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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
this book tried to kill me. it is an emotional roller coaster. it made me uncomfortable to the point where i needed to take breaks from reading, i got so frustrated with the characters that i wanted to yell at them, i smiled from how cute it is, and i cried upwards of a dozen times. read at your own risk.
Jandy Nelson has done it again. (Although really this book came before the first one of her's I read.) I absolutely adore her writing style, her use of amazing imagery and in this book poems as well, makes it something to cherish and re-read a few times before moving on to the next bit as despite the fact that this book is largely about grief, (as well as love) putting it down was ridiculously hard.
Would definitely recommend reading this if you don't mind some major 'feels' as it were and getting down and gritty in your own mind when it comes to grief and love from your perspective.
I wish I could read it again already. In fact I might just do so.
Would definitely recommend reading this if you don't mind some major 'feels' as it were and getting down and gritty in your own mind when it comes to grief and love from your perspective.
I wish I could read it again already. In fact I might just do so.
First thing's first: the summary doesn't really give justice to the actual story in a good way. I was hesitant going in to reading The Sky is Everywhere when I read the summary because I expected just a story about a girl dealing with loving her dead sister's boyfriend, and thankfully, it wasn't just that. There was so much more and I'm so happy that Lennie's (the main character) sister, Bailey, got to play a bigger part in deconstructing what Lennie was into a spirit that had always been in her before, but lit up finally after the catastrophic loss of, essentially, her best friend.
I just want a companion novel - or any story at this point - in Bailey's POV. I want to read about her feelings being dead and watching the people who now only remember her as a distant memory and how she silently roots for her sister to push on even though it's hard for her.
I'm sad because to me, there didn't seem to be enough progression between Joe and Len? I admit the whole non-stalker-stalker thing made it romantic (it's not AS creepy as it sounds) and explained where Joe's affections came so soon, but I feel like there could have been a really nice build up of understanding instead of jumping into it like how it was written. Joe and Len's relationship was fun to read about though, and I LOVE Joe.
The star rating represents how I feel about it, so I gave it three because I 'liked it' probably a little bit more than just three stars but I didn't exactly love it. One of the reasons was the ending. I wanted more to the ending than what was given. I just wanted to know how the clarinet battle went. I wanted to see more sibling!Toby/Len. I wanted to know if her mom ever found out that one of her daughters was dead or if she ever did come back, like Gram spent years chanting.
I feel like in the end, there were a lot of potholes that were never filled. I didn't really get Sarah because even though I wanted to like her, I found her to be a flat character. Rachel ended up being the stereotypical jerkface, and didn't even have much reasoning other than possibly knowing Len practically giving her first chair - but even that was questionable because it was Len just guessing. There were so many things that I felt should have been resolved in the end but weren't. It was like the book just cut off.
So yeah, basically, I feel like there could have been a substantial ending but what was given just didn't cut it for me. It had potential for a book that I could really love, but again, this is only my personal opinion. I still would give this read a shot because it has some really awesome qualities. I ended up crying more than I thought I would, just at random places (though this may be because I'm empathetic so I ended up making myself relate to Len). I also ended up taking pictures of my favorite parts, which most were these really nice passages/poems(?) of Bailey in heaven - which I stress again how I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to read a book in her POV.
I just want a companion novel - or any story at this point - in Bailey's POV. I want to read about her feelings being dead and watching the people who now only remember her as a distant memory and how she silently roots for her sister to push on even though it's hard for her.
Spoiler
On to the actual story, the Toby and Lennie thing was really weird. And I say this with respect because I know people grieve differently, and this was probably the only way they could actually move forward, and it worked in the end to where they ended up realizing they worked better as friends/siblings, especially after Len figures out that Bailey was pregnant and had accepted Toby's marriage proposal. There was just way too much baggage for them to start a healthy relationship. They both love Bailey so much that it would have been a constant guilt for both of them, which is why it makes sense that it was more of a in-the-moment thing, where they feel a connection mainly by the remnants of Bailey's relationship with each of them.I'm sad because to me, there didn't seem to be enough progression between Joe and Len? I admit the whole non-stalker-stalker thing made it romantic (it's not AS creepy as it sounds) and explained where Joe's affections came so soon, but I feel like there could have been a really nice build up of understanding instead of jumping into it like how it was written. Joe and Len's relationship was fun to read about though, and I LOVE Joe.
