BOOK & FILM REVIEW: Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

The world is too big and there’s not enough time for me to see it.

My synopsis: Madeline Whittier has her whole life built around the one thing about her that seems to matter most – she has SCID (Severe combined immunodeficiency). It means that almost anything can make her sick, anything can kill her. It means that she is a princess trapped in a glass castle, treated well but could never see the world. She is resigned to her fate and has become content enough to understand that she has no other choice. Until the gorgeous and graceful Olly who calls her Maddy moves in next door – and suddenly she wants more and then suddenly, she wants everything, everything. 

Genre: YA Contemporary, YA Romance

Themes: love, relationships, family, friendship, living, beauty, appreciating the world, nature, seizing the day, taking a chance

BONUS: Read Q&A with Nicola Yoon about the book here!

 

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BOOK

From so high up above it, the world seems ordered and deliberate. But I know it’s more than that. And less. It is structured and chaotic. Beautiful and strange.

Everything, Everything is a beautiful, romantic, and emotional read. Without being too somber, it tackles several serious themes about the world and living in it – that along with love, beauty, happiness and all the good things, there is pain, sadness, regret and a lot of darkness.

Madeline is easily likable. She is loving and despite knowing that she missed out on so many things, she knows how to appreciate all that she has and she doesn’t take it for granted. Even though she’s experiencing such a unique situation, it’s amazing how it’s simple to understand what she’s going through – at some point in our lives, we’ve felt trapped and suffocated, wanting more, more, more.

In life, in finding happiness, there isn’t one right answer, no one simple solution. We don’t find a way, we make them – not just one, but many.

I was trying so hard to find a single pivotal moment that set my life on its path. The moment that answered the question, how did I get here? But it’s never just one moment. It’s a series of them. And your life can branch out from each one in a thousand different ways. Maybe there’s a version of your life for all the choices you make and all the choices you don’t.

Maddy and Olly were these two teenagers that forged this genuine connection and discovered more about the world and about themselves in the process. But what I really loved about their relationship is that it wasn’t just about romance, about first loves, they talked about real things and had so many intellectual conversations. And the thing is, they mostly didn’t agree about the specifics, but they both respected each other’s opinions. Their interactions made them explore topics that don’t normally, or at least does not as easily, come up during face-to-face conversations. I think this kind of format of a developing romance was very interesting, and was done extremely well by Nicola Yoon.

Being in love with you is better than the first time. It feels like the first time and the last time and the only time all at once.

Reading about Maddy and Olly makes you want to fall in love, and reminds you of all the good things about falling in love.

Overall, I really really loved it. Despite being such a quick read, it’s endless in wisdom and emotions and I highly recommend it!

FILM 

 **you can click the image if you’d like to buy a copy!
I watched the movie first and really liked it. The visual media was effectively utilized, and the execution of the IM scenes was both impressive and endearing. Amandla Stenberg made such a lovable and convincing Maddy and Nick Robinson was a swoonworthy Olly – even though he had brown eyes (when Olly had ocean-blue ones 😉 ) When I first saw the trailer, I initially thought it was going to be too cheesy, but these two looked so good onscreen, you don’t have time to focus on the negatives or the plot holes. Overall, it’s a wholesome romantic movie, perfectly balancing the drama and the romance.

Have you read and/or seen Everything, Everything? What did you think?

If you were Maddy and you’ve never seen the world, what do you think is the first place you’d want to see?