All the Ugly and Wonderful Things (Greenwood) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
Captivating and smartly written from the first page, Greenwood's work is instantly absorbing. Pithy characters saunter, charge or stumble into each scene via raw, gripping narrative. Greenwood slow-drips descriptions, never giving away everything at once. Rather, she tells her story as if lifting a cloth thread by thread, revealing heartbreaking landscapes and riveting dialogue in perfect timing. This book won't pull at heartstrings but instead yank out the entire organ and shake it about before lodging it back in an unfamiliar position.
Christina Ledbetter - Associated Press


Greenwood's haunting novel...is a story that will stay with readers long after the book is finished.
Lisa McLendon - Wichita Eagle


Bryn Greenwood has handed readers a strange—but strangely grabbing—tale.
Harry Levins - St. Louis Post-Dispatch


[A] strong debut...about a young girl’s triumph over the sordid life she might have led as the daughter of drug addicts, one of whom is a meth dealer.... This is a memorable coming-of-age tale about loyalty, defiance, and the power of love under the most improbable circumstances.
Publishers Weekly


(Starred review.) [P]owerful, provocative debut chronicles a desolate childhood and a discomfiting love affair.... [T]he novel closes on a note of hard-won serenity, with people who deserve a second chance gathered together. Intelligent, honest, and unsentimental.
Kirkus Reviews