Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon | ARC Review

Posted August 17, 2015 by Cristina (Girl in the Pages) in Reviews / 14 Comments

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon | ARC ReviewEverything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
Also by this author: The Sun Is Also a Star
Published by Delacorte Books for Young Readers on September 1st 2015
Pages: 320 •Goodreads
four-stars

This innovative, heartfelt debut novel tells the story of a girl who’s literally allergic to the outside world. When a new family moves in next door, she begins a complicated romance that challenges everything she’s ever known. The narrative unfolds via vignettes, diary entries, texts, charts, lists, illustrations, and more.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.

My Review

“You’re not living if you’re not regretting.”-pg 186

Everything, Everything was quiet in its execution but deafening in its impact. It’s the story of Madeline Whittier, who lives in her white room with her white furniture in her white clothes and eats her white food. She’s trapped due to the fragile nature of her own body, struck with an auto-immune disorder that makes the outside world one giant disease. Madeline’s story is one of what ifs: What if she wasn’t sick? What if she could go outside? What if she could go to school like a normal kid? What if she could kiss a boy? While it’s not surprising that Madeline pushes the boundaries of her “protected” life in order to truly live (and mostly due to romance, in true YA fashion), what WAS astounding was how layered the novel was in its tragedy and message. The “what ifs” don’t stop when Madeline seeks some small amount of freedom, rather they multiply as the novel progresses, and the end of the novel had me aching for the butterfly effect potential for Madeline’s life had just one little thing gone differently.

Yoon’s writing is beautiful. It’s quiet without loosing its authority, and poignant without trying to seem self-important and pretentious (a major problem I had with the writing in The Fault in Our Stars). Maddie has spent her life observing life outside of her bubble, so she at times makes quite profound observations, and demonstrates a skilled self-awareness. This self-awareness and moments of self discovery make for some of the best quotes from the book:

Before him my life was a palindrome- the same forward and backward, like “A man, a plan, a canal. Panama or “Madam, I’m Adam.” But Olly’s like a random letter, a big X thrown in the middle of the word or phrase that ruins the sequence. – 162

It’s breathtaking to read about Madeline’s experiences with the outside world, as she reflects on how sheltered her life has been and how unacquainted with her own personality it’s left her, as there’s so many things about herself she hasn’t explored. She’s even unaware of what her fears are in many cases, as she hasn’t been confronted with much opportunity to be afraid in her vacuum sealed life.

The first half of the book is easy to review, as it follows typical “sick lit” plot structure: Protagonist is sick. Protagonist thus lives limited life. Protagonist falls in love. Protagonist begins to question if a sheltered life is worth living. Etc. The second half of the novel, however, is much harder to review without spoilers because there is a huge plot twist. I guessed the twist about halfway through the novel but its implications still shocked me even though I anticipated it coming (which I would argue is the mark of a great writer, being able to pull off such a twist and still leave readers speechless if they’ve managed to guess if beforehand). It’s such a nuanced and profound novel for a debut. Yoon made me hurt for the tragedy of what could have been, for a loss so intangible that it never existed in the first place.

But there’s no denying it now. I’m in the world.

And too, the world is in me. –196

 

Overall: Everything, Everything takes the overtired YA trope of “sick lit” and breathes new life into it with her beautiful writing and her powerful plot points revealed in moments of quiet observation and introspection. The narrative is also made stronger by short chapters with clever (and often telling) titles that capture specific moments of Maddie’s day rather than trying to encapsulate large frames of time, which makes her POV more powerful. While the book had a major twist (that I really enjoyed), there were some elements that didn’t flow smoothly in the framework of the novel: a few plot holes and inconsistencies, a lack of closure on some elements (which felt more convenient than purposeful), and a case of insta-love that can’t be ignored. However, Everything, Everything is a great reminder of how quiet YA can be powerful and among the 50+ books I’ve already read this year, I know this one will stay with me.

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • Goodreads Challenge

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14 responses to “Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon | ARC Review

  1. I had never thought of how, living apart from the world like Madeline does, she might not know herself that well. This book seems to have so many aspects to it that I wouldn’t have expected to find!

    And you seriously have me so intrigued with the plot twist! It sounds like a great one though, which is good — I’ve had trouble with plot twists lately when they don’t make up for a boring first half and actually leave me too confused to enjoy the second half.

    Looks like I’ll have to be picking this one up!

  2. I recently read Everything, Everything and I adored it! It honestly was a wonderful and fresh twist on the sick lit, even if it did involve some of the basic, typical plot line of a sick lit novel.
    The plot twist shocked me and just like you it made me think about all that could have been for Maddy. I did start to guess the twist as the story came to its end, but it didn’t detract from how strongly my brain and heart reacted to it when it was revealed! This book deserves all the praise.
    Wonderful review! xoxo

    • Thank you Josie! I think you’re spot on with saying that it definitely was a fresh lit on “sick lit” which I really think has been overdone since TFIOS gained so much traction, and so many other authors I feel have tried to mimic Green’s style when writing sick lit. I think Yoon’s narrative voice was very distinct, and I can’t wait to read more by her!

  3. What a lovely review. I’ve been wanting this one since it came out and I’m crossing fingers that I get it for Christmas!

    You’ve revealed very little of the story and yet I’m totally hooked – I gotta figure out how to do that 🙂 I’m so glad Cilla over at Paved with Books picked you as one her inspiring bloggers, as I fear it would’ve taken me much longer to find you if not!

    Alyson recently posted: Top Ten Tuesday

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