Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon (review)
Buy Issue for $25 at JHUP- Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
Library ed. ISBN 978-0-553-49665-9 $21.99
Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-553-49664-2 $18.99
E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-553-49666-6 $10.99 R Gr. 9-12
Madeline has been largely content with her existence as a “bubble girl,” confined to her hermetically sealed house under her doctor mother’s watchful eye because of an immune disorder that means she’ll die if she goes outside. Her acquiescence ends when Oliver moves in next door, and the two begin to connect first by window-to-window miming and then by IM and email. Soon they’re falling for each other and Oliver is being snuck into the house while Madeline’s mother is out; when Madeline’s mother finds out and cracks down on the relationship, eighteen-year-old Madeline decides it’s time for rebellion and plans a glorious trip to Hawaii with Oliver to see everything she’s longed to see and enjoy the experiences—including sex with Oliver—she’s been yearning for. The narrative style is contemporary and accessible in its weaving together of short first-person chapters, texts from Madeline, her occasional drawings, and bits of other documentation. However, there are some vintage echoes, as the story not only recalls the fairy tales Madeline wryly acknowledges but also Victorian sentimental novels where the cloistered girl breaks free from the hold of a stern paterfamilias. Even in this modern form that plot still makes for a deeply satisfying combination of rebellion and romance, and the final twist adds a delicious touch of sensation without undoing the story’s essential fabric. This is a readymade booktalk and an accessible quick pick for reluctant readers seeking that sweet spot of a cheesy but not goopy romance.
