Risk everything for love with this #1 New York Times bestseller from Nicola Yoon • "Gorgeous and lyrical"—The New York Times Book Review
What if you couldn’t touch anything in the outside world? Never breathe in the fresh air, feel the sun warm your face . . . or kiss the boy next door? In Everything, Everything, Maddy is a girl who’s literally allergic to the outside world, and Olly is the boy who moves in next door . . . and becomes the greatest risk she’s ever taken.
"This extraordinary first novel about love so strong it might kill us is too good to feel like a debut. Tender, creative, beautifully written, and with a great twist, Everything, Everything is one of the best books I've read this year."—Jodi Picoult
My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world.I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.
But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He's tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.
Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.
Everything, Everything will make you laugh, cry, and feel everything in between. It's an innovative, inspiring, and heartbreakingly romantic debut novel that unfolds via vignettes, diary entries, illustrations, and more.
And don’t miss Nicola Yoon's bestselling novels The Sun Is Also A Starand Instructions for Dancing.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I didn't read this so much as devour it. I picked it up around 2:00, and by 4:30 I was sitting on the couch, stunned that so much time had passed. I was emotionally drained, but in a good way.
Everything, Everything is about Maddie, an 18-year-old girl with SCID. She's basically allergic to everything, and hasn't left her house since she was a baby. She has no friends, and apart from a visit from a tutor once or twice, the only people she sees are her mother and Carla, the nurse who stays with her while her mother works. She's spent her entire life living this way, and believes she'll spend the rest of it the same way. Until Olly moves in next door.
She experiences a lot of new emotions in a short span of time, and she is irrevocably changed. As much as she tries to go back to the way things were before Olly, she can't. She learns she isn't really living - she's just existing. And that isn't good enough for her. She's determined to live, even if it means she has to die.
This was a pretty deep book that dealt with several different issues. However, the author did an excellent job of keeping the book from getting dark. I liked the parallels between the lives of Olly and Maddie, even though their circumstances were different. I also enjoyed the illustrations (drawn by Nicola Yoon's husband, coincidentally), and the usage of emails and IM worked well.
And that plot twist! While I had a tiny inkling that something wasn't quite right, I never would have guessed the ending on my own.
In short, I really enjoyed this book. I loved the writing, the characters, the diversity, the illustrations... just everything, everything. :)
