Everything, Everything
This book was well, as I had expected a YA fiction to be. It had a sick teen, a teen boy moves next door, the disease becomes the conflict along with the mother and well...the story goes. So, without further ado, let's get to it. -CHARACTERS Madeline 'Maddy' Whitter- I liked this character. But, there is nothing more to it. She is sick with a disease called SCID meaning she can't go out into the world and hasn't seen or experienced anything school, love, friends and its actually the part that interested me as it had so much potential but it just didn't live up to what I expected. I couldn't connect with the character or her emotions.
Oliver 'Olly' - I actually liked and connected more with this character than Maddy but well, maybe that's just me. He struggles because of his parent's complicated marriage, an abusive father, a sister he tries to look after and his mother who he wants to protect more than anything but hates to admit it. His life is messy and complicated but something I find realistic.
Pauline Whitter- Pauline is Maddy's mom and a doctor who subsequently has spent her life after her husband's and son's death with her sick daughter trying to take care of her which isolates her from several opportunities as we see Maddy mentioning the time and again. I sympathize with this character and the way she was written at the end makes the reader have mixed feelings about her. A well-written character with a meaningful set of flaws.
Carla- Carla is the nurse at the Whitter household who takes care of Maddy in the absence of her mom. She might be the best character in the novel, her humor and the whole Latina wit makes it easier to like her. Her struggle of moving from Mexico and raising her daughter, Rosa singlehandedly makes for a much more interesting character than the protagonist. Carla plays the role of a mother and a caretaker to Maddy. -PLOT
I went in expecting a coming of age and a little teen angst and some cute teen romance and it filled the shoes...almost. The plot in itself is very interesting but I was expecting a little more. The book centers around the time Maddy and Olly get to know each other, and when they sneak out knowing that one of them can drop dead anytime cause they have some magic beans and head to Hawaii and then Maddy falls sick and almost dies, finds out she is and never was sick and her whole life has been a lie, gets angry at her mentally sick mother who is very lonely and who dedicated a lot of time to her. I get why she was angry but really leaving your mentally sick mother alone as she loses her only family to follow a guy. Maybe I am nuts but I think Pauline deserved better. WRITING/DIALOGUES- This novel is a high dialogue centric novel with additional doodles and drawings and stuff. The writing seems new, hip and not too on the nose but still lacks some shimmer. For a debut novel, Nicola Yoon has written a fantastic novel and I can't wait to read more of her.