All The Ugly And Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood (Book Review)

***spoilers***

This book floored me. I read it in one sitting. 

This is a book that follows Wavy and Kellan and their developing relationship. 

In the beginning of the story, Wavy is an 8 year old girl who's parents are meth addicts. The don't pay attention to Wavy and when they do, its in an abusive manner. She is made to believe that she is dirty and that anything she puts in her body will become dirty too. She has a little brother named Donal and she tries to keep him from being the focus of her mother's flip outs. 

One night, Wavy witnesses on of her father's friends wreck his motorcycle and she goes to help him. There begins a relationship of them taking care of each other in a way. 

This book touches on drug abuse, pedophilia, child abuse, and how the most unlikely of people can be each others saviors. 

Kellan is much older than Wavy and in the beginning all he wants to do is protect her and take care of her. He makes sure she goes to school and that she is kept safe from her parents' friends and lifestyle. The relationship escalates as Wavy gets older. Eventually it becomes a sexual relationship and Kellan buys Wavy a "Wedding Ring". Wavy is only 13 at this point and Kellan is second guessing himself when it comes to Wavy. Wavy thinks that she is dirty and that what she did to Kellan made him dirty too. Kellan reassures Wavy that she isnt dirty. He finds her bathing in bleach and her mother is downstairs oblivious to anything going on because she is high. Finally, Kellan gives in to Wavy's need for a physical relationship but does not go "all the way" with her. 

When Wavy's parents are found murdered, the police then question Kellan and Wavy tells the police that he couldn't have killed her parents because they were having sex at the time of the murder. That obviously isn't true but she wants to prove his innocence in the murder accusation. Kellan ends up getting arrested on Statutory Rape charges and spends 7 years in jail. Throughout this time, Wavy grows up and goes to college and waits for Kellan to get out of jail. When she learns that he has been released, she goes to find him only to find out that there is a no-contact order in place and as a condition of his parole, he is not to have contact with her. She is 19 at this point and convinces a judge to vacate the order. Wavy and Kellan can now be together with no repercussions and so they get married! Kellan and Wavy find her brother Donal who had been taken by his biological father, "Uncle Shawn" (who actually killed her parents). Uncle Shawn had overdosed and died, and Donal was put into a juvenile detention type place. Wavy and Kellan get him out of there and they bring him to live with them.

This story was beautiful and heartbreaking and a little "iffy" morally at times. I gave it 5 Stars on Goodreads and this is probably going to be my favorite book that I will read this year.