6. Everything, Everything
"I was happy before I met him. But I'm alive now, and those are not the same thing."
Everything, Everything is a novel by Nicola Yoon. The cover of this book is stunning, no question, but it also stuns content-wise. From a distance it appears to be a simple girl meets boy-next-door story. In actuality it is more than a vanilla YA romance, it's centered around Madeline, a teenage girl who has spent her entire life in her home due to a rare illness characterized by an extreme "allergy" to the outside world. She's never felt as though she's missing out on much, as she lives comfortably with her mother and enjoys the presence of her nurse, Carla. However, after she begins speaking to her new neighbor, Olly, she soon realizes that she wants to have more than just a quiet existence alone in her home. From there she not only grows closer to Olly, but, much to the dismay of her mother, starts experiencing things she'd avoided risking due to her illness.
If you weren't sold on the plot, here are some things that really made the book more enjoyable for me:
1. A biracial protagonist; Madeline Whittier is half Asian and half black, and she's more than just a token POC.
2. A whimsical style; the book is filled with Maddy's doodles, little lists and cute diagrams.
3. Lots and lots of small pushes to motivate you to finally do something you've been wanting to do.
However, in contrast to that, here are some things that made the read less enjoyable:
1. Maddy's illness is not discussed or explained with much depth, and the details are very wishy-washy.
2. The conclusion can barely be deemed so, there is no closure or insight given to the mental state of some very important characters, making the novel more of cute read than anything profound.
However, in contrast to that, here are some things that made the read less enjoyable:
1. Maddy's illness is not discussed or explained with much depth, and the details are very wishy-washy.
2. The conclusion can barely be deemed so, there is no closure or insight given to the mental state of some very important characters, making the novel more of cute read than anything profound.
More depth in character development and better exposition of the Maddy's illness would've been beneficial, but I did thoroughly enjoy this book. It's endearing, unique and honestly a new favorite.
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