Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

Publication Date:  September 1, 2015
Publisher:  Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Pages:  320
Series:  Stand Alone
Genre:  Contemporary
Synopsis:  My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.

Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.

Review:  Everything, Everything is supposedly about a girl who lives in a "bubble" due to SCID.  It turns out that it is actually one giant cringe fest that I didn't sign up for.

Here is what I wanted out of this book:  medical details and an emphasis on how life without really experiencing life is in reality.  Here is what I got out of this book:  cheesy insta-love romance and inconsistencies.  

Everything's a risk. Not doing anything is a risk. It's up to you.

SCID is basically a rare and severe immune deficiency that restricts the person from leaving their safe "bubble."  They are, simply, allergic to everything, hence the title of this book.  

Now, I knew what this was preceding myself picking up the novel, but I had hoped for a more in-depth understanding of what it meant to survive with the disorder.  That, however, is not provided.  Nicola Yoon gives you the barest bones of explanation possible, and then follows up with inconsistencies.  A girl who is allergic to most things cannot possibly eat whatever she wants.  Well, she could, but she would most likely die or at least have a severe reaction that would result in hospitalization. 

I've read many more books than you. It doesn't matter how many you've read. I've read more. Believe me. 

I don't pick up contemporaries often, and especially not YA contemporaries, but I made an exception.  I don't regret it, but I am not satisfied.  There should have been heart to this story that didn't revolve around a boy, or a reckless teenager driven by her infatuations.  There should have been real pain, and longing, not just for this boy, but for the world and a place in it.  And, to some extent, there is the theme of the simple human need for more pervading the novel.  But it wasn't enough, not when centered around poor reasoning.

I would be a liar to say I wanted this book to end well.  I wanted tears and realization. What I was handed was an over dramatic mess of a convenient ending.  Halfway through the book, I speculated over the possibility of the ending I was eventually handed, and had decided the author couldn't possibly do that, as it would perpetuate the cheesy quality of the story and detract from the overall meaning.  I should expect less from authors, I suppose. 

I was happy before I met him. But I’m alive now, and those are not the same thing.

Madeline, the SCID girl herself, is sweet, if a bit naive, and persistently positive. However, she stumbles into situations and makes mistakes that could have been avoided.  Let us discuss the trope of:  girl sees guy, girl's whole world inevitably changes, chaos ensues.  Olly is wholly realistic.  He is not a cardboard cutout to serve in half of a romance, which was, admittedly, bearable, and oh so star-crossed.

Maybe I was doomed to be disappointed by Everything, Everything from the start.  It had the potential to be so much more, and that is the worst part of all.