Here is a book that I've thought about long after I finished reading; Nicola Yoon's masterful novel, Everything, Everything weaves a stunning story of a teenager girl who refuses to be defined by her debilitating illness. This story, clearly written for anyone who enjoyed The Fault in Our Stars or Eleanor and Park, centers around the life and love of Madeline, a teenager who can never leave her house. Diagnosed with a severely compromised immune system from a very young age, Madeline is more or less sentenced to spend her life with her house, her mother, and her nurse. That is, until a cute boy (of course) moves in next door (of course) and suddenly Madeline's allergies to the world seem much less important than her blossoming heart.
This book could have been cheesy in a million ways, but it isn't. Beautifully written and heartbreaking in the best possible ways, Everything, Everything is as much about living with illness as it is about living with heart. Madeline's risks, which made me cringe with worry for her, somehow managed to make me fear for her and cheer her on at the same time. Although her mother does everything that she can to make living a confined life comfortable, Madeline's challenges to comfort and desperate desire to really live are felt on every page. Read it and weep (if you so choose).
Great for readers of John Green, David Levithan, and Rainbow Rowell, this book has some challenging vocabulary, rich sentence structures and one (mild, tastefully done but definitely present) sex scene that make it perfect for advanced readers.
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