Everything, Everything

Author: Nicola Yoon

Publisher: Double Day Canada

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Release Date: September 1st 2015

Format: Hardcover

Page Count: 306

ISBN: 9780385683654

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Everything, Everything is one of those books that you see everywhere that you go. It’s on every shelf in every book store, it’s on every top 10 young adult list of 2015, it is literally everywhere. It was even constantly on my Goodreads feed as everyone was reading this book! When a book, or even a film or television show, has the amount of hype surrounding it that Everything, Everything does, I’m usually a little hesitant to get in to it. I don’t want things to be so overhyped that by the time that I get to them, I’ve been let down. Unfortunately, I probably should have waited a little while longer as Everything, Everything wasn’t exactly what I hoped it would be.

Everything, Everything tells the story of Maddy, an eighteen year old teenager who suffers from SCID, which in simplest terms means that she is allergic to everything around her, making it impossible for her to even go outside. She has been confined to her home, where everything is properly sterilized, making it the only place where she can survive. Then she hears the sound of a moving truck outside of her home and notices new neighbours that are moving in to the house next door, including their attractive son Olly.

Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy the story and I think that it definitely did have potential, but there was just something a little off about it. For one, it was extremely fast paced. I found that the romance within the novel was a little too quick and rushed. I felt as though we didn’t get to learn enough about the characters as individuals before they became a couple. We did learn a bit about Maddy and her past, but I think she could have been developed a little further. As for Olly, I don’t think we got to learn much about him at all. I think that both of these characters could have been great if we just knew a little bit more about them and their lives.

I thought that the writing style was great, especially the dialogue between characters. It felt real and true and age appropriate. There were things that I liked about Everything, Everything and then there were things that I did not. Basically the last quarter of the book had me feeling a little cheated. We are led to believe that the story is all about one thing. One girl and her health issues. And then it turns in to something else. I understand that it was meant to feel like a twist or a shocking turn of events, but I’m not sure that it was really necessary. Not every book needs a twist to be good.

Overall, this book had me feeling one way and then had me feeling another. I did enjoy the story for the majority of the novel, I just wish it didn’t have to switch everything up towards the end.