All the Ugly and Wonderful Things

Pick a character who is integral to the plot but who has no chapter of his or her own. Explain why this character’s voice is not included or write a chapter in that character’s voice.

Consider the depiction of societal systems in the novel: educational, medical, legal, etc. In what ways do Wavy and Kellen define their identities in terms of systems, and in what ways do they negotiate with systems to accommodate their identities?

Discuss clothing and appearance in relation to Wavy, Kellen, and one other character in the book. How do these characters construct their identities through clothing, hair, and other aspects of public appearance? What messages do they send through dress, hygiene, and other physical choices?

Discuss three moments in the text where a character writes something. What role does writing serve in each instance? How do characters use the power of writing to serve their purposes?

Examine three instances in the novel where characters do or do not call the police. What factors affect their decisions?

Using three separate passages, compare and contrast the way Wavy celebrates holidays and birthdays in the novel. What does her participation in community celebrations illustrate about what is important to her?

Consider the following passage: “I mostly liked high school. 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” (250). Explain why Greenwood uses a quotation from this passage as the title of the book. Connect the title to at least two other parts of the book.

Looking at her chapters from Part 1, Part 3, and Parts 4 or 5, examine the evolution of Wavy’s verbal expression, including diction, metaphor, and sentence structure.