Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon Review

Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon  

“Wanting just leads to more wanting. There’s no end to desire.”

Madeline has SCID or Severe Combined Immunodeficiency leaving her trapped inside her house, which has been remodelled just to suit her needs. Her life is a cycle of reading, medical tests and playing games with her mother that is until a family moves in next door.

The first half of the story was the good half. I enjoyed the writing style and how it made you relate to Madeline and the extra bits like the reviews and medical examinations. The pace of the story was good with the introduction to the main characters, the build up to the romance and the story of the family next door. The relationship between Madeline and her mum, nurse and Olly were shown in a way that showed the reader how close they were to each other and each relationship was important to her in a different way. Madeline was a really pleasant main character because she had an understanding on things that she knew she couldn’t control and acted within reason to certain things.

The middle part continued like the tragic love story I assumed this book would be but it didn’t go with the first half. It was very fast paced and all of a sudden the love story had taken centre stage and Madeline had gone from the voice of reason to a reckless girl. I understand why the author did it to show how she was taking control over her life but the story seemed farfetched and took away the realistic feel away from the book. Also the relationship between Madeline and Ollie went from a four to a ten in the span of a day.

The last half of the book was bad. For someone who spends a lot of time on the internet she sure doesn’t do what anybody with a very rare condition would do – search it. It would have saved her a lot of trouble and changed her life. Also certain actions aren’t explained and the story is just of a daughter ignoring her mother. It was fascinating to read. And then there’s the relationship between how Madeline and Olly ends – well that wasn’t unexpected or anything.

★★☆☆☆