Everything, Everything

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.

I loved everything about this book. Sure, it is a bit simple and formulaic. Yes, it may trivialize children’s health issues. However, it is truly a special story. The illustrations are amazing. Ms. Yoon never tries to lighten Olly’s family situation or the seriousness of Maddy’s illness. Rather, she presents them both very matter-of-factly. To that end, the voices are authentic. Speaking of the end, it was just about perfect. I immediately ran out and bought a permanent copy for my library and cannot wait to share it with my daughter.

Upon first reading this book I immediately felt that Maddy’s story is somewhat bittersweet. From the very beginning of the novel you are torn between wanting her to end up with Olly (the boy next door), but you don’t want her to risk her own health to do so. I also liked that though Maddy feels trapped physically and emotionally she, for the most part, tries to keep a humorous and positive outlook on life.

Everything Everything has got a strong plot, a diverse writer and protagonist, as well as romance that is sweet and not over-saturated (or over the top). I felt that I and others could relate to Maddy in the sense that we are both avid readers, but also the fear of being afraid to take risks in life. While this is a romance novel, show more it’s a book that has a message to make the most of every day.

The overall setup of the book is pretty neat as well. The whole novel is a mixture of prose, poems, doodles/drawings, and Maddy’s random thoughts/charts. Those things blended together give the book a fun and energetic feel. As a bonus the cover art is absolutely gorgeous!

This is is probably the cutest, swoon-worthy romance I have read all year! My only regret is that I wish the book was longer! show less

Eighteen-year-old Maddy has lived the majority of her life limited to her own home, with almost no visitors besides her nurse as Maddy has a rare disease that makes so many factors in the outside world possibly fatal for her. As she has been living this way since she was a baby, she doesn't remember or know an alternative. But when a cute boy moves in across the street, Maddy is intrigued by him and strikes up an online friendship. Once she starts learning more about the outside world, can Maddy still be content with the life she has?

This was an engaging and compelling read. Admittedly, romance is not really my genre but I did enjoy this title. For starters, Maddy and Olly both felt closer to real people than archetypes. They both have show more hobbies, such as reading/reviewing books and playing board games for Maddy and parkour and building an orrery for Olly. They both have their own familial issues to deal with and their own histories before meeting each other.

Also, I appreciated how the thing keeping the romantic pair apart was not some silly, contrived misunderstanding but a serious barrier due to illness. When it later is revealed that Maddy is not sick at all , I at first thought that was a cop-out and a real deus ex machina moment to solve the problem. However, I thought it was both appropriate and well done for the first reactions to this news to be Maddy dealing with how this affects her life in other ways -- her relationship with her mother primarily, but also her relationship with her nurse Carla, her schooling, her living situation, and finally her relationship with Olly. I think a more stereotypical romance novel would have jumped right to the last part first, but this way was more accurate to real life.

I do feel like the ending, while beautiful in its circular nature, left me wondering more about what was going to happen with these characters, but many of the best reads do conclude in such a way to make you regret leaving that world.

The audiobook was narrated extremely well by the main reader who put some much emotion into it; a couple of extra voices and sparingly used sound effects enhanced the experience. However, the print book also has fun little doodles and more, so I recommend having a copy of each to read. show less

Madeline has never been outside. She has a disease that makes her super allergic to everything, so she has very limited contact with people, doesn't leave the house that has special filters to purify the air, and stays away from things that can trigger her immune system and make her super sick. Living this way with her books, loving mother, and caretaker Carla has always been enough. But then a new family moves next door with a cute boy about Madeline's age - and everything in her life is overturned.

