Publishing Date: September 1, 2015
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
Pages: 320 pages
Young Adult Contemporary
The Premise: The story follows Madeline who is basically allergic to the world. She has a form of severe combined immunodeficiency which is also known as the "bubble baby disease" (3). Madeline has not left her house in 17 years and the only people she really sees and interacts with is her mother and her nurse, Clara. However, things change when she has a new neighbour named Olly. It seems impossible to make friends let alone have a romantic relationship form, but Madeline definitely does fall for Olly. Given the circumstances, things become problematic from there.
My overall thoughts and review: When I was first pitched this book earlier this year by one of the lovely gal's at RHC, I was instantly intrigued! She had mentioned that she finished it in one sitting and when I got the book, it was the same case. I could not put this book down! Within the first five pages there are cute illustrations and charts which immediately draw you in. I just instantly fell in love with Madeline as a character. This isn't a spoilery thing but the opening line of the book is: "I've read many more books than you" (1). I instantly felt like I was in Madeline's shoes and that I could totally connect with her on a different level. I loved how much character development there was for Madeline throughout the book and you could just see how much strength she was able to convey given her circumstances. I also really loved her relationship with her nurse Clara and it reminded me of my relationship with my aunt. The main focal point is the love story with Olly, which was incredibly swoon-worthy. Olly and Madeline are incredibly sweet and it is so nice to see how the love story unfolds - my favorite parts were definitely the cute IM messages! I will say that this book totally surprised me with how things turned towards the end. I'm not going to spoil it, but it only made me more proud of Madeline! :) My only wish is that the book was longer because as the title, it was truly everything, everything.
My rating of the book: ✮✮✮✮✮ (5/5 stars)
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Disclaimer: I received an advanced reader's copy of this book from Random House Canada for consideration/review. All opinions are my own.
Great review, Christine! I totally agree with everything, everything you said (haha!). :D I also wanted at least 1 or 2 more chapters and felt like the end was A BIT too rushed ... I still liked/loved it a lot! Such a great book and the twist was something I didn't really predict!
ReplyDeleteYvonne @ A World Between Folded Pages