I'll Give You the Sun - Jandy Nelson
★ ★ ★ ★ ★/5
This was a perfect choice for my last book of 2022. This book has long been my favorite and is one of the few books to make me cry every time I read it. Noah and Jude are twins, and they could not be more different. The earlier years (when they're 13-14) are narrated by Noah as he struggles with his sexual orientation, his relationship with his father, and where he stands with Jude as they both apply to CSA, his dream high school. The later years (when they're 16-17) are narrated by Jude, after their mother has died, and Jude is attending CSA while Noah hasn't touched a paint brush or talked to Jude in 2 years. As the story goes on, we see the how they ended up so fractured and apart. This story tackles so, so many important topics; love, grief, substance abuse, depression, sexual assault, and more, all while telling the story of the lives of the twins. Something about it always hits me hard and I feel like this quote can sum up how:
"We were all heading for each other in a collision course, no matter what. Maybe some people are just meant to be in the same story."
This is a book about growing up and changing and finding yourself when the unimaginable happens to your family. No matter how old I get, I'll always love this book.









