Wednesday, June 30, 2010

The Sky is Everywhere - Jandy Nelson (best book of the month)

RTW (Road Trip Wednesday): Best Book of the Month - hosted by YA Highway. (go there to check out other YA-er's fave reads this month and participate by writing your own post and linking in.)

How cute is this trailer!!! Love love love :)



I just loved this book so much I don't even know where to begin...

Maybe with the back blurb?:

What's wrong with me? 
What kind of girl wants to kiss every boy at a funeral, wants to maul a guy in a tree after making out with her (dead) sister's boyfriend the previous night? 
Speaking of which, what kind of girl makes out with her sister's boyfriend at all?
Lennie Walker - sisterless, lasagne maker, Heathcliff-obssessed and hopelessly in love...




So I saw a fair few raves about this and, had just come out of a bit of a binge read of grief-type books, so I thought I wasn't in the mood for another one... somehow, (I think partly the cute trailer), I caved.

But this book, IMO, is in a whole league of it's own.

The writing is intensely beautiful. Oh - I did some serious sentence-crushing. Reading this was like being submerged in emotion and love and all things wild and mad and crazy and the grief was just so poignant and the feelings so real that I became completely absorbed.

The love story.

Whoah.

So, there's this kinda love triangle. By that I mean, two guys, both getting some action from Lennie. But it's not an ordinary love triangle or cliché - to the point that even saying triangle somehow feels wrong.... it's like the characters are so fused with emotion that it bubbles over and explodes in love and moments of passion. The complications in this didn't feel like a contrived plot point, but like a real character driven mess of pain and desire and world-crushing love. I also didn't think it was a manipulative device to tear up readers, and there's no choosing of teams, just an ache for Lennie and Joe and Toby.

And the love between Lennie and one of her men. It's intense, and an all the way full-blown connection, more so than most YA I read. However, due to the stunning writing, I was into it the whole way. I believed in it, for sure :) Sigh...

I was so into the love scenes but in the midst of it, a little knot of tension was gnawing away in the pit of my stomach the whole time. Takes a talented author to get to me like that.

Basically, this book hit me hard emotionally.

The book itself? It. Is. Stunning.

The paperback isn't really a paperback, it's like the material on those funky little Bibles - if you know what I mean :) - and the pages are bound, and inter-spliced throughout are little hand-written poems on full colour pages (some carved into tree bark, on music scores, on a takeaway cup). You see some of these pages when you watch the trailer above - all photos from the actual book. Tell me you watched the trailer, yeah?

I haven't said much about the actual plot - it's best if you just get in and read it. I don't know if my review has really done this book justice..?

I was so inspired/wowed/stunned/in love after reading this that I ordered three more copies and sent them out to three of my Aussie buddies - couldn't help but share the love. I haven't told them yet... (unless it's you and you're reading this post...fingers crossed, hey?) And they better love it as much as I do! ;)

What's the best book you read this month?

Loving Author Kaitlin Ward's Aussie YA Pick for this month :)

Oh - and watch the trailer. Seriously.

17 comments:

  1. I JUST finished reading this book!

    I have to agree, its amazing and I absolutely loved it!

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  2. Ahh...more to put on my list - it keeps getting longer and longer. *sigh* My best book read this month wasn't a YA, it's MG. Holes by Louis Sachar.

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  3. Sounds good. now I'm excited to get on Amazon. xD

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  4. I'd been wanting to read this book already, but man the endorsements keep piling up, which makes me want to read it more urgently!

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  5. Sounds magnificent! Thanks for sharing, can't wait to read!

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  6. This sounds very intriguing. I'll have to look for it!

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  7. Amazing book, I LOVED it so much. I think I need the Australian edition, the cover is much nicer. I hate that giant heart!

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  8. Thanks for the review! I haven't read it yet, but I've heard so many great things about it that I should soon.

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  9. Cool! I might have to pick it up when I feel like being hit by an emtoional semi-trailer, LOL! :D Definitely have to read it!

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  10. thanks for the recommendation! It's on the list...

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  11. Okay everyone is FREAKING OUT over this book. I have to read it before something from it gets ruined for me!

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  12. thanks for all the comments guys! I love the Australian edition best too - so beautiful.

    and, yeah, this book is amazing :)

    And Sarah - I read a review that had TWO spoilers in it! I know! spewing! luckily, it didnt really ruin the experience for me...

    And, Angie - Holes is in my pile... I should bump it up a bit :)

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  13. I'm not reading this post because I'm reading the book right now, but my thoughts so far...
    *So, so pretty, the cover art is gorgeous, the text is blue (don't know if I've ever read a blue texted book!) The chapter number graphics are gorgeous, like drawn in biro pen and coloured in, The first one I saw I rubbed my finger over it to see if it was bumpy because it looked so realistic!
    *Addictive to read, I want to say hard to put down, but it's not really that, it's just written so well and you get so hooked into the story that you don't notice how long you've been reading for.
    *The Grandma - I don't think she was introduced too well, she was first described as something like all 6 foot floral dress of her, so I'm expecting like a little old lady that's tall, but as I read I'm feeling like she's more eccentric than I gave her credit for.
    Anyway, they're my 2c worth
    Love ya Nomes

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  14. I bought this book because of your "Seriously, watch the trailer thing".
    I finished it yesterday. Somewhere along the pages, it brought me to the path of healing.
    I wrote a song.

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  15. i finished reading this book yesterday. Ahh i don't think i've ever been so in love with a group of characters. I adored Lennie and fell completely and utterly in love with Joe. I was so disapointed when the story ended, i wanted to keep reading about this family.
    Just a truly amazing book!

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  16. Even where it seems like it could be sickeningly fluffy, Nelson instead writes meaning into her relationships. You'll fall in love with Uncle Big and Gram, and understand things that an outsider would deem preposterous. Lennie takes you into her world and almost immediately you will take her into your heart.

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Thanks for the commenty love :)