I connected with Madeline from the first with her love of books and words and games with her mom. She's a fun, intelligent character. When her relationship with Olly, the boy next door, began I was a little bewildered by her sneaking around show more her mom and impetuous behavior. But I hadn't quite seen the end coming, and it's done in a believable way that made me smile because it was worth the ride. The story is mostly first-person narration from Maddy's point of view, but we also get IMs and emails, entries in a "dictionary" and pithy reviews from Maddy, as well as drawings and clever visuals of the words. The author's husband, David Yoon, illustrated. The narrator puts a lot of emotion into Maddy's statements - and I don't know whether it was her choice or the production's in how she describes/reads the visuals, but it's excellently done so that you can picture them even when it's been read. They aren't skipped or short-changed at all. Recommended for fans of Eleanor & Park and other first love/romances for teens. show less

Dramatic, yes, but not nearly as melodramatic as much YA. The romance was believable, not meet-cute or insta-love... we saw the kids try to be just friends, and we watched them get to know each other. The girl's 'twist' was predictable (to me, anyway) but I'm glad that the girl is 18, otherwise her & Carla's ability to not turn mom in for child abuse would be unbelievable. The boy's twist was believable and satisfying.

The fairy tale bit frustrated me. Instead, why why couldn't they have just gone to San Diego? Hawaii without proper ID, and isn't Olly a minor? No, not going to happen. While we're on the subject of what it means to be an adult, this is not for 'tweens. I know kids tend to read up, and the romance is loving & supportive, show more but if you're protecting your 11-12 yo, you'll want to encourage them to read something else. The reason they went to bed so fast, relatively speaking, is that they're teens, and Maddy is not used to new experiences & so overwhelmed, while Olly is rather desperate for affection. I thought the 'sex' scene lovely and realistic (well, except for no pain or blood). But some parents might object.

Parents also might object to the parental characters, but ppl like that exist, and stuff like that happens. And irl there are lots of teens who have to face that, or worse, and a story that makes them feel less alone is valuable.

Anyway, I just loved the details that went into crafting the book, too. Maddy's journal and book reviews. The books she reads and how she references them. The illustrations that were just that, illustrative. Maddy's purchase of colored t-shirts and, later, live plants for the sunroom. Carla's daughter. Olly's sister. The fact that Maddy is biracial, but we don't know that right away and it's not a big fat deal. Fonetik Skrabl, which seems like so much fun. The architecture, and the astronaut in the model.

And the writing. "I don't want [my heart] to heal. Because if it does, I might be tempted to use it again."

Recommended, even to ppl who aren't avid YA readers if you want something different. And I will look for more by the author.

Btw, I picked it up because it's my local library's (inaugural?) pick for the Teen Book Club and I'm just impulsive that way. I don't read a lot of YA because usually I find that it is too melodramatic & juvenile about love. (Dramatic is fine, as teens are dramatic, but melodrama is wearing. And sometimes I do think the Juv. audience has a better handle on what it means to love one's life partner, or even one's best friend, than do hormone addled teens.) (And what is up with making teens deal with hormones and decisions that will reverberate through their lives during the same few years? Cut the kids some slack!) show less

Eighteen-year-old Madeline has a condition that's kept her trapped in her house, unwillingly isolated from the rest of the world, since she was a baby. Mostly she's okay with that, content to spend her life reading books, studying, and enjoying a close relationship with her mother. But then a cute, funny, troubled boy moves in next door...

By rights, I feel as if I should have disliked this book. I mean, first of all, it's a teen romance, with all the slightly over-the-top emotion that entails, and I'm forty-six years old and, honestly, have very little romance in my soul. Not to mention the fact that I find Madeline's story and her situation to be several kinds of unconvincing. Or that the story centers primarily on these kids doing show more something dumb enough that it felt like I ought to be rolling my eyes at them. Or the fact that I couldn't help noticing a significant plot hole that, realistically, means none of the events of second half of the book could have actually happened.

But the truth is, despite all that, I actually quite enjoyed it. The writing is effortless and charming, with some fun little multimedia touches. The characters are likeable, stupid actions notwithstanding. And all the little references to math and science and literature were right up my alley. So, despite everything, it was a pleasant read. Much more than it probably should have been, but, hey, I'm hardly going to complain about liking something too much, am I?

Rating: I feel like objectively I should rate it lower, but I figure a book that has that many strikes against it but somehow still manages to be enjoyable anyway surely deserves some recognition for that. So, I'll give it a 4/5. show less