By Women of Color – Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

I started reading Everything, Everything by Jamaican-American Nicola Yoon on a whim one night at midnight. I had only meant to read for a couple of minutes or just finish a chapter. Instead, I ended up finishing the book by dawn. It was so beautifully done and well-crafted and, I admit, I cried. A lot. Needless to say, this book is pretty high up in my love department.

Title and Cover

Okay, first off? The cover is absolutely beautiful. It had grabbed my attention immediately. The way it’s plain at the top and then super complicated at the bottom gives it such great balance. The title is great too. I always thought it had a poetic feel to it. Now, after reading the book, I know it does and every time I see the title now, I get a little emotional, haha.

Plot

The plot is so well done in this book. The beginning is a little slow, but part of what makes it so great is that that’s the point. I remember getting bored while reading at first and thinking, “Where is this going?” Then I realized that that’s probably exactly what Maddy is thinking. And I can always appreciate a book who can get the reader to think what the character is thinking without outright saying what the character is thinking (that made sense, right?).

Characters

First things first, I love Maddy. She’s sweet, inquisitive, and an all-around ray of sunshine. I was able to really connect with her while reading. Of course, all of the characters are great, but Maddy’s definitely my favorite.

Of course, all of the other characters are great too, with their flaws and strengths. And, of course, there are those characters that have more flaws than others. It balanced the book perfectly so that it was realistic and entertaining.

Recommended post: By Women of Color – The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Setting

I can’t talk about my favorite setting in the book (’cause spoilers), but I still want to say that I loved it and loved how it was described/presented/etc.

Most of the book, however, takes place at Maddy’s house. Which makes sense. She can’t exactly leave. But Yoon does a great job on making the place feel comfy (you know, like a home) while still making it feel like Maddy is trapped. Such a seeming-to-be contradiction can be hard to achieve, but Yoon definitely pulled it off!

Style

Now onto my favorite part of the entire book. Instead of being told in chapters, the story is shared in diary-like entries. It leads to a lot of variety. Legit diary entries, doodles, book reviews Maddy writes, lists, etc. I got excited with every page flip.

Also, I’m pretty sure this is the main reason I ended up staying up all night to read. Each section was so short, I just kept thinking “Okay, one more. Okay, now one more. ONE. MORE. I mean it.”

And there we have it. Probably one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read (and the movie’s really good, too). If you want to read it yourself, check out the shop links below!