Book Summary from Listening Library
The Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller
If you love Eleanor and Park, Hazel and Augustus, and Mia and Adam, you’ll love the story of Maddy, a girl who’s literally allergic to the outside world, and Olly, the boy who moves in next door . . . and becomes the greatest risk she’s ever taken. This innovative and heartfelt debut novel unfolds via vignettes, diary entries, illustrations, and more.
My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.
But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.
Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.
My Thoughts
Maddy is almost eighteen years old and she has never left her house because she has a rare disease that has left her allergic to the outside world. Her little bubble is restricted to her nurse Carla and her mother. She’s never had friends or been to a mall. She does love to read though and she does that with a passion but it isn’t enough for a young woman. So when the good looking Olly moves in next door Maddy knows that somehow she’s going to meet him and they’re going to fall in love. They start with messages back and forth but things escalate as their relationship deepens. Naturally experiencing part of the real world has left Maddy hungry for more…
I listened to Everything, Everything and really enjoyed it. It’s narrated by Bahni Turpin and Robbie Daymond, neither of which I’ve listened to before but I thought both did a wonderful job of bringing these young people and their love to life.
I liked both Maddy and Olly and it’s always sweet to read about first love and especially in this instance where Maddy had lived her life in a bubble. Everything, Everything is a beautifully written novel that comes with an interesting twist (although I did see it coming) and I would recommended it to YA readers and for those adults who enjoy YA fiction.
Buy: Penguin Random House, Audible
