Everything Everything, by Nicola Yoon

Spoiler alert: Curiosity wins.

Madeline Whittier is sick. It’s not a cold, a stomach virus, or even COVID-19. She is one in 58,000 babies born every year who has the genetic disease titled SCID, Severe Combined Immunodeficiency. Her weak immune system makes her “allergic” to the world. In her 18 years of life, she has never left the house.

Every day is like the one before, a copy and paste of her simple life. She spends her days reading, having meetings with teachers online, and losing scrabble against her mom. She wears all white to match her white walls, white couch, and white sheets. Wake up, sleep, repeat. Suddenly, there is an outlier in the data. A single moving truck carrying a family of four. One member in particular captures Madeline’s interest; a boy her age. His name is Olly. He wears black from head to toe, he likes limericks more than haikus, and has the ability to do backflips and handstands. Maddy is fairly certain she will fall in love with Olly and knows it can only lead to disaster.

While reading Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon, I must confess that I spent more time turning its pages than doing my homework— but don’t tell my teachers. Every chapter is hooking, and very easy to read. The language is smooth and not too difficult, so it is the perfect book to pick up if you find yourself in a reading slump.

There are unique elements throughout the chapters that make it an extra fun read. Its pages are adorned with illustrations that are drawn by the author’s husband. Emails, postcards, “spoiler” reviews, maps, post-it notes, and many other sketches are used to convey the story in an engaging way.

Even with good storytelling, you still need a good story, and, boy, does this book have one. Yoon does an amazing job at developing her characters, even the ones who don’t seem as relevant to the plot. As mentioned before, each line is incredibly hooking and the storyline is quite original in my experience as a reader.

This book is for the people who feel trapped in their life and are lacking control. You can always find some sort of light, whether it be an object, activity, or person, that can help you regain a sense of direction. This book is a fun read and will leave you wanting more.

~ A Limerick ~

All of her days looked the same

While he viewed life more like a game

Couldn’t stay inside

And almost died

You can’t imagine the girl she became

~ A Haiku ~

I’m watching through glass

Good at window flirting, but

Best enjoyed outside