I am not sure what is the worst: a great story left untold, or a great writing that doesn't make it into a great story. In a way, in it waste in both cases, but I am personally annoyed by stories left untold.
Everything, everything, by Nicola Yoon has an amazing potential to make it into a fantastic story, but because written as a YA novel, it lost a lot of dramatism and impact. Until the very end, everything looked almost normal, just one of those YA stories that are about to end in a sad note or maybe with a happy ending and a lesson for the future too. However, the last 70 pages or so of the book are full of great twists that are challenging the reader and where the writing is just blooming.
I also moderately enjoyed the slow paced first part of the book, with the evolving story between Madeleine, diagnosed with a rare malady, that prevented her from leaving the house since she was a couple of months old, and the neighbour Olly, with inspiring graphic illustrations which complete nicely the written story. Nothing prepares you though for the ending and I only wish the author would have create more tension and dramatism, and maybe give more depth and complexity to the characters.
My biggest disappointment was to see so many great ideas and a story with a much greater potential lost partially because of the delimitations of the genre. I am not perfectly sure the YA readers would not have enjoyed an even more interesting and fast paced reading journey, but I know for sure what I expected from the story once it ended.
However, it is a good recommended read for anyone with an interest in stories about smart teenagers with some unexpected twists. I liked the good taste mix between text and graphic, as it appeals well to the typical YA reader but also offers an alternative way of telling a story. Nicola Yoon is one of those writers I would love to keep following because it has an amazing potential of being much much better than her debut.
Rating: 3 stars
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