A review by shoni
I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I honestly wasn’t sure what I was expecting but this book brought a different king of heartache. Always having been the outsider looking in, being the “weird one” in any type of group this story hit on a different kind of level. 

This story is absolutely beautiful and just written in such a way that you are bound to feel each and every emotion. Each metaphor is used to show the mind of an artist while also conveying the complicated thing that life is. Nothing is simple, everything good can be bad and everything bad can be good. The back and forth of the novel between 16 year-old Jude and 13/14 year-old Noah is so compelling because you can see how both care about each other so much but never have the words to say anything. Don’t know how to fix what went wrong. It’s also interesting as to me 14 is still so young, you are bound to make mistakes and do things you will regret. Whereas with 16 you learn more and are slightly more mature so seeing that in writing is really nice. 

This novel left me both heartbroken and hopefully for what’s to come at the same time. Every character you met you either saw struggling with something or knew they were, but how they dealt with it is what made them who they are. Both Noah and Jude had their own struggles and truths to overcome to get where they needed. Honestly I’m just not over this. It was so beautifully written and I could come up with thousands of my own metaphors and sayings to relate to this book. 

I do like how no matter who's POV we were in you can see hints of the other twin there. You can see where they overlap but also are their own twin.
i do find it poetic that Jude and Noah went from the same soul different person to being their own soul but still the same person by the end. They both had similar dreams but had their own way to get there.


I do like the openness of the ending. It's all okay but also who knows what could happen.
THOUGH as much as I love Oscar I do have an issue with a 16 year old and a 19 year old. Like I ship it but also no. But also who am I to say anything when I'm just a sad little person here 😂
 

Overall I really enjoyed it and it was just a beautiful story about healing and trying to do what's best. 
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