"Everything Everything"

This book is beautiful.

18-year-old Madeline is allergic to everything. From the back cover: "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 nurse, Carla." But then one day, a new family moves in next door, with a boy dressed in all black, and nothing is ever the same.

I really enjoyed this book. A lot. It was sweet and silly and lovely. The themes of first love and not wasting your life are beautifully woven throughout the story. Nicola Yoon's first novel addresses heavy topics like abuse and chronic illness in a way that is light while not discounting the severity of these issues.

While the novel and actual writing was enjoyable, the sketches and notebook-style entries made this book fantastic. They don't simply illustrate what the book is saying, but they continue the story in a unique way. For example, we don't simply hear Madeline telling us she wants to kiss Olly. We get a three page "Kissing Primer" (and let's not lie, what girl hasn't thought about all the steps that lead up to kissing?)

The characters of Madeline and Carla were well developed and relatable, but I'm split on Olly. I liked what we saw of him, but he felt kind of one-dimensional or superficial. We heard about the issues he faced and things he liked, but he seemed to only exist for Maddy and doing things with her.

The plot twist = genius. Loved it! But I wish we had a little bit more after. It felt like we had the twist, then some angst, and suddenly the book was over. I wish we had just a little more resolution, especially with Dr. Whittier.

But as a whole, I loved this book and you should read it. But you can't yet, unless you have an ARC. Everything Everything is on sale September 1, 2015. But once it comes out, you should definitely read it. Especially if you're a Rainbow Rowell fan, because it had a similar feel to it (and really, who's not a Rainbow fan these days?).

Also, there is a Tumblr set up for this book! There's not much there right now, but it looks like it will be a lot of fun when they get it going!

Want to hear more about my thoughts on this book? Check out my BookTalk here!

4.5/5 stars
Recommended

I received this book from First in Line at BookCon 2015 under no obligation for a positive review.