Review : The Sky is Everywhere
The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
Pages : 277
Genre : YA, Fiction
Stand Alone
My Rating : 
What it’s about :
When Lennie’s sister Bailey unexpectedly dies from a heart problem, Lennie finds herself where she’s never been : in the spotlight, caught between two guys she appreciates and who gives her completely different things.
On one side she has Toby, her sister’s boyfriends who carries a similar grief and knows better than anyone what she’s going through. On the other side, there’s Joe, the new guy who shares her passion for music and offers her something fresh and new. With them, Lennie learns to deal with loss and love, with the future and the past.
My Thoughts :
When The Sky is Everywhere first came out, I couldn’t spend a day without reading a raving review of it on the internet. It seemed that both old and young readers of YA literature found it to be an excellent novel, and as always, this made me a bit hesitant. Emotional topics like grief and death are difficult to achieve, but even more, they are such personal events that it makes it really difficult to translate it in words that will reach most readers.
Luckily, I found that the book mostly achieved that. I wouldn’t say it moved me like it moved other readers, but I did appreciate how Nelson presented Lennie’s grief. It felt real, in that it struck her at all times of the day or night, sometimes in the little things. Lennie wasn’t someone I could exactly relate to in terms of personality, but I understood her and understood what she was going through (as much as I could without having lived through the same things).
An interesting aspect of the novel was Lennie’s family. Their mother having abandoned them at a young age, Lennie and Bailey had a particular bound, I thought. The girls were raised by their grandmother, a lovely lady that really brightened the novel for me. She had a bit of craziness in her, but in a good way, a strong presence that was definitely needed in Lennie’s life.
I did find that the young characters were a bit intense at times, either in their emotions or in the way they lived these passions. It’s hard to explain, but I felt I would have related to this intensity a lot more when I was a teen, because then I felt that everything was a bigger deal than it really was, you know? So there was a bit of that in the novel, which madek me disconnect at times, but I guess it could be explained, in Lennie’s case, by the trauma she has been through.
In the end though, I do think The Sky is Everywhere is a great pick for readers of YA fiction, and I can see why so many fell in love with it. Nelson’s writing is simply beautiful, and I could have read a couple more hundred pages of her delicious prose. I know I’m looking forward to reading more from her, hopefully soon!
Where was I when this book came out and was getting such rave reviews? This does sound like an excellent read, and one that deals with it’s subject matter sensitively. I will have to check this one out at some point. Thanks for the honest and well-crafted review!
I’ve had this one on my wishlist for quite a while but think the grief will be unsettling to me. Sounds very well-written, though.
Sisters have a really difficult time surviving in YA novels. 😉 I actually hadn’t even heard of this book till now so thanks for bringing it to my attention. In my opinion, Fall for Anything (yay, you like it as much as I do) was the best where dealing with grief is concerned.
I think I liked this a little more than you did but a little less than everyone else. The cover of the paperback is gorgeous.
Love the sound of this and glad you enjoyed it. 🙂 I hadn’t actually heard of this until I read your review.