This review may contain a few spoilers….
Stories that explore moral ambiguities fascinate me, and as the title suggests, All the Ugly and Wonderful Things, asks its reader to consider what is ugly and what is wonderful. The book presents a deep dive into an issue that on its face is supremely ugly. Through Aunt Brenda and the judge, Greenwood provides readers with the justifiable reaction most would have to Wavy’s experiences, but we also get Wavy’s account of her own fairytale.
The book follows the character of Wavy beginning when she is six and on into her early 20s. Wavy, with her fine blond hair and waiflike appearance (and preference for eating out of a trash can), is an unconventional princess. By age six, she has experienced heartbreaking abuse and neglect resulting from living with her drug-addicted and mentally ill mother and her meth-dealing father. When her parents are imprisoned, she is “rescued” by the foster care system and then her aunt and grandmother. But Aunt Brenda can’t help Wavy and her little brother Donal because her husband doesn’t appreciate the disruption, and Grandma can’t save her because she’s dying.
When Mom is released, she collects Wavy and Donal, and for a little while, the two get to live with “good Mommy.” But Wavy’s version of the wicked witch soon returns when her mom succumbs again to her addictions and paranoias.
Wavy’s controversial savior rides up one day not in shining armor atop a trusty steed but instead tattooed and injured from an accident on his beloved motorcycle. Kellen is at least 10 years older than Wavy, but he’s similarly damaged and therefore understanding of the kind of help Wavy and her brother need: someone to be present while their mother sleeps all day, someone to make sure Wavy gets to school, and someone to supply a sense of security and stability in their otherwise chaotic home.
Kellen is a flawed knight for sure. In addition to the inappropriate age difference, he’s had his own run-ins with the law and eventually reveals that he’s killed more than one man. Nevertheless, over the course of several years, Wavy falls in love with Kellen and he with her. And his attempts to keep their relationship expressly platonic eventually fail. Wavy is 13 when, in one pivotal day, her parents are killed and Kellen imprisoned. The rest of the book provides a beautifully nuanced exploration of what constitutes appropriate definitions of love, family, and a fairy-tale ending. Would Wavy be better off with Aunt Brenda’s choice (her own husband dismissed her and left her when life with her became inconvenient), or would she be happier with the nice handsome, age-appropriate boy at college who’s interested in her but likely could never fully understand or handle the repercussions of her abusive past? When Wavy chooses Kellen after many years of separation, it may be because, as some reviewers have suggested, she was groomed to do so. Or it could be because she sees Kellen, despite his obvious flaws, as uniquely suited to fill the role of knight in her story.
This fractured fairy tale prompts readers to consider deeply their preconceived ideas of who needs what kind of saving and who is best suited to provide a princess (or prince) with a “happily ever after.” It does so by unfolding events through a variety of perspectives (all brilliantly performed by Jorjeana Marie) and allowing readers to draw conclusions without obvious guidance from the author. I’m still pondering the layers of this tale I won’t soon forget.