Everything, Everything - Nicola Yoon

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: September 1, 2015
Source/Format: Borrowed from a friend (Thanks Shifa!) || ARC

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 have to say, in spite of my reservations, I liked Everything, Everything a lot. It was charming and funny, smart and witty, endearing and full of surprises. I was delighted by the opportunity to get to know Maddy, both through her experiences and her internal monologues. I soaked up each and every word, particularly in her conversations with Olly. I dallied over the illustrations and other extras, charmed by their execution and integration into the narrative. Reading Everything, Everything was so easy from start to finish, helped by the short chapters and the various material integrated into its telling. 

And yet, there are reservations that prevent me from giving it a full five stars. I felt like I didn't particularly get to know Olly all that well, since we simply witness what Maddy knows of him and their interactions. That was a shame, because I liked Olly and would have loved to get more of him. Plus, it would have certainly helped me feel more invested in their relationship and how it changes both of their lives in remarkable ways. But the biggest reservation of all is a personal one, and it is simply that I was able to guess something about the story right away. While it didn't make me dislike the story, it certainly didn't help me love it more either.

Still, there's something irresistible about the way Everything, Everything unfolds. I never quite guessed how exactly things would play out, as what I did predict was something more general in nature. And Maddy, as I've mentioned, was a sheer delight to really get to know and is someone I think I could be friends with if we ever met in real life. While there are things about this novel that are less than ideal, I still really liked my reading experience with it overall, and feel confident that other readers will feel the same way.