I've been lacking in the review department lately, but I'm back with a brilliant book! ~Remember to give suggestions for books you want to win for my 50 followers contest over here!
Overall Rating: 5.0 (I don't give this lightly my friends!)
Characters: 4.9
Plot: 5.0
Voice: 5.0
Cover Art: 4.2
Favorite Line(s) There are some many, so here's just a few!:"Holy horses, Batgirl!"
"This one looks positively deranged with glee. Gram's right, we should sell them."-Lennie talking about the Fontaine boys.
"...And then, one day, her earthbound sister finally realized
she could here music up there in heaven,
so after that, everything her sister
needed to tell her
she did through her clarinet
and each time she played, the dead girl
jumped up (no matter what she was doing),
and danced."-One of Lennie's poems.
Synopsis:
Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker, bookworm and band geek, plays second clarinet and spends her time tucked safely in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey. But when Bailey dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to center stage of her own life-and despite her nonexistent history with boys, finds herself struggling to balance two. Toby was Bailey's boyfriend; his grief mirrors her own. Joe is the new boy in town, a transplant from Paris whose nearly magical grin is matched only by his musical talent. For Lennie, they're the sun and the moon; one boy takes her out of her sorrow, the other comforts her in it. But just like their celestial counterparts, they can't collide without the whole world exploding.
The Sky is Everywhere is beautiful. There's no other way to put it. This book is brilliant. I've never even thought of giving a book a 5.0 (the highest on my scale), but if any novel deserves it, I've found it. Jandy Nelson reminded me why I love reading and writing so much-why I love words so much. She uses her words to portray every feeling/emotion/place/person in such a fantastic way that the entire book feels like poetry instead of a narrative.Then, there's Lennie's poetry itself.
My favorite part of the story was getting to see and read some of Lennie's words. It's amazing how much emotion can be spilled out onto to-go cups and staff paper. All of her poems really add to the story and give an even deeper look into the mind of Lennie Walker. Her voice is already so strong, but the words she scrawls on what feels like any surface add another dimension to the story.
The path the novel takes is believable and in no way corny-like I always expect from stories dealing with grief.* Lennie's journey changes her dramatically, but she accepts the change and it makes her stronger. The fact that she does mess up only makes her human, and I love that she does mess up! This story was so very refreshing, and if you haven't read it yet I highly recommend. To everyone. Honestly, I believe that The Sky is Everywhere is a shoo in for at least being a runner up for the Printz Award this year. It's fantastic, and I can't wait to see whatever else Jandy Nelson has up her sleeve.
*You know, where the protagonist meets someone or goes on a life-changing journey and discovers that their grief is gone and they feel like singing show tunes...in other words, something that never happens.
My favorite part of the story was getting to see and read some of Lennie's words. It's amazing how much emotion can be spilled out onto to-go cups and staff paper. All of her poems really add to the story and give an even deeper look into the mind of Lennie Walker. Her voice is already so strong, but the words she scrawls on what feels like any surface add another dimension to the story.
The path the novel takes is believable and in no way corny-like I always expect from stories dealing with grief.* Lennie's journey changes her dramatically, but she accepts the change and it makes her stronger. The fact that she does mess up only makes her human, and I love that she does mess up! This story was so very refreshing, and if you haven't read it yet I highly recommend. To everyone. Honestly, I believe that The Sky is Everywhere is a shoo in for at least being a runner up for the Printz Award this year. It's fantastic, and I can't wait to see whatever else Jandy Nelson has up her sleeve.
"Don't Wake Me Up"- The Hush Sound,
Cara
*You know, where the protagonist meets someone or goes on a life-changing journey and discovers that their grief is gone and they feel like singing show tunes...in other words, something that never happens.
