All the Ugly and Wonderful Things

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She grows up with Kellan at her side, he protects her, takes care of her house, goes to school. Their relationship changes over time, but something bad happens in their lives and puts it upside down. Mom returned with a towel, which she tried to put over Wavy’s dripping hair. Before Mom could touch her, Wavy snatched the towel away and dried her own hair. Wavy’s story is not a pretty one. We first meet her when she ends up at her Aunt Brenda’s door. Her mom is in prison, no one can take her, she doesn’t really talk, and she hates to be touched. It’s enough to drive anyone crazy. Brenda can’t deal with Wavy. She sneaks out at night and wanders and Brenda is scared that she will drag her daughters down the wrong road with her. She ends up with Grandma but even that doesn’t last.

Wavy is the daughter of meth addicts. Parents who often ignore her and abuse her. She's silent most of the time, preferring not to speak and not to be touched as she has been taught by her mom it's dirty. She is; her body is; her mouth is. That conversation led to Wavy’s first visit to a therapist. She stopped unraveling her dresses and Mom went around looking triumphant. To Dad, she said: “I think we’ve had a breakthrough.” I know you mean well, Brenda. You want to help her. I get that. But when her behavior starts endangering our children, it’s time to choose. We can’t keep her. She’s out of control.” Wavy and I eavesdropped from the other side of the kitchen door. Her games all involved sneaking around and finding people’s secrets, like the cigarettes my father hid in a coffee can in the garage.In the first month, Mom took Wavy to the doctor three times, because she wasn’t eating. The first time, a nurse tried to put a thermometer in Wavy’s mouth. It didn’t end well. The other two times, Wavy mounted the scale and the doctor pronounced, “She’s underweight, but not dangerously so. She must be eating something.” ALL THE UGLY AND WONDERFUL THINGS by BRYN GREENWOOD is a disturbing, powerful, and an unconventional love story that was beautifully written. We found that her writing allowed us to be disturbed and moved at the same time without glorifying or romancing the subject matter. The title was perfect for this novel as we were showed the ugly of addiction, neglect, and abuse along with the wonderful things of love, strength, acceptance, trust, and commitment. This is about what trust looks like. What love looks like. And it's about what family can mean and look like to those who live on the periphery of love. This is a brave story to tell. One that brushes up against what most would consider immoral and indecent behavior. It was hard to read emotionally, and I am glad I did... continued I liked learning things. How numbers worked together to explain the stars. How molecules made the world. All the ugly and wonderful things people had done in the last two thousand years. A love story, as many have described it? Not at all and I find it very disturbing that there are people who see it that way. Instead, this tale highlights the trauma and psychological damage that occurs to children who grow up as Wavy does. Do they see it as normal and as true love? Of course they do. They’ve never been exposed to a healthy loving relationship.

You walk into her room and there she is, on a table, completely naked, legs spread wide, he is sitting there, shirt off, pants open, touching her.Grandma blew out a big puff of air, the same way she used to exhale cigarette smoke, and shook her head. “Tell me your solution. Foster care? Send her to live with strangers?”