The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson Review

Book: The Sky is Everywhere

Author: Jandy Nelson

Age: YA

Release date: March 9, 2010 (out now!)

Pages: 288

Source: Publisher

Summary:

Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker, bookworm and band geek, plays second clarinet and spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey. But when Bailey dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to center stage of her own life--and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two. Toby was Bailey's boyfriend; his grief mirrors Lennie's own. Joe is the new boy in town, a transplant from Paris whose nearly magical grin is matched only by his musical talent. For Lennie, they're the sun and the moon; one boy takes her out of her sorrow, the other comforts her in it. But just like their celestial counterparts, they can't collide without the whole wide world exploding.

Review: The Sky is Everywhere is realistic, humorous, touching, and heartbreaking.

When Lennie's sister Bailey dies, Lennie hardly knows what to do with herself. She can't seem to get a grasp of who she is without her sister. It's bad enough that her own mother has been off traipsing across the world since Lennie was a baby, but now she's only got Gram and Uncle Big. But then Lennie meets new-boy Joe, and reacquaints herself with Toby (Bailey's boyfriend), and things get complicated. Each guy does something different for her internally, mentally and physically. The emotions of this story are so realistic, and so intense. Lennie doesn't know how to deal with herself, and these guys aren't making it any easier on her. Both are gorgeous, both seem to adore her, but it's really only one that makes sense in the end.

The Sky is Everywhere is truly one of those novels that make me say "Wow". With a cast of characters that are very authentic, likable, and interesting, this is one story that can't be missed. It's a story that's easy to lose yourself in, and it's so easy to get caught up in the emotions between the characters. The Sky Is Everywhere has humor, grief, love, loss...and Nelson makes it all work.

Highlights: The emotions were very intense, and obvious to the reader. It's one of those stories that takes you on a ride. Nelson's writing flows very nicely, making this one an enjoyable novel. I also really enjoyed Lennie's thoughts and poems written on random objects and spread across town. It added just a bit something more to the story, and I found myself looking forward to reading each of them.

Lowlights: At times, I felt like Lennie's best friend really pulled the realism down a bit. She seemed to over-the-top, ridiculous...I don't know. I liked the girl, but I didn't really believe in her. Lennie also was, at first, a bit difficult for me to figure out and I wasn't quite sure if she was my type of narrator (and by that, I mean likable, easy to relate to). Plus, I really just wanted Lennie to pick one of the guys, already!

Rating:    

Lea