Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon
Nov. 7th, 2016 11:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Live life in a bubble? Or risk everything for love?
Maddy is allergic to the world. She hasn’t left her house in seventeen years.
Olly is the boy next door. He’s determined to find a way to reach her.
Everything Everything is about the crazy risks we take for love …
17-year-old Maddy suffers from Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (bubble baby disease) and hasn’t left her specially adapted house since she was a baby. But then, she hasn’t wanted to. Her mum and nurse Carla love and support her, she’s been able to study on-line with other home-schooled kids and some tutors (notably her architecture tutor) are able to visit her provided they comply with stringent decontamination requirements.
Everything changes when Olly and his family move next door. Olly’s smart, funny and brave and he’s also dealing with an alcoholic father who likes to beat his mother. The two become intrigued by each other’s situation and as they grow closer, they find themselves taking crazy risks that could cost each of them everything …
Nicola Yoon’s debut YA contemporary romance is a sweet tale of impossible love against impossible odds with great illustrations by David Yoon but it’s hindered by a plot twist that’s way too easy to guess and the ramifications of which don’t get a thorough examination. I’m not a massive fan of love-at-first-sight storylines (which this is), although Yoon handles it in a sweet way and I enjoyed the dialogue, which shows the characters getting to know each other and sharing information. I thought that Olly’s storyline was a little hackneyed and wasn’t really needed, although it’s written well enough but I wish there hadn’t been so much made of how attractive each of them is, mainly because I’m bored of teen love only ever happening to attractive people. The big problem for me though is that there’s only one way this romance can play out and the twist (when it comes) was far too easy to guess. I could have dealt with that had the emotional ramifications and other consequences been addressed but instead Yoon decides to brush them to one side, which I thought was a mistake as it robs Maddy of a lot of emotional development and because there’s no real discussion of the impact of the revelation on her relationship with her mother or Carla. This is a shame because there is a lot to like about this book – it’s genuinely sweet and easy to read and Yoon writes with confidence and wit. As such although this book didn’t quite do it for me, I would definitely read Yoon’s next novel.
The Verdict:
Nicola Yoon’s debut YA contemporary romance is a sweet tale of impossible love against impossible odds with great illustrations by David Yoon but it’s hindered by a plot twist that’s way too easy to guess and the ramifications of which don’t get a thorough examination. I’m not a massive fan of love-at-first-sight storylines (which this is), although Yoon handles it in a sweet way and I enjoyed the dialogue, which shows the characters getting to know each other and sharing information. I thought that Olly’s storyline was a little hackneyed and wasn’t really needed, although it’s written well enough but I wish there hadn’t been so much made of how attractive each of them is, mainly because I’m bored of teen love only ever happening to attractive people. The big problem for me though is that there’s only one way this romance can play out and the twist (when it comes) was far too easy to guess. I could have dealt with that had the emotional ramifications and other consequences been addressed but instead Yoon decides to brush them to one side, which I thought was a mistake as it robs Maddy of a lot of emotional development and because there’s no real discussion of the impact of the revelation on her relationship with her mother or Carla. This is a shame because there is a lot to like about this book – it’s genuinely sweet and easy to read and Yoon writes with confidence and wit. As such although this book didn’t quite do it for me, I would definitely read Yoon’s next novel.
Maddy is allergic to the world. She hasn’t left her house in seventeen years.
Olly is the boy next door. He’s determined to find a way to reach her.
Everything Everything is about the crazy risks we take for love …
17-year-old Maddy suffers from Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (bubble baby disease) and hasn’t left her specially adapted house since she was a baby. But then, she hasn’t wanted to. Her mum and nurse Carla love and support her, she’s been able to study on-line with other home-schooled kids and some tutors (notably her architecture tutor) are able to visit her provided they comply with stringent decontamination requirements.
Everything changes when Olly and his family move next door. Olly’s smart, funny and brave and he’s also dealing with an alcoholic father who likes to beat his mother. The two become intrigued by each other’s situation and as they grow closer, they find themselves taking crazy risks that could cost each of them everything …
Nicola Yoon’s debut YA contemporary romance is a sweet tale of impossible love against impossible odds with great illustrations by David Yoon but it’s hindered by a plot twist that’s way too easy to guess and the ramifications of which don’t get a thorough examination. I’m not a massive fan of love-at-first-sight storylines (which this is), although Yoon handles it in a sweet way and I enjoyed the dialogue, which shows the characters getting to know each other and sharing information. I thought that Olly’s storyline was a little hackneyed and wasn’t really needed, although it’s written well enough but I wish there hadn’t been so much made of how attractive each of them is, mainly because I’m bored of teen love only ever happening to attractive people. The big problem for me though is that there’s only one way this romance can play out and the twist (when it comes) was far too easy to guess. I could have dealt with that had the emotional ramifications and other consequences been addressed but instead Yoon decides to brush them to one side, which I thought was a mistake as it robs Maddy of a lot of emotional development and because there’s no real discussion of the impact of the revelation on her relationship with her mother or Carla. This is a shame because there is a lot to like about this book – it’s genuinely sweet and easy to read and Yoon writes with confidence and wit. As such although this book didn’t quite do it for me, I would definitely read Yoon’s next novel.
The Verdict:
Nicola Yoon’s debut YA contemporary romance is a sweet tale of impossible love against impossible odds with great illustrations by David Yoon but it’s hindered by a plot twist that’s way too easy to guess and the ramifications of which don’t get a thorough examination. I’m not a massive fan of love-at-first-sight storylines (which this is), although Yoon handles it in a sweet way and I enjoyed the dialogue, which shows the characters getting to know each other and sharing information. I thought that Olly’s storyline was a little hackneyed and wasn’t really needed, although it’s written well enough but I wish there hadn’t been so much made of how attractive each of them is, mainly because I’m bored of teen love only ever happening to attractive people. The big problem for me though is that there’s only one way this romance can play out and the twist (when it comes) was far too easy to guess. I could have dealt with that had the emotional ramifications and other consequences been addressed but instead Yoon decides to brush them to one side, which I thought was a mistake as it robs Maddy of a lot of emotional development and because there’s no real discussion of the impact of the revelation on her relationship with her mother or Carla. This is a shame because there is a lot to like about this book – it’s genuinely sweet and easy to read and Yoon writes with confidence and wit. As such although this book didn’t quite do it for me, I would definitely read Yoon’s next novel.
