My family, including my 8-month-old son, just returned from a 2-week-long road trip. In order to survive, I had to read. And I did! I read more than I’ve read in the last 8 months over the last two weeks, and it felt good. The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson has been on my list since Jennifer Niven first posted about it, but I just haven’t gotten around to reading it. I’m so glad I finally did.
The Sky is Everywhere Summary
The Sky is Everywhere is a story of grief, love, and self-reflection. Lennie closes herself off after the sudden death of her sister, and it takes a book of poems, a little bit of romance, and a lot of support for her to process her grief. Gram and Uncle Big worry about her, as does her sister’s boyfriend, Toby. Lennie finds herself stuck in a love triangle between Toby, a forbidden love who understands her grief, and Joe, the new boy in town who lights up every room he enters and provides an escape from the sadness surrounding her sister’s death. Romance aside, Lennie also wants to figure out who she is, as well as who her absent mother is. As Lennie learns more about herself, she has to decide whether to live with the grief or to die with it.
My Review
This book was different than I expected, but I liked it. I related to the main character in a lot of ways — namely that I also lost a sibling. My brother died of cancer when I was 18, and I felt a lot of the same things that Lennie felt in the novel. The sudden absence of identity. The inability to make simple decisions. The long days and the even longer nights.
The plot for me was a bit predictable. There were a few plot twists that caught me by surprise, but the main storyline was a bit dull. However, the predictability of the plot paled in comparison to the beauty of the characters. Each character had their own backstory and a unique personality. From an uncle who believed he could bring bugs back from the dead to a love interest who climbed trees and wrote symphonies, I loved all of them.
I also feel like the side plot of Lennie’s mother was a bit underdeveloped. Honestly, I couldn’t even really tell you how it ended. They hyped it up for a bit and then it ended as a “that’s just how it is” type of side story.
The way the author tied all of the notes/poems into the story at the end of the novel was quite neat, if not a bit creepy. The writing itself was fantastic. Lots of exposition and lots of emotion. By the end of the novel, I felt connected to each of the characters, and I felt like the town was my town.
I give the story 4/5 stars overall.
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