Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon (Delacorte Books)Stars: ★★★/5
My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.
But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my 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.
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.
Everything, Everything gave me complicated feelings. Feelings, over the course of the four months since I've read it, I let settle. Here we have an interesting premise, a diverse series of characters and a protagonist who is generous, selfish, relatable and endearing. I've never read a book quite like this before, and it managed to surprise me and charm me, with humor and heart.
The funny thing about letting a book set in for so long, though, is that it has the tendency to evolve for the reader. Sometimes for the good, sometimes for the bad, and sometimes for the different. For me, it became a little of the second two. While I will still wholeheartedly recommend this book to basically anyone, there is a particular element to this story that, in the words of Emily May in her review, cheapens what Everything, Everything has to offer.
Everything, Everything has both moments of great sweetness...and great cheese. While everything between Madeline and Olly was instalove, it was the kind I really don't mind. It wasn't dynamic or heartbreaking in the way it tried to be, but it was charming despite itself. Their interactions were sweet and fun and touching, even if their foundation was a bit thin. I appreciate everything Yoon attempted to convey between Olly and Madeline, but it did feel insubstantial in the scope of Everything, Everything.
Even with Olly and Madeline's relationship not being what it could have been, I still felt really good about Everything, Everything. After finishing it, I felt I had stepped away from a very special book. It wasn't perfect, I thought, but it was so much of everything that I was really in love with it. I think me and this book had a little instalove of our own, to be honest.
But as a week passed, I started to reconsider how I felt about Everything, Everything and left my review off for few a months. Four months came and went, and I had a somewhat reformed opinion upon consideration. I still think there is something genuine about the heart of Everything, Everything, I do, but...well, that plot twist.
The plot twist is a game changer.
As most plot twists are. I won't go into it for fear of spoilers, but the plot twist took something that, thought imperfect, was thoughtful and lovely and tossed it out the window. It was nonessential, shoddy, implausible and totally dashed what made Madeline and Olly so compelling. Everything, Everything was better off without it, stronger, more sincere.
Everything, Everything, despite its very John Green, doomed teen romance hype, had a very quiet, simple way of introducing us to its tragedy. It was unassuming, even when plenty cheesy. It is what made me think it had heart, what makes me still think it does. But I'll admit, the gimmicky plot twist invalidates almost all of it. It sold out, and while I think Everything, Everything is worth the read, it could have been so much better than the ending it gave us.
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