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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
A nice, quick read that is a good reminder of the intensity of emotion that accompanies being in high school. It has the whimsy of *I'll give you the Sun* but for some reason I didn't like this one as much.
SO, SO, SO GOOD!!! Straight to a spot on my favorites shelf. What a beautifully written book. I loved every page of this story. I also now have a huge crush on Joe...
Audiobook review: I loved this story when I read it and it was enjoyable listening to is as well.
Boricuan Bookworms- Book Reviews.
The Sky is Everywhere is so unique because it deals with something that most are predisposed to hate: love triangles.
I went in thinking that this book would have been tolerable at best (despite all the positive reviews because I’m very pessimistic), which led me to go in with very very low expectations.
In a way I’m glad for that! This book blew me away! Not only does it take love triangles and exemplifies perfectly how they should be dealt with, but it also does so with such beautiful prose and pacing that you are captivated from the very beginning.
This book starts off introducing us to Lennie and the fact that she has lost her sister unexpectedly. Her grief is what first draws her into love interest #1, Toby. Toby was his sister’s boyfriend, and is the only one who knows what kind of grief Lennie is going through. Love interest #2 appears in a completely serendipitous way; he’s the new boy in town. Joe Fontaine doesn’t see Lennie with pity, he makes her feel happy for the brief moments she doesn’t remember her sister. Throughout the book, Lennie tries to sort out her feelings for each boy, while dealing with her grief over loosing her closest sister.
I love the fact that her deliberation between each boy made her learn so much. Lennie was lost for a while, and yet each boy (one more than the other) helped her put the pieces back together.
This book also dealt with grief so realistically! Grief was a heavy theme here as well, and the way Jandy Nelson explored it really floored me. I willingly let my heart get broken and do not regret a single thing.
Between each chapter there is also a piece of poetry written by Lennie, which gives us a closer insight into her relationship with her sister. Lennie writes these poems anywhere and everywhere and scatters them around town. I loved that. This was easily one of my favorite parts of the book because it solidifies the sisterly relationship more.
I also love how there’s a big emphasis on “family” here. Lennie’s family is really important to the story, and they truly make it all the more interesting.
The romance is so sweet and heartbreaking and smile inducing all at once! It was so beautiful how it kept building up regardless of Lennie’s deliberation between Toby and Joe. Throughout the novel you could see the scales going more to someone else’s favor than the other and I just loved that even if Lennie couldn’t see it yet, we [the readers] could.
I could go on about this book, because it’s honestly and easily one of my all-time favorites but I’ll just end it by saying that you should definitely try this book. It’s really extraordinary
The Sky is Everywhere is so unique because it deals with something that most are predisposed to hate: love triangles.
I went in thinking that this book would have been tolerable at best (despite all the positive reviews because I’m very pessimistic), which led me to go in with very very low expectations.
In a way I’m glad for that! This book blew me away! Not only does it take love triangles and exemplifies perfectly how they should be dealt with, but it also does so with such beautiful prose and pacing that you are captivated from the very beginning.
This book starts off introducing us to Lennie and the fact that she has lost her sister unexpectedly. Her grief is what first draws her into love interest #1, Toby. Toby was his sister’s boyfriend, and is the only one who knows what kind of grief Lennie is going through. Love interest #2 appears in a completely serendipitous way; he’s the new boy in town. Joe Fontaine doesn’t see Lennie with pity, he makes her feel happy for the brief moments she doesn’t remember her sister. Throughout the book, Lennie tries to sort out her feelings for each boy, while dealing with her grief over loosing her closest sister.
I love the fact that her deliberation between each boy made her learn so much. Lennie was lost for a while, and yet each boy (one more than the other) helped her put the pieces back together.
This book also dealt with grief so realistically! Grief was a heavy theme here as well, and the way Jandy Nelson explored it really floored me. I willingly let my heart get broken and do not regret a single thing.
“My sister will die over and over again for the rest of my life. Grief is forever. It doesn't go away; it becomes a part of you, step for step, breath for breath. I will never stop grieving Bailey because I will never stop loving her. That's just how it is."
Between each chapter there is also a piece of poetry written by Lennie, which gives us a closer insight into her relationship with her sister. Lennie writes these poems anywhere and everywhere and scatters them around town. I loved that. This was easily one of my favorite parts of the book because it solidifies the sisterly relationship more.
