I'll Give You the Sun

When they were thirteen, twins Noah and Jude could hardly be more different: Noah was the quiet, sensitive, and artistic boy who dodged bullies and dreamed of attending the nearby arts high school, Jude was the confident and popular surfer girl. Despite their differences, the two were inseparable. But by age 16, things have changed: Jude is the one attending the arts high school, camouflaging herself in dark, baggy clothes, and creating sculptures representing her own brokenness, while Noah has become a jock at the normal public high school, who never draws or paints any more. The most striking difference, though, is that Noah and Jude hardly speak to each other any more. They've been split apart by a family tragedy. What will it take show more to mend their relationship?

I'm hardly doing justice to this book with that summary. This is one of the best books I've read this year -- touching and uplifting and thought-provoking and funny. It reminded me a bit of one of my favorite books from last year, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, but I think I actually liked this one better. I can absolutely see why this book won the Printz Medal. Highly recommended! show less

I read this book because I'm on a challenge committee for the book.

Noah and his twin Jude seem to create one person. Noah's mind works like an artist--his feelings are revealed by his "self-portraits." He creates constantly and his talent makes him a shoo-in for a prestigious art academy that happens to be in town. Jude feels that her art fails to live up to quality. She creates sand sculptures but doesn't want their mother to see the sculptures until she perfected her skills. Unknowing to Jude, Noah sees the sculptures and takes pictures--the only evidence they've existed. The sun they revolve around is their mother. She encourages their artistic skills. Dad's presence is peripheral. Everything is about mom. Jude feels that mom doesn't show more think Jude is as good of an artist as Noah. She's encouraged them both to apply to the art school, but Jude doesn't think she will be accepted.

The novel is told in two points of view. Noah tells what's going on right before and after their mother dies. He meets a boy who completes him, but Brian can't be openly gay. He denies his feelings and tells Noah that being with Noah would ruin his life because his goals would be ruined with the truth. Noah fails to control his emotions sometimes and says and does things that are very destructive. Jude tells what's going on three years later, after their mother has died. Their lives have completely changed. Jude's in art school; Noah isn't. Jude becomes the weird art person who's quiet and doesn't socialize, which is how Noah was three years ago. Noah refuses to create any art and becomes part of the "in" crowd, partying and getting drunk and taking dangerous risks, whereas Jude used to be the partier. Noah and Jude avoid each other, keeping secrets that harm their relationship. Jude attends the art school, but her art always ends up damaged. She decides to scuplt in stone, so she's directed to a local, famous scultor where she meets the boy she fell in love with (although she doesn't realize it for a while) when Noah showed her his drawing three years ago. The scultor lost his way and has refused to teach or really to live much for the last few years, but he agrees to help Jude. She doesn't fear him and begins to find herself by creating this art.

The novel shows how much harm we can do to one another by our words and our actions that destroy. Rebuilding after destruction is difficult. All of the secrets will have to come out, apologies made, and some serious forgiveness. These mistakes are seriously destructive and harmful--none of the reconciliation will be easy. We finally see more of their father as the two stories from different times fill in gaps and paint a portrait of their individual and family's disintegration and renewal.

I loved the novel. It's well-written and has great metaphors. The novel requires a reader who is ready for an analytical novel. There is a sex scene, but it isn't described at all. After teaching high school for as long as I did, it's very realistic to what happens in high school because girls think they are popular and only realize afterward that they were actually used and have to deal with the consequences of the event with little to no help. I hope girls will read books like this so that this horrible abuse doesn't happen to them. It's also a very artsy-book; artists will especially feel drawn to reading and, probably, see and experience the book at a deeper level. show less

This book earned every one of these 5 stars, 5 times over!!! It now cozily resides among my top favorite books of all time. That's right, I said it, OF ALL TIME! The world building and character development are so superb that I was brought to tears many times by the absolute magnitude of their perfection (yes , today there are degrees of perfection)! The writing is so beautiful/kooky/emotional that it not only replaces your eyes with whole new ones but reaches into your very soul and redecorates...complete nuclear radiation of light filling in any and all dark/neglected/ pain laden crevices and embracing all the bright and shiny spots. My only complaint is that it did not last longer. I wanted (no needed) more...more time with the show more perfectly humanly flawed characters in their multi-hued / amazingly detailed world of awesomeness. I DEFINITELY DEFINITELY ( 100 definitelys) recommend this book to anyone that loves a unique, gripping, soul redecorating, rollercoaster ride. show less

This. Book. Was. Magic.

