Everything, everything by Nicola Yoon
Ill. by David Yoon. Random House Children's Books, 2017. ISBN
9780552576482
(Age: 13+) Themes of romance, family relationships, illness. This is
Nicola Yoon's debut novel; a touching romance between two young
people wanting to experience love but it could be the death of one
of them.
Bubble girl, Madeline Whittier is allergic to the outside world. She
has not left the house since her father and brother died in an
accident when Maddy was a child and now, at 17 years old, she yearns
for a relationship that is different to those she has with her
mother, her nurse and her tutor. This desire is a closeness that may
only be achieved with Olly, the boy moving in next door, the boy
with eyes the colour of the Atlantic Ocean.
Madeline's story unfolds with drawings, diary entries, lists,
charts, and personal narratives. The illustrations, which were drawn
by Nicola Yoon's husband, David, added an unusual and personal touch
to the telling of Madeline's story. I particularly enjoyed
Madeline's Spiral on page 233; it is an illustrative elegy to
Madeline's dreams. And on pages 237-8 we come to a halt along with
Maddy's heart with black pages and few words. This type of visual
emphasis on emotion turns a book into a more physical reading
experience which students will enjoy examining.
I did find that the story had two drawbacks. Although the characters
and relationships were being developed expertly before my eyes, the
most important character to the plot, Madeline's mother, was sadly a
missing substance. I know that Madeline was loved by her mother but
the way Nicola Yoon continuously described the same mother daughter
activities and Madeleine's love and desire to save her mother any
more pain was tedious to read about. The second drawback was Maddy's
calm resignation to her life. If a teen was actually in this
predicament would there be more teen angst, more tension, than
portrayed by the fictional character of Madeline? This could be a
position for debate amongst students.
For a debut novel it is very exciting that Everything,
Everything is being turned into a movie and I hope it can do
Nicola Yoon's work justice.
Sharon Smith