I also love how there’s a big emphasis on “family” here. Lennie’s family is really important to the story, and they truly make it all the more interesting.
The romance is so sweet and heartbreaking and smile inducing all at once! It was so beautiful how it kept building up regardless of Lennie’s deliberation between Toby and Joe. Throughout the novel you could see the scales going more to someone else’s favor than the other and I just loved that even if Lennie couldn’t see it yet, we [the readers] could.
I could go on about this book, because it’s honestly and easily one of my all-time favorites but I’ll just end it by saying that you should definitely try this book. It’s really extraordinary
I would give this 5 stars for Jandy Nelson's writing alone. As Lorelai Gilmore would say, her "grocery lists are like shimmering haikus." I may be in love a little bit.
Seriously, the writing in here was so good. It was a bonus that I loved the characters. My heart ached with Lennie at Bailey's death and wondered with her at what her mother was like. I felt the hurt between her and Tony and felt the distance between her and Sarah growing as if Sarah were my friend.
I actually liked the plot line, but at times I thought there was maybe a bit too much going on. But you know what, that's life. SPOILER: The whole bedroom scene between Toby and Lennie seemed a little more unrealistic. Every other scene and the development between them, I could basically believe, but not that one.
Teaching notes: a little bit a language and a bit of sexual content, but not terrible.
Love not a little bit. A lot of bits.
Seriously, the writing in here was so good. It was a bonus that I loved the characters. My heart ached with Lennie at Bailey's death and wondered with her at what her mother was like. I felt the hurt between her and Tony and felt the distance between her and Sarah growing as if Sarah were my friend.
I actually liked the plot line, but at times I thought there was maybe a bit too much going on. But you know what, that's life. SPOILER: The whole bedroom scene between Toby and Lennie seemed a little more unrealistic. Every other scene and the development between them, I could basically believe, but not that one.
Teaching notes: a little bit a language and a bit of sexual content, but not terrible.
Love not a little bit. A lot of bits.
She’s beauty, she’s grace, she is perfection, she is everything I need in a book.
No notes, nothing bad to say.
Jandy Nelson just … has a way with storytelling that resonates with me so much.
There’s so much emotion in these pages. Seeing the way Lennie deals with her grief and trying to find her way through life alone now instead of as a pair was beautifully written.
Lennie goes back and forth with what she wants: the comfort of having someone close who also had a very intimate relationship with her sister (the boy who helps her remember) or with someone who begins to show her that life will go on and that she won’t always feel this broken (the boy who helps her forget).
It was a wonderful story of a sibling bond, of love and loss, and learning to live again.
I love it so much.
Full review can be found at Jaysta's Library
No notes, nothing bad to say.
Jandy Nelson just … has a way with storytelling that resonates with me so much.
There’s so much emotion in these pages. Seeing the way Lennie deals with her grief and trying to find her way through life alone now instead of as a pair was beautifully written.
Lennie goes back and forth with what she wants: the comfort of having someone close who also had a very intimate relationship with her sister (the boy who helps her remember) or with someone who begins to show her that life will go on and that she won’t always feel this broken (the boy who helps her forget).
It was a wonderful story of a sibling bond, of love and loss, and learning to live again.
I love it so much.
Full review can be found at Jaysta's Library
3.5/5
Seventeen year old Lennie, a quiet bookworm, is coping with the recent death of her older sister, Bailey. As children, their mom abandoned them, so they always relied on each other and their grandmother. Now, with Bailey gone, Lennie feels so lost and alone. Suddenly she finds herself involved with two guys – Toby, Bailey’s boyfriend who shares her grief, and Joe, the new guy from Paris who has charmed his way into Bailey’s heart. Lennie and Joe are falling in love, but she and Toby have fallen into a strange pattern of intimacy while coping with their shared grief. Joe is who she wants and loves, but Toby and her are strangely and guiltily drawn together, and when Joe sees them kissing, everything seems to blow up in Lennie’s face.
