Everything, Everything (Nicola Yoon)

Madeline Whittier is allergic to the outside world. So allergic, in fact, that she has never left the house in all of her seventeen years. But when Olly moves in next door, and wants to talk to Maddie, tiny holes start to appear in the protective bubble her mother has built around her. Olly writes his IM address on a piece of paper, shows it at her window, and suddenly, a door opens. But does Maddie dare to step outside her comfort zone? 

Everything, Everything is about the thrill and heartbreak that happens when we break out of our shell to do crazy, sometimes death-defying things for love.

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This is the time when someone beats me with something on the head, for being a fool and just now reading this book, especially considering that it has been sitting on my shelf for more than a month… THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD!

First of all, let me tell you, I loved this book visually. Not only is the cover one of the most beautiful things in my shelf, but the inside of the book is just as amazing. The narration is a mix of short prose chapters, IM conversations, drawing, definitions, short book reviews, charts, recipes, …, it’s just visually amazing. Which makes this book a super fast read.

Then Yoon’s writing is just amazing, beyond words, it’s simple, direct and whimsical all at once. And Madeline and Olly are two of the cutest teens I’ve ever came across in books. And them together? CUTENESS OVERLOAD!

I adored the story and the plot, it was endearing, heart breaking, heart wrenching and hopeful, and I laughed and cried, and then cried some more… most of the laughing was until 50% of the book, everything is more or less ok until then… I loved seeing the romance between Maddy and Olly developing, against all odds, and how they were willing to make it work, even if it meant staying at different sides of the room and not touching (though that didn’t last long).

The character growth was mind blowing, and not only for Madeline, who’s been stuck inside all her life, but also for Olly, who finally stands ups for the well being of himself and his family.

When Maddy makes her decision, my heart gave out a little, I was happy to see her take control of her life, but I was so scared for her, and I was only thinking that if something happened to her, Olly wouldn’t be able to forgive himself. And Olly, oh my, he’s as swoon-worthy as they come.

I was happy with the plot twist (yeah, there’s a plot twist), actually, I had an epiphany out of the blue at 2 a.m. (almost sleeping), when I was in the middle of the book, and I tweeted Cátia @The Girl Who Read Too Much to expose my theory and it turned out to be correct (not that she confirmed it to me or anything, she was adamant not to give away any spoiler…)!!! And I liked the ending, although I could have used a couple more chapters to be totally satisfied.

To sum it up, I loved loved loved this book, and you all should read it!