BOOK REVIEW: The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

I recently read the book The Sky is Everywhere, by Jandy Nelson, which was a quick read that hit me in the feels. Told from the perspective of 17-year-old Lennie, who has just lost her sister, Bailey, and is in the throes of grief, this story flows from raw emotion to raw emotion.

WHAT I LIKED: The story is multidimensional. Band geek Lennie is learning how to live, and love, while wading through the grief of her sister, and the sixteen-year abandonment from her mother. Yes, she has Gram and her uncle, Big, to help Lennie navigate her new life, but how is she supposed to move on without her sister?

When love and lust issues start to drag Lennie down, her teen angst shines, and you wish you could drag her out of the book and give her a big hug, which she would probably hate, by the way. And truly, with an eccentric boy named Joe Fontaine, who happens to play guitar, speak French, and has a wicked crush on Lennie, who wouldn't have some teen angst?

The writing style drew me in within the first few pages, because it's full of imagery and relaxed. The underlying theme of music healing the soul also kept me interested with character motivations.

Plus, there's a lot of poetry strewn throughout the book, which immediately makes me love a book. Anyone with me on that one?!

THE QUOTES! I highlighted three quotes that spoke to me, and made me think about life. I considered posting them here, but then decided, dear reader, that you should just pick up the book and read the quotes yourself to see if they speak to you.

WHAT I DISLIKED: I'm just going to come right out and say it: Toby. Yes, I understand his purpose in the story, but every time Toby came onto the page in Part 1, I wanted to throw the book across the room. His character's selfishness and manipulations made me see red. With that being said, isn't the desire to throw a book sometimes how you know you're reading a good book?

RATED: 5 Stars

I would read this novel again. While the beginning might be a bit slow, don't give up on the book. You need to fully understand Lennie's life in order to get to the real message of the story.

NOTE: This is also posted on Goodreads. Additionally, I bought and paid for the book on my own, and did not receive any compensation for this review.