Everything, Everything
AUTHOR: Nicola Yoon
PUBLICATION DATE: 1st September, 2015 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers
GENRE: YA, Contemporary, Romance
FORMAT I OWN: Advanced Reader’s Copy, courtesy of Netgalley
MY RATING: 5/5 stars
Blurb:
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.
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Shout out to Nathan, a fantastic guy who so very kindly asked to be featured in my blog! Of course I think you’re amazing. And I love our chats!
My Review:
Hello bookworms and welcome back to Josie’s Book Corner! On this very cold winter day (it is winter here in Australia) I bring to you a review of Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon!
If you are a fan of Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell, I think you would definitely enjoy this book. But in general, this book is one I would recommend to everyone! This debut novel is definitely worth everyone’s time. It’s got a little bit of everything that you’d want in a contemporary: a goofy-grin-inducing romance, no over-used YA contemporary book tropes, a very likable female protagonist, a cute boy, a focus of family, love and life.
Everything, Everything blew me and my expectations right out of the water! As Nicola Yoon’s first novel, I am simply amazed. As soon as I finished this book, I knew right away that she was going to be going on my list of favourite authors, right along side Rainbow Rowell!
Love is worth everything. Everything
As per usual, I shall be discussing characters first. Each character within this novel was fantastic. This novel centres around two households, more specifically, Madeline – the girl who is allergic to everything, Madeline’s mother, Madeline’s nurse and Olly – the boy who just moved in next door. These four characters dominate the story. Nicola Yoon knows how to write characters and knows how to do it without the usual tropes and characteristics that tend to show up so often in young adult contemporary novels.
Madeline is allergic to everything, which means she is confined to living in her heavily sanitised home for her entire life. She is content with it, until the day new neighbours move in next door, and she see’s him – Olly. When she meets him, everything changes. She begins to see her world differently as she watches and observes Olly and his family and as she talks to him she realises that maybe the way she is living her life isn’t truly living. Madeline is a wonderful protagonist. She sounds so genuine, so realistic. I found myself connecting with her, even though I’ve never even come close to knowing how it feels to have lived with a conditions such as hers. I felt her emotions of yearning – yearning to have a normal life, one where she can experience everything that teenagers experience.
I could never imagine what it would be like to have always lived with a condition where you are allergic to everything. If I’d had that, I’d be miserable. Nicola Yoon really genuinely portrays what a person with such a disease goes through. I could totally understand and sympathise with Madeline when she began to question if her life was really being lived up to the fullest, and despite how crazy and dangerous some of her actions were, I rooted for her all the way. That’s how great Nicola Yoon is at writing a good protagonist.
I notice things that I paid very little attention to before. I hear the wind disturbing the trees. I hear the birds gossiping in the mornings. I see the rectangles of sunlight that slip through my blinds and work their way across the room throughout the day. You can mark time by them. As much as I’m trying to keep the world out, it seems determined to come in.
Olly was lovely. I could picture him in my mind clearly, through the way Nicola Yoon described him. And not only that, he’s really refreshing! After reading so many books as of late with quite mysterious and brooding male characters – which are always my weakness – I was very happy to have a smart, charming, average boy. I loved him so much! He was a perfect mixture, the perfect cake batter! (Oh no, now I have the urge to bake a cake!) I found myself, in moments, swooning over him. He’s so kind and sweet to Madeline and their banter. Oh their banter. It was just lovely. So lovely.
He jumps down from his perch at the back of the truck and glides across the driveway, moving as if gravity affects him differently than it does the rest of us.
I’ve lingered long enough on characters – let’s move into the plot. The plot is simple, but it’s sweet and there were surprisingly some twists and turns that I wasn’t expecting! And I love being surprised in books! We follow Madeline on her journey of discovering what living really is all about, as she comes to the realisations of the many things she has missed, which is ignited through her meeting of Olly. I found myself constantly cheering her on, silently hoping she would do the things she secretly wanted to do. I was shocked when certain plot twists surfaced in the story. It was totally unexpected and it was a very intense moment. This book really shows the importance of love and the extent to which loss can damage you. It explored what it really means to be living and that sometimes taking risks is a part of living. This book definitely gave me things that will stick with me.
Every day you learn something new. Every day you find something to be happy about.
Nicola Yoon’s writing style is wonderful. If you’re a fan of Rainbow Rowell’s writing, you’ll enjoy Nicola Yoon’s very much. The writing is simple, yet it’s beautiful and slightly poetic. In many instances of this book, the story is not written in a normal format. It’s written through the usual novel style, along with a mixture of instant messaging, diary entries, little snippets of notes and such that really add a uniqueness to this story. It was like I was reading a piece of artwork in an art gallery, to be honest!
Everything’s a risk. Not doing anything is a risk. It’s up to you.
48 responses to “Book Chat | Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon”
I got what you intend, thanks for putting up.Woh I am happy to find this website through google. “Those who corrupt the public mind are just as evil as those who steal from the public.” by Theodor Wiesengrund Adorno.
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Thank you for reading! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
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Well, there is a huge hype in Germany about Everything Everything 😉
Greets ❤
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For good reason too! I hope you pick it up soon. ❤
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Let’s see! But if it’s good, I’ll read it anyway 😉 ❤
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[…] Click here to see my review! […]
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*Internally screams* I NEED THIS BOOK NOW. Like, NOW. I’m absolutely dying for this book; September 1st can’t come fast enough! This book seems absolutely amazing and I really can’t wait to read it. I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much!! Great review! ❤
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YES YOU NEED TO READ IT AS SOON AS IT COMES OUT! It’s fantastic.