This was an emotional and intense read. The pain in Lennie and Toby was palpable and real. Lennie closes herself off to everyone around her, but her feelings are shown through the poems scattered throughout the book that she has written and placed around town. She lives with her grandmother and uncle, and nearly all of her relationships, including with them and her best friend, are becoming dysfunctional as she continues to pull away from everyone in her life. She feels as though she was just a shadow of her sister and now she is lost. Finally, when Joe comes along, she begins to feel alive again. Their love was emotional, touching and real. When he discovers her and Toby’s strange and dysfunctional relationship, he is heartbroken, as is Lennie, who has been confused and uninterested in Toby all along. The thing with Toby was strange but people react in strange ways during grieving periods, so I really did feel for Lennie. All in all, I liked this book and the emotions running rampant throughout. I’m giving it a 3.5 because while I enjoyed it, I didn’t find it to be really memorable.
Seventeen year old Lennie, a quiet bookworm, is coping with the recent death of her older sister, Bailey. As children, their mom abandoned them, so they always relied on each other and their grandmother. Now, with Bailey gone, Lennie feels so lost and alone. Suddenly she finds herself involved with two guys – Toby, Bailey’s boyfriend who shares her grief, and Joe, the new guy from Paris who has charmed his way into Bailey’s heart. Lennie and Joe are falling in love, but she and Toby have fallen into a strange pattern of intimacy while coping with their shared grief. Joe is who she wants and loves, but Toby and her are strangely and guiltily drawn together, and when Joe sees them kissing, everything seems to blow up in Lennie’s face.
This was an emotional and intense read. The pain in Lennie and Toby was palpable and real. Lennie closes herself off to everyone around her, but her feelings are shown through the poems scattered throughout the book that she has written and placed around town. She lives with her grandmother and uncle, and nearly all of her relationships, including with them and her best friend, are becoming dysfunctional as she continues to pull away from everyone in her life. She feels as though she was just a shadow of her sister and now she is lost. Finally, when Joe comes along, she begins to feel alive again. Their love was emotional, touching and real. When he discovers her and Toby’s strange and dysfunctional relationship, he is heartbroken, as is Lennie, who has been confused and uninterested in Toby all along. The thing with Toby was strange but people react in strange ways during grieving periods, so I really did feel for Lennie. All in all, I liked this book and the emotions running rampant throughout. I’m giving it a 3.5 because while I enjoyed it, I didn’t find it to be really memorable.
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
You can tell this is her first work—it’s not as good as her later ones (no amazing coincidences). Just a love story.
I know this is sad, but this is only the second book I've given five stars to this year. The first one was [b:Looking for Alaska|99561|Looking for Alaska|John Green|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171446423s/99561.jpg|919292]. Exceptional. But we're not talking about that book. We're talking about this one. The Sky is Everywhere. As I read the last few pages, I just knew that I was gonna give this book five stars. It was just so...pretty. I can't even say beautiful because that sounds corny. But...pretty. And sooooooo sad. I think I'm a sucker for sad books.
This girl, Lennie(named after John Lennon, love her name), sister has died suddenly. Her older sister, mind you. Bailey, her name is. Bailey has always been Lennie's idol in a way, the one who reassures her about their disappeared mother. The one who promised she'd never leave. And then she dies and Lennie and the family she leaves behind is heartbroken. And her boyfriend, Toby(ugh). And somehow, Toby and Lennie end up together(-_-) to somehow "make up for the pain". But then the French guy comes :) :) and he's nicer and better and overall just better than stupid Toby. You know, somehow, I kept picturing Toby as this pedophile.
Okay...enough. I really liked this book despite some of the poor decisions of John Lennon(haha). The writing was so beautiful(okay, I'll say it). The way the author wrote about the grief felt by Lennie and everyone just really....wow. Really great book. Wouldn't be surprised if I read it again someday.
This girl, Lennie(named after John Lennon, love her name), sister has died suddenly. Her older sister, mind you. Bailey, her name is. Bailey has always been Lennie's idol in a way, the one who reassures her about their disappeared mother. The one who promised she'd never leave. And then she dies and Lennie and the family she leaves behind is heartbroken. And her boyfriend, Toby(ugh). And somehow, Toby and Lennie end up together(-_-) to somehow "make up for the pain". But then the French guy comes :) :) and he's nicer and better and overall just better than stupid Toby. You know, somehow, I kept picturing Toby as this pedophile.
