This book may have been the one that caused me to take a looooong break between Cannonball Read posts. All the Ugly and Wonderful Things was named a Book of the Year by the Book of the Month Club, so I know people liked it. I just don’t know how comfortable I feel saying out loud that I loved this book. Well, there we go, I said it. This book has stuck with me since I read it four months ago. It is gritty, raw, and completely inappropriate in so many ways, yet I found the love story heartbreakingly beautiful despite its controversial plot-line.
“As the daughter of a meth dealer, Wavy knows not to trust people, not even her own parents. Struggling to raise her little brother, eight-year-old Wavy is the only responsible “adult” around. She finds peace in the starry Midwestern night sky above the fields behind her house. One night everything changes when she witnesses one of her father’s thugs, Kellen, a tattooed ex-con with a heart of gold, wreck his motorcycle. What follows is a powerful and shocking love story between two unlikely people that asks tough questions, reminding us of all the ugly and wonderful things that life has to offer.” – Goodreads
There were many times reading All the Ugly and Wonderful Things that I pretended Wavy was older, and I breathed a sigh of relief when she turned 18. There is a fantastic review on Goodreads by Val, which looks to be a pinned review. I would recommend checking it out if you’re anything like me and need some reassurance that you’re definitely not alone in your love for this book.