Nicola Yoon- Everything, Everything

Nicola Yoon- Everything, Everything 

3⭐

Genre:  YA, Romance, Contemporary, Fiction, Contemporary Fiction 

Pages: 312

Format: Paperback 

Publisher:  Penguin Random House UK 

Date Published: 1st September 2015

 

Book Blurb: 

My disease is as rare as it is famous. It’s a form of Severe Combined Immunodeficiency, but basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in fifteen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

But then one day, a moving truck arrives. New next door neighbors. I look out the 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. I want to learn everything about him, and I do. I learn that he is funny and fierce. I learn that his eyes are Atlantic Ocean-blue and that his vice is stealing silverware. I learn that when I talk to him, my whole world opens up, and I feel myself starting to change—starting to want things. To want out of my bubble. To want everything, everything the world has to offer.

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: 

I think Gabby in her John Green circa 2015 era would have adored this book. However, reading it now was a tad underwhelming. I really liked the illustrations in this book and the fact that some parts of it were mixed media, that really saved the story for me. It’s not that it is a bad book, but it is a very young adult book. That said it read easily and was a super quick read/palette cleanser.

The book follows Maddie who has this extraordinary and rare disease, where she is allergic to fresh air and the outside world. Thus, she has to live inside, in a very hygienic environment, without ever being able to visit the outside world. That is until Maddie turns 18 and meets her next-door neighbour through the window. She is eager to get to know him and although they are emailing each other constantly, she wants to meet him face to face. Whilst her mother is categorically against it, Maddie is listening to her heart and risks her health to see Olly face to face.

Don’t get me wrong the main heroine and her love interest were so good together and I was able to enjoy reading about first love and feelings, but what really annoyed me was that no one questioned how crazy Maddie’s mum was. Also, both main characters read much younger than 18, I felt like tops they were 15-16. I really didn’t like the family dynamic in this one either and the ending just made me so angry at both Maddie and her mum. I was so angry at them throughout the book too, as they both were irresponsible, whilst constantly miscommunicating. All the issues and Maddy’s problems would have been solved if both of them were just honest with each other.

Overall: Young me would have loved this book, current me thinks it’s a very average and easy-to-read YA rom-com. There are so much better ones that in my opinion give the same message, but are executed in much better ways.  I do recommend it if you want that nostalgic feeling of early and mid-2010 YA books as it will give you that, yet not much more. 

About the Author:

Nicola Yoon is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Everything, Everything and The Sun Is Also a Star. She is a National Book Award finalist, a Michael L. Printz Honor Book recipient and a Coretta Scott King New Talent Award winner. Both her novels have been made into major motion pictures. Nicola grew up in Jamaica and Brooklyn, and lives in Los Angeles with her husband, novelist David Yoon, and their family.

http://www.NicolaYoon.com