to be an astrophysicist. Like come on.If that doesn't get you going than maybe it'll be the characters. They're all a bit quirky and hold interest. It feels like if you just peek through the blinds long enough you'd learn everything there is to know about them. The info and details come in snippets and you're collecting as you go. Wavy, however, is by far the strangest. Which is why I love her. She has quirks and issues and bows to no one. Then Kellen comes and just seeing her grow emotionally and mentally is the best thing. A+ development.Which brings me to the romance of this book. There's a lot of talk of normalizing age gap relationships and I'm not going to sit here and argue for what is right or wrong. This is a story and in this story, for these two people, this relationship works. Are they an exception? You bet. But I know older married brilliant couples who have similar age gaps and I'm not looking down my nose at them. In this case, it's worth asking the question, "what would happen if this couple met when they were younger?" and well tada.Their love starts super innocent. It builds from trust and understanding. Grows more beautiful and don't for a second think Kellen doesn't know he shouldn't do this. He goes through so much sht for Wavy and Wavy fights for him like I've never seen her fight for anything else. It's special and it hurts to see them have to fight for it.The only thing keeping this book from a glowing five stars (I was really close to giving it five stars too) is mainly for the end chapters. The ending is fine! It was just how we got there that felt a bit rushed? Anticlimactic? It was kinda just given to us instead of feeling really deserved. Not saying there was no hard work given. Maybe it was because I really wanted to have someone slap Brenda with her ignorance. So kudos to Wavy being more mature than me i guess, haha. Still, it could have had some more tension.Also, there's some pretty odd jump cuts in the writing. For instance Wavy was at the hospital, and I kid you not, within a sentence runs out of the room, mentions a carnival that was down the street and now suddenly we're there. However, there weren't enough to distract me and I know it was more to cut out unneeded details. Still a little odd though. That and all the different people who narrate the chapters. I don't know if I needed all these outside voices...though it can be refreshing at times. Amy's voice was my favorite.All in all this book is worth the read and the praise. Seriously give it a chance.

Reviewer: Philippa Mckenna
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: 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.

Reviewer: Karla Mitre Nuñez
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Excelente libro. Una historia que te envuelve, te hace pedazos el corazón y te lo vuelve a pegar.... una y otra vez.

Reviewer: Carola
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Il libro mi è piaciuto tantissimo.. Le descrizioni dei personaggi e dei luoghi sono talmente vivide che si sente di conoscere intimamente le persone e i luoghi descritti nel libro.. Leggendo un commento su Amazon.com dicendo che il libro dà un "benestare" alla pedofilia secondo me non abbia capito il libro - non sono per niente d'accordo! È questo pensiero che viene smentito proprio dalla storia che il libro racconta.. Quante coppie esistono dove c'è una differenza d'età di 10 - 15 anni tra donna e uomo? È un libro ben scritto e che fa venire la voglia di andare avanti sempre durante la lettura per sapere "come andrà a finire"! Lo consiglio!

Reviewer: The Avid Bibliophile
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: My first thoughts before opening this book was hmmn not sure this will be for me, then I started to understand and accept how this situation could come about in the way it did, does this make me weird or a freak... probably and I'm so not sorry, love love love this story! The writing is incredible, the emotions it stirs wow what a roller coaster.

Reviewer: Heloisa
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: O livro tem uma narrativa interessante pela perspectiva de vários personagens. Mas o enredo se torna quase um livro de romance barato, qdo entra em detalhes sexuais do relacionamento dos personagens. E, o tema relacionado à pedofilia pode não agradar alguns leitores, pois a autora tenta justificar os atos de um adulto em relação à uma menina de 14 anos por causa de amor.