Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

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Publication date: 2015
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Pages: 336
My rating: 3.5 stars
Ages: 15+

Madeline is allergic to the world. It's a rare disease, without any cure, and it's kept her inside her entire life. She's been content experiencing life through her books until a new family moves in next door. Olly is movement and grace and life, with a dark family life. Maddy needs to decide whether staying inside and staying a live is better than experiencing real life for just a few days.

I'm ashamed to say that this book has been on my "to read" list for several months, if not a year. Every time I'd go in to look at it, I just didn't think it would be that interesting. I finally caved and picked it up from a display at the library. And I really liked it!

I couldn't wait to get to lunch to read it and hated having to go back to work (30 minutes just isn't long enough). There are some really interesting elements of the story telling in this book, which just adds to Maddy's story instead of distracting from it. Despite her naivety on "Outside," she's sassy and interesting.

There were some times when I thought, "Would Olly really want to be with this girl who can never leave her house, who he can't touch?" I'm not sure that a real high school boy would be so willing to pursue a girl like Maddy. Maybe I'm a cynic. It's also possible that Olly's home life has made him more sympathetic and willing to look past her illness.

There was very little language and one sexual encounter, not graphic.

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