Title: Everything, Everything
Author: Nicola Yoon
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
Pub Date: September 1, 2015
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 310
Source: Library
Genre(s): YA, Contemporary, Romance
Rating: ★★★★
Goodreads || Buy on Amazon

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Synopsis from Goodreads:

My disease is as rare as it is famous. It’s a form of Severe Combined Immunodeficiency, but basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in fifteen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

But then one day, a moving truck arrives. New next door neighbors. I look out the 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. I want to learn everything about him, and I do. I learn that he is funny and fierce. I learn that his eyes are Atlantic Ocean-blue and that his vice is stealing silverware. I learn that when I talk to him, my whole world opens up, and I feel myself starting to change—starting to want things. To want out of my bubble. To want everything, everything the world has to offer.

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.

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My review:

“Spoiler alert: Love is worth everything. Everything.”

I really expected everything from this book and I honestly feel a little let down. All of the praise and promotion surrounding it must have left me with unrealistic expectations. With all that being said, this is still a story worth experiencing. You should read it.

Due to her condition (SCID), Maddy essentially lives in a bubble. The bubble is her home. She receives new books in airtight packaging to help her pass the time. She reads a lot. She takes classes online. She wears a slightly different variation of the same outfit every day. She has an overprotective mother (who is also a doctor), and a firm but caring nurse named Carla. Life is routine. Everything is predictable and the same until everything is not. One day, Maddy sees a new family moving in next door. She meets Olly. And suddenly, her bubble is too small for her. She wants to experience everything, everything. And there will be consequences.

This book is cute and predictable… until it’s not. I can’t speak on behalf of other readers, but I must say that the plot twist near the end really caught me off guard. It changed the whole feeling of the story. Everything had to be viewed from a different perspective. Things were not cute and fluffy anymore.

I love that our main character is mixed-race. I love that this book talks about family, how unhealthy families can be, and what happens when things become so harmful that you need to leave. Things at home are not always sweet.

Yes, the main focus of this book was the romance. No, it didn’t really take away from the bigger issues at hand. It just gave the readers something to root for. Hope. Health. Happiness.

After reading The Sun Is Also a Star (click here for my review), this book does seem a little dull in comparison, but this only shows how much Nicola Yoon has improved from her debut novel. She is clearly a fantastic writer and I can’t wait to read more from her.

I think this will make a fantastic movie. Keep your eyes out for it in 2017!