Seriously -- I have not been this enamored or engrossed in a read in quite a while. It was one of those books that was just so good, I'm almost hesitant to jump into another read right away -- it was a book that I didn't want to end, because I know I probably won't read something as fantastic in a long time.

Noah and Jude were both vibrant, amazing characters. The way the novel was written was so vivid and beautiful. Even though a lot of the novel is about art, I didn't need to know about art or physically see Noah's art in the book to be able to picture it vividly. The titles of Noah's artwork throughout his portions of the book were so easily brought to life in my mind through his descriptions, and the knowledge show more of what he was going through in the book.

Similarly, in Jude's sections of the novel, I was able to easily envision her unique look, as well as picture Oscar and Guillermo easily.

I don't really want to say anything specific about the storyline, because I think there is a magic in not knowing...but it was such a beautiful book about love, fate, truth, magic (both perceived and real), and the connections we have to one another and the world.

This book was beautiful and unique and so very worth a read. show less

This book earned every one of these 5 stars, 5 times over!!! It now cozily resides among my top favorite books of all time. That's right, I said it, OF ALL TIME! The world building and character development are so superb that I was brought to tears many times by the absolute magnitude of their perfection (yes , today there are degrees of perfection)! The writing is so beautiful/kooky/emotional that it not only replaces your eyes with whole new ones but reaches into your very soul and redecorates...complete nuclear radiation of light filling in any and all dark/neglected/ pain laden crevices and embracing all the bright and shiny spots. My only complaint is that it did not last longer. I wanted (no needed) more...more time with the show more perfectly humanly flawed characters in their multi-hued / amazingly detailed world of awesomeness. I DEFINITELY DEFINITELY ( 100 definitelys) recommend this book to anyone that loves a unique, gripping, soul redecorating, rollercoaster ride. show less

This novel is the story of a family tragedy and its aftermath, narrated in alternating chapters by twins Noah and Jude. Noah's narrative begins when the twins are 13. He's the quiet one who dodges school bullies and spends all his time painting; Jude's the outgoing one who is popular and daring. Despite their very different personalities, Noah and Jude are incredibly close. But Jude's story, which takes place three years later, reveals that something terrible has happened, and she and Noah are no longer speaking. Noah is living in denial, trying to act like a "normal" teenager, and Jude is trying as hard as possible to be invisible. As the novel alternates between Noah's story and Jude's, the nature of their tragedy is revealed, and it show more becomes obvious that each twin only has half the story. In order to move past their family's secrets, both twins will have to forgive themselves as well as each other. Meanwhile, Noah falls in love with the boy next door and must come to terms with his sexuality, while Jude searches for redemption through art.

You may not be able to tell from my woefully inadequate summary, but I loved, loved, LOVED this book! And I honestly wasn't expecting to…YA contemporary is a genre that varies widely in quality, and I hadn't heard much about this author, so I was quite wary going in. But I was almost immediately captivated by the energetic, vivid writing style and unexpected imagery. I usually think that the best writing style is the least obtrusive, but this book made me sit up and take notice, in a good way! I also felt deep sympathy for both Noah and Jude, who are each trying to figure out who they are, while being burdened with a huge weight of guilt. Despite their overly precocious voices, they felt like real human beings to me. I loved the book's focus on visual art and was fascinated by Jude's quest to make a sculpture out of stone, something that is apparently a dying art nowadays. There's even a touch of magical realism, as Jude often talks to her Grandma Sweetwine's ghost. In short, if the premise of this book seems at all appealing to you, I HIGHLY recommend it! show less

Oh man, this book was AMAZING! And such a heartbreaker! Told in alternating points of view between twins Jude (female) and Noah, and also in dual timelines, we see this troubled, loving, tortured relationship from all its angles and facets. Jude and Noah have gone through a terrible loss and are completely different people from one timeline to the next. The juxtaposition is fascinating. At times you want to cry for them both, and gape in horror at what you witness them doing. I will confess that while I pitied and understood both twins’ motivations, I found Noah the more sympathetic of the two. There were times I just saw Jude and, gah, it was harder to forgive some of her past actions, even if I understood them to be those of a sad, show more lonely girl. So beautifully rendered.

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader. show less