Review: The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

Book: The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
Published: March 2010 (Dial)
Format: Physical copy from library
Summary: Meet Lennie Walker - sisterless, clarinet player, lasagna maker, Heathcliff obsessed and hopelessly in love... Adrift after her sister Bailey's sudden death, Lennie finds herself torn between quiet seductive Toby - Bailey's boyfriend who shares her grief - and Joe, the new boy in town who bursts with life and musical genius. Each offers Lennie something she desperately needs...though she knows if the two of them collide her whole world will explode.

My Review: I was randomly browsing the YA section of my library when I came across this book. The cover was different than the one I'd seen before, and I did not recognize the title. Although I'm not always crazy about the torn-between-two-boys storyline, it sounded good enough, so I picked it up with pretty much no expectations. Little did I know just how amazing this book was going to be!

I loved everything about this book. The writing was incredible. It was very flowy and lyrical with an almost stream of consciousness feel to it, yet it totally matched the voice of a 17-year-old girl. I loved the originality of the characters. They were all so unique, and everyone lent something to the story. No one was superfluous. There was not an abundance of unnecessary secondary characters. Just the right amount for the story.

This book gave me ALL THE FEELS. I giggled, I cried, I swooned. I was completely caught up on Lennie's predicament with the two boys. Her feelings and emotions and thoughts were so clearly conveyed that I felt like I was living inside her head. I was confused when she was confused. I never yelled at her internally for being an idiot, because I could see where she was coming from with everything. The boys were SO DIFFERENT - and I loved them both - but she was drawn to each for different reasons, too. (Also, this really is not a love triangle book, despite how it might sound.)

I tend to dislike random poetry thrown in between chapters, which has become a "thing" with YA in the recent years. Honestly, it's usually super lame. But there were lots of poems and random notes strewn throughout this book, and they were actually good. I felt like I got to know Lennie better through them. And the best part is that it made perfect sense with the story for them to be there.

Also, random point, but I love that Lennie was obsessed with Heathcliff and Wuthering Heights. Girl after my own heart. I have not read it twenty-three times, but I have read it four times. And this book made me feel like a re-read may need to be imminent because I miss it.

Basically, if I had to describe this book, it would just be a long string of adjectives because I am not capable of fully explaining the awesomeness. Heart-breaking. Addicting. Enthralling, beautiful, real. Knock-you-off-your-chair fantastic. While I was reading this book, I felt like it moved quickly and that I was flying through it. But in reality, it actually took me my average reading time, if not slightly more, because I kept re-reading little sections that were particularly beautiful. Reading this book was a great experience, and I will definitely be re-reading in the future. Loved it!

How do others do it? People die all the time. Every day. Every hour. There are families all over the world staring at beds that are no longer slept in, shoes that are no longer worn. Families that no longer have to buy a particular cereal, a kind of shampoo. There are people everywhere standing in line at the movies, buying curtains, walking dogs, while inside, their hearts are ripping to shreds. For years. For their whole lives. I don’t believe time heals. I don’t want it to. If I heal, doesn’t that mean I’ve accepted the world without her? I liked love safe between the covers of my novel... Joe is practically singing my name, he sounds so elated, probably still riding high from that kiss, that sublime kiss that could make stars fall into your open hands, a kiss like Cathy and Heathcliff must have had on the moors with the sun beating on their backs and the world streaming with wind and possibility. Who knew all this time I was one kiss away from being Cathy and Juliet and Elizabeth Bennet and Lady Chatterley!?

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