Blurb:
My disease is as rare as it is famous. It’s a form of Severe Combined Immunodeficiency, but basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in fifteen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.
But then one day, a moving truck arrives. New next door neighbors. I look out the 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. I want to learn everything about him, and I do. I learn that he is funny and fierce. I learn that his eyes are Atlantic Ocean-blue and that his vice is stealing silverware. I learn that when I talk to him, my whole world opens up, and I feel myself starting to change—starting to want things. To want out of my bubble. To want everything, everything the world has to offer.
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.
But then one day, a moving truck arrives. New next door neighbors. I look out the 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. I want to learn everything about him, and I do. I learn that he is funny and fierce. I learn that his eyes are Atlantic Ocean-blue and that his vice is stealing silverware. I learn that when I talk to him, my whole world opens up, and I feel myself starting to change—starting to want things. To want out of my bubble. To want everything, everything the world has to offer.
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.
Published: 9/1/15
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
My Review:
I would like to thank NetGalley and Delacorte Books for Young Readers for the opportunity to read and review this book.
I'm not even sure how to write this review because I don't think it will truly show how much I really enjoyed this book. I had heard such good things about this book and the fact that it took me so long to read it makes me sad because I wish I would have experienced it sooner. I will admit, I read The Sun Is Also A Star before I read this one. Then I realized I had to jump into this because I loved the author's writing so very much!
It's kind of impossible not to love the main character, Madeline. At first, you're sad for her because she has been locked away her whole life without every experiencing anything. Her disease makes it impossible for her to leave the house because she's allergic to the air, yep, bubble baby syndrome! I had only ever heard about this through the movie from long ago: Boy in the Plastic Bubble. So I was excited to see how anything would possibly happen for her.
When we are introduced to her new neighbor, Olly, you know right away something big is going to happen.This brooding boy who always dresses in black is definitely going to help turn Madeline's world on end. And so it did. Some may say it was way too quick, but given Madeline's life, it's not at all surprising she would attach herself to someone other than her mother and the nurse that takes care of her. I do not want to ruin anything with the plot, but let's just say Madeline gets to experience things with Olly you would never have though possible.
The author has a great writing style. I was never bored. As a matter of fact, I could not put the book down and read it in less than 24 hours. This didn't surprise me as I had read her other book in a similar time frame (just the day before!).
I loved the relationships Madeline has with her nurse. As a nurse, it made me remember all those connections I've made with patients in the past and how, many times, I have gone above and beyond to ensure they are happy. This is what Carla does for Madeline. But Carla shakes the world up a bit too much and Madeline's mother cannot have that as it threatens to harm her daughter (or so we are lead to believe). Madeline's mother was a little suffocating from the very onset of the book and this bothered me. I just felt she was always off, and my intuition was not wrong.
Overall, this is a quick read with a good plot and a fun story. I'm pretty sure I'll read anything this author publishes because it just gives me all the feels!
Nicola Yoon is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Everything, Everything and The Sun Is Also a Star. She is a National Book Award finalist, a Michael L. Printz Honor Book recipient and a Coretta Scott King New Talent Award winner. Both her novels have been made into major motion pictures. Nicola grew up in Jamaica and Brooklyn, and lives in Los Angeles with her husband, novelist David Yoon, and their family.
No comments:
Post a Comment