Title: Everything, Everything
Author: Nicola Yoon
Publisher: Random House Children's
Publication Date: September 1st 2015
Available Editions: Hardback and for review, EBook.
Rating: 5/5
Netgalley Synopsis:
This innovative, heartfelt debut novel tells the story of a girl who's literally allergic to the outside world. When a new family moves in next door, she begins a complicated romance that challenges everything she's ever known. The narrative unfolds via vignettes, diary entries, texts, charts, lists, illustrations, and more.
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.
Review:
Scrolling through Netgalley I spotted the colourful front cover, closely followed by the intriguing synopsis that I read seconds later. Intrigued about how the story would plan out I went ahead and requested for the right to read the book for a review, thankfully I got an email to say I had the right to read for review and I soon got down to reading it. It took me around 5 hours to read the book in total.
There were several good parts to the book, its plot was the main one, it was a great idea to write a story of a severe allergy that literally takes away a life away from a teenager and how she lives and deals with it. The progression of the story was the next best thing, there was now lingering for too long and I must admit that I loved the incorporation of diary entries, emails and diagrams etc. so that its was not just the basic line after line layout.
Bringing up the characters I have to admit I was quite happy with the few characters there were, based around Madeline and Olly, her mother and her nurse Carla. Madeline turns 18 close to the start of the book, that means 18 years in confinement, of air sealed packages and home taught education and no social life. She seems to be very withdrawn but intelligent, her sarcastic humour shines throughout when she is with Olly, is her new neighbour and he's quick off the line and wanting to be her friend, nothing stands between them except her allergy, he's funny and sarcastic with a very unique pass time hobby. Madeline's mom is her only parent and loves to spend time with her, protecting her from everything and always doing what she can to keep her out of harms way. In doing this Carla, a nurse is hired to care for Maddy whilst her mom is at work, she supports and encourages her much like her mother, just like Maddy was her own child.
Each character helps bring the story together, taking the reader on a spectacular journey through the eyes and mind of a world allergic teenager who's falling hopelessly in love with a boy who by the rules of her mother, can not be a part of her life much like anyone else from the outside world to help prevent what could be a deadly reaction.
Much like other times, I read this book page after page, with very few breaks and all in one, I was so hooked on where the story could go I couldn't put the book down. I had no problems with any part of the book and I did not miss understand or get confused over anything, it was a great read and I'm so thankful for getting the right to read for review and I'm looking forward to more book from Nicola Yoon in the future.
At times the book made me want to cry, scream and laugh out loud, despite the emotional roller-coaster that the book took me on, I give the book a rating of 5/5 and recommend it to anyone who's up for a well written story to read for fun or in search for a book to review.
