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paragraphsandpages 's review for:
The Sky Is Everywhere
by Jandy Nelson
I struggled a lot with this book. I wasn't necessarily a fan of Jandy Nelson's other book, I'll Give You the Sun, which is loved by a lot of other people, so I went into this one with tempered hopes. Unfortunately, it just didn't work for me, though I did understand the book's strengths by the time I finished (explaining the 3 star rating). I still didn't enjoy it, and too many aspects of it made me uncomfortable, but at the same time I think it was supposed to? So I tried not to judge the book for that, but still wasn't a fan of other things.
I feel like this book is very much insta-love, and lately I'm just not interested in that in my stories anymore (if I ever was). For me the build-up of the bond is the most important part, and I felt like this book had so much issues it was trying to tackle that this got sidelined. They liked each other at first sight, and then loved each other not much longer after that. Even if I didn't include any of the uncomfortable aspects in my star rating, this book would still fall to 3 stars based on the romance alone (since it seemed to be the driving force of the book).
I liked the love interest well enough, but he very much felt like the quirky love interest of the 2000/2010s, and he didn't always feel fully fleshed out. I also don't necessarily feel like I got a good idea of whom the main character is and wants to be, because the shield of grief is strong. However, I do think the story that lived in that grief was a good one, and I love how it intertwined with this story of the lasting familial grief that had already been circled around these people for years. The myth of the wandering gene played a strong parallel with these tones of grief, loss, and death, and I think this is where the story truly shined. Unfortunately, it just wasn't enough to blind out what I didn't particularly like about the book.
I'm not sure if I'll read another book by Jandy Nelson, since I'm just not sure if this author is for me. I can see how this book works for others, but I think I'm just outgrowing this style of YA a bit.
I feel like this book is very much insta-love, and lately I'm just not interested in that in my stories anymore (if I ever was). For me the build-up of the bond is the most important part, and I felt like this book had so much issues it was trying to tackle that this got sidelined. They liked each other at first sight, and then loved each other not much longer after that. Even if I didn't include any of the uncomfortable aspects in my star rating, this book would still fall to 3 stars based on the romance alone (since it seemed to be the driving force of the book).
I liked the love interest well enough, but he very much felt like the quirky love interest of the 2000/2010s, and he didn't always feel fully fleshed out. I also don't necessarily feel like I got a good idea of whom the main character is and wants to be, because the shield of grief is strong. However, I do think the story that lived in that grief was a good one, and I love how it intertwined with this story of the lasting familial grief that had already been circled around these people for years. The myth of the wandering gene played a strong parallel with these tones of grief, loss, and death, and I think this is where the story truly shined. Unfortunately, it just wasn't enough to blind out what I didn't particularly like about the book.
I'm not sure if I'll read another book by Jandy Nelson, since I'm just not sure if this author is for me. I can see how this book works for others, but I think I'm just outgrowing this style of YA a bit.