The star rating represents how I feel about it, so I gave it three because I 'liked it' probably a little bit more than just three stars but I didn't exactly love it. One of the reasons was the ending. I wanted more to the ending than what was given. I just wanted to know how the clarinet battle went. I wanted to see more sibling!Toby/Len. I wanted to know if her mom ever found out that one of her daughters was dead or if she ever did come back, like Gram spent years chanting.
I feel like in the end, there were a lot of potholes that were never filled. I didn't really get Sarah because even though I wanted to like her, I found her to be a flat character. Rachel ended up being the stereotypical jerkface, and didn't even have much reasoning other than possibly knowing Len practically giving her first chair - but even that was questionable because it was Len just guessing. There were so many things that I felt should have been resolved in the end but weren't. It was like the book just cut off.
So yeah, basically, I feel like there could have been a substantial ending but what was given just didn't cut it for me. It had potential for a book that I could really love, but again, this is only my personal opinion. I still would give this read a shot because it has some really awesome qualities. I ended up crying more than I thought I would, just at random places (though this may be because I'm empathetic so I ended up making myself relate to Len). I also ended up taking pictures of my favorite parts, which most were these really nice passages/poems(?) of Bailey in heaven - which I stress again how I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to read a book in her POV.
Reread #1
(Because I think I might reread this again. Someday in the future.)
I first read this book as a fourteen year old with barely any understanding of love and grief but still appreciated the story.
But seven years later, this book means so much more to me with all that life has thrown at me. (All of us to be honest, the global pandemic has been so universally challenging.)
I love Jandy Nelson's writing style. Period. It's moving and intricate. Shaking you at every sentence so that you can take notice of the emotion she's trying to portray. She has a merciless way of writing sentences that just explode in your imagination and I adore it.
I do connect less with the characters now, but that is because the target audience is younger and I have grown out of that age. But the story stays relevant. She writes about grief in the loving way that people write about love- with passion and understanding.
I adore Jandy Nelson. I sincerely hope I can read more from her, because two books was not nearly enough.
(Because I think I might reread this again. Someday in the future.)
I first read this book as a fourteen year old with barely any understanding of love and grief but still appreciated the story.
But seven years later, this book means so much more to me with all that life has thrown at me. (All of us to be honest, the global pandemic has been so universally challenging.)
I love Jandy Nelson's writing style. Period. It's moving and intricate. Shaking you at every sentence so that you can take notice of the emotion she's trying to portray. She has a merciless way of writing sentences that just explode in your imagination and I adore it.
I do connect less with the characters now, but that is because the target audience is younger and I have grown out of that age. But the story stays relevant. She writes about grief in the loving way that people write about love- with passion and understanding.
I adore Jandy Nelson. I sincerely hope I can read more from her, because two books was not nearly enough.
Poorly written, sobby main character. Did not like it at all.
beautifully written... poetic... but i just couldn't connect with it. there was just something missing for me.
Ik las dit boek vlak na 'Ik geef je de zon' en dat was misschien niet zo'n goed idee. Dat boek vond ik zo verrassend goed dat ik besloot nog wat van Jandy Nelson te lezen. Maar waar 'Ik geef je de zon' ingenieus en enigmatisch was, was 'De hemel begint bij je voeten' eigenlijk gewoon... saai. Ik moest me echt door dit verhaal sleuren. Er gebeurde amper iets en het verhaal kwam eigenlijk neer op een klassieke love story. Bovendien herkende ik veel beelden/zinnen/gebeurtenissen uit 'Ik geef je de zon'. Dat is niet verwonderlijk natuurlijk, maar toch een beetje spijtig. Ook de personages ondergingen redelijk weinig evolutie. Een gemiste kans, als je 't mij vraagt.