Okay...enough. I really liked this book despite some of the poor decisions of John Lennon(haha). The writing was so beautiful(okay, I'll say it). The way the author wrote about the grief felt by Lennie and everyone just really....wow. Really great book. Wouldn't be surprised if I read it again someday.
A super-quick read, as most YA is! I'm really liking my new method of deciding what to read next: I point at the bookcase full of a friend's books and tell my roommate, "Choose a random title from the shelf," she does, and then I read it.
The Sky Is Everywhere (which is most the horrendous generic title btw) gets 5 stars for Nelson's emotive writing and her quirky turns of phrase. I loved loved LOVED her prose, which was all bursting with feelings and harnessing the rollercoaster ride that is the teenage emotional range; I also loved her portrayal of grief & love, both all-consuming, opposite ends of the spectrum but so hopelessly entwined. Also props for sisters feelings, recovery from grief, Lennie's family, and her friendship with Sarah. The writing was super-twee a lot of the time, but I forgave it for Nelson's descriptive creativity.
However, [vaguemumble] stars for:
5 stars for Joe Fontaine and his brothers. JOE IS THE BEST.
My gripes even it out to 2 stars, though. I've heard that Nelson's second book is AHMAZING and this one sort of mixed/meh especially in comparison, so I'm still very much on board! Her writing is lovely. The premise of this one just really ain't my bag. Apparently I can be pretty picky about ships, who knew.
The Sky Is Everywhere (which is most the horrendous generic title btw) gets 5 stars for Nelson's emotive writing and her quirky turns of phrase. I loved loved LOVED her prose, which was all bursting with feelings and harnessing the rollercoaster ride that is the teenage emotional range; I also loved her portrayal of grief & love, both all-consuming, opposite ends of the spectrum but so hopelessly entwined. Also props for sisters feelings, recovery from grief, Lennie's family, and her friendship with Sarah. The writing was super-twee a lot of the time, but I forgave it for Nelson's descriptive creativity.
However, [vaguemumble] stars for:
1) This book being advertised incorrectly! The blurb really emphasises the love triangle aspect, and Lennie being ~pulled~ to both Joe and Toby, when the latter relationship is horrible and trainwrecky and unhealthy. It turns out that the love triangle is not the real point of the story, and it thankfully ends up going in a different direction, but it still meant I spent the first half of the novel exasperated, annoyed, and wanting to pull out my hair out, because of the focus on it and because of Lennie's stupid (stupid STUPID) decisions. (Then again, I haven't suffered any real loss so who am I to talk about terrible coping mechanisms idk.)
2) I'm so tired of love triangles where one character. TIRED OF IT.Spoiler
spontaneously uncontrollably smooches another, and then turns around to find the Love Of Their Life standing in the doorway horrified
3) This all-consuming, obsessive giddy passion to the selfish exclusion of everyone else in Lennie's life = not something I'm especially into, actually something I quite actively dislike seeing in people, so I couldn't connect to Lennie because of it. I do love well-done fictional romance & ships, so I think it's just the 0-to-100 sudden ramp-up of this one: it's paced SO quickly and they're all just 100000000000000000000% into each other when they barely know each other. Give me slow burn and cautious approaches and intellectual bonding, not head-over-heels-at-first-sight infatuation. #notmycuppa (I keep referencing this other book, but [b:First & Then|23310751|First & Then|Emma Mills|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1426513843s/23310751.jpg|40149265] is my picture-perfect example of contemporary YA romance. BUTTERFLIES IN MY STOMACH AT EZRA/DEVON.)
4) Wuthering Heights is one of my favourite books too, but as a romantic model it is fucking terrible. For most of this book I was annoyed at the main character for idolising it so much; Nelson only really fixed it in the last few chapters, when Lennie finally seems to acknowledge that Heathcliff/Cathy's love is ruinous and full of mistakes. So I guess it was the point. But. Again, it meant being frustrated with the MC for so long.
5 stars for Joe Fontaine and his brothers. JOE IS THE BEST.
My gripes even it out to 2 stars, though. I've heard that Nelson's second book is AHMAZING and this one sort of mixed/meh especially in comparison, so I'm still very much on board! Her writing is lovely. The premise of this one just really ain't my bag. Apparently I can be pretty picky about ships, who knew.