Thank you so much, I’m glad you enjoyed my review! ❤
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XD Yes, I plan to do exactly that, along with Queen of Shadows! Eeep! ❤
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I just found out that my pre-order for Queen of Shadows is on its way to me, and is being shipped to me now! I’m so excited. 💜
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Great review Josie! I can’t wait to read this one. Hopefully in a week or so. I have a lot of ARCs to read before September 1 so I’ll probably read this one last because I’ve seen so many positive reviews, I don’t want it to set a high standard for other ARCs lol. I’ve only read Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell and I really enjoyed it so I can’t wait to read it. Glad that you enjoyed it!
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Thank you so much! I do hope you get around to it so we can discuss our feelings!
I also have an ARC to read before September 1… Clock is ticking!!
Yeah, that’s a good idea. I think this nook has been getting enough hype for the time being. 😄
If you loved Rainbow Rowells writing style, I assure you that you will most likely like the writing in this book!
❤ xoxo
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Yeah! I’m sp excited for it! Other than Fangirl, what other Rainbow Rowell book would you recommend?
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Eleanor and Park! Its the only other of her books I’ve read but I adore it. The characters just grew on me so much. Its cute, and adorable and with a hint of underlying sadness.
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Oh sweet! I shall add to my [never ending] TBR list haha
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Great review! I’ve been wanting to read this for the longest time. Let’s hope I get my hands on this soon. Especially since you mentioned Rainbow Rowell haha ❤
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Thank you! And I really do hope you get it soon, because its really worth the read! And yes, it reminded me of Rainbow Rowell’s work!
xoxo
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What a wonderful review – I love it! I am SO excited to read this one, even more so now. You know how much I love Rainbow Rowell, so I have to try this one!
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Great review Josie! I received an e-ARC of this one that I have to read soon, so I’m glad I get a better insight into the story 😀
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Thank you! Yes, you must read it soon, you will not regret it!
Thank you! 😄
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i LOVED Eleanor and park, i pre-ordered everything everything, so I can’t wait to read it when it comes out in a few weeks! Great book chat btw 🙂
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That’s wonderful! I’m so glad you pre-ordered it! Thank you. xoxo 😄
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Yay!! LOVE! 🙂
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😄 Have you read this? xoxo
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Yes! It was perfect! I preordered too and can’t wait to read it again! 🙂
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[…] Josie at Josie’s Book Corner shared a book chat about Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon […]
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I’ll definitely be picking this up 🙂
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Awesome! 😊 xoxo
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I know I said this on twitter but I need this book in my life and your review makes me want the book in my hands now, haha!
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Aw, I’m glad it makes you feel that way! I can’t wait for you to read it when it gets released! xoxo
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I’m so happy you liked it, now I feel justified in reading it.
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I’m so glad I liked it! Haha, its an incredible book! xoxo
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I definitely want to read this book now, especially because you compared it to Eleanor & Park!
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It definitely gave me slight Eleanor and Park feels! So please do pick it up when it comes out! xoxo 😄
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LOVE it!! I am literally sitting down to review this one as well. I love this book chat! 🙂
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Thank YOU! ❤
Really?! That’s so great! Please send me the link to your review once you’ve posted it, I would love to see it! xoxo
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Great review. I finished this book yesterday and it was so good. I’m happy that you also liked 🙂
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Thank you! It really was amazing! What was your favourite part of the book? Did the discovery that Madeline made about her illness shock you too?
And do you have a review of this book? xoxo 😊
xoxo
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I can’t even choose my favorite part but for some reason I love the end and how it was left open. I wasn’t expecting what she discovered. I was also in shock. How could someone do that? I will try to write my review next week so it’s coming =)
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Yeah, I know what you mean. Its hard for me to really say what was my favourite part. Probably my favourite parts were the times when Maddy and Olly were in the sunroom!
It was a total shock. But when you think about it, it really brings up the idea of how damaging to the soul losing those you love can be, which then corresponded really well with the quote about love that kept circling around the: story! xoxo
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I understand what you’re saying. This book was just amazing a full of great scenes. For a debut novel the author wrote an absolutely great book 🙂
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Another fun and fascinating review. “Like reading a piece of artwork in a gallery” – I like how you put that.
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Thank you very much!
Glad you liked that, it just spontaneously popped up in my head as I was writing. xoxo
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Don’t tell anybody but when things like that happen to me while I’m writing I sit back and go “oh, yeah, baby” and do a fist pump. Yeah, it’s like that.
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Haha! Oh yes I totally get that. I do my own little fist pump too! 😉
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Nice review! It was already in my TBR list.I’ve recently finished reading Eleanor and park which I totally loved it.I hope I like this one too. 😀
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Thank you so much! I’m so glad its on your TBR. It does sound really great, right?!
Oh my gosh, I am going to read your review soon! Im currently making my way through all the blog posts I’ve missed out on reading from the day. I’m so glad you loved E&P and I’m sure you will love this one! xoxo ❤
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I hope so too.It’s been already posted a few hours ago. 😀
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