Review: Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

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.

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Pages: 310

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I bought this book on a vacation in Alabama upon the prodding of one of my fangirl friends. Not only is the cover of this novel absolutely flawless, but “Everything Everything” is also the name of one of my favorite British pop punk bands. Seriously, check them out. If you need any more motivation to read this book, the movie is coming out May 19 in the US and it features grown up Hunger Games Rue, Amandla Stenberg. Y’all there’s some good stuff here.

It’s obviously been hyped up in the blogosphere, but I’m not sure it deserves quite all of the hype it’s received.

Don’t worry, this review will be void of spoilers!

MORAL RATING:

PG-13: Brief mention of sex, sappy dialogue, and kissing fam (KISSING!!!)

 THE GOOD:

Did you ever grow out of your picture book phase? No? Well, you’re in luck. This book has pictures. They’re super cute and drawn by the author’s husband. I’m swooning.

I thought I had this book figured out. I’d read the Goodreads reviews (4.1 average rating–killin’ it). The plot twists and turns kept me guessing, never quite knowing what was going to happen next. Yoon writes with a simple eloquence that seems to capture the youthful playfulness that surrounds a first love. This ain’t Tolstoy, but it’s a poetic, sweet story.

Spoiler alert: Love is worth everything. Everything.

I genuinely enjoyed Maddie as a character. You find yourself rooting for her as she embarks on this journey of self-discovery. She loves The Little Prince (cliché ick) and writes small book reviews. She has always longed for a life that is broader and deeper and wider than what she has experienced thus far.

THE BAD:

This book wasn’t flawless and I had several problems with the writing and plot.

First of all, we get that Olly is bad-boy, hotness incarnate, but the insta-love has got to stop. I suppose I should consider that poor Maddie hadn’t been outside her house in some time. If I were her, I may have gauged my eyes out with a fork from complete and utter boredom. So, yes, I can understand her infatuation with Olly. Not only is he a nice guy, but he’s extremely witty and knows his way around his email inbox. That’s hot.

These two lovebirds have known each other for like a week before they’re all over each other. Calm down for a second. I’ve microwaved leftovers for longer than y’all have been together. Chill those hormones.

I’ve seen many other bloggers commenting on the fact that Yoon doesn’t spend much time describing the disease Maddie suffers from. This is true. I feel like I could’ve googled her disease and read the first result’s description and had a better understanding than this book provided me. This lack of description made sense at the end of the book, but still affected my overall feeling about this novel.

SOUNDTRACK:

This song leaves me feelin’ some type of way. First love? Press play.

MY VERDICT:

In my opinion, Everything, Everything doesn’t deserve the level of hype surrounding it. BUT that doesn’t mean you get to ignore this novel. For its flaws, it is also a sweet coming-of-age story with an interesting plot twist and beautiful prose.

And, remember, read the book before seeing the movie. Otherwise, you’re just a cheater. And I’m judging you.

4/5 hearts for this beauty! I was going to rate it 3.5/5, but I’m lazy and don’t want to find my half heart picture. Full disclosure.