Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon is a novel about life and love with Severe Combined Immunodeficiency, also known as bubble baby disease. What this means is that Maddy is allergic to the world and anything could trigger a reaction so she lives inside a sterile house with a nurse and her mom and never can go outside. Maddy can’t see friends (other than her nurse), she can’t go to school, and she can’t even do the most simple thing of breathing unfiltered air, but she’s accepted it. That is, she’s accepted it until a new family moves in next door with a boy her age named Ollie. Wearing all black with a great sense of humor, Ollie is now tempting her more than ever to go outside and live life. Now she’s debating this question, is it worth really living her life in the world, even if it’s only for a few minutes or days? As the novel goes on the answer seems more and more clear to her, but can she risk it all?
This novel is great, it’s unpredictable, romantic, and emotional. The use of multiple platforms like letters, texts, schedules, and sketches keeps the book interesting. Additionally, Maddy’s voice is written really well so that you feel like you’ve met her already and could anticipate her choices, yet she keeps surprising the reader. If you like books with movies, that’s also another reason to read this book as it has been adapted into a wonderful movie with great casting, filming, and overall quality. The novel also does a great job of staying fast-paced even through the fact that Maddy is stuck in the same house all day and can’t do many different activities.
I would give this novel 4 out of 5 stars because it isn’t the best book ever, but it’s great for when you just want to read a sweet book. If you are a fan of Five Feet Apart, are looking for a new YA romance, or want to read about a character who gets how hard quarantine is, pick up Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon.
Review Written by Ada, 9th Grade