The Sky Is Everywhere

The Sky Is Everywhere

By: Jandy Nelson

Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker, bookworm and band geek, plays second clarinet and spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey. But when Bailey
dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to center stage of her own life—and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two.

Toby was Bailey’s boyfriend; his grief mirrors Lennie’s own. Joe is the new boy in  town, a transplant from Paris whose nearly magical grin is matched only by his musical talent. For Lennie, they’re the sun and the moon; one boy takes her out of her sorrow, the other comforts her in it. But just like their celestial counterparts, they can’t collide without the whole wide world exploding.

summary from book

My Rating: 4.5/5

People have been ranting and raving over The Sky Is Everywhere and with good reason. Jandy Nelson has created a world filled with dynamic and original characters that leap from the page accompanied by her beautiful prose and heartfelt poetry that only serves to intensity Lennie's struggle with the loss of her sister Bailey. I adore novels that take me on a journey, that allow me to feel a span of emotions and that through the turmoil are able to offer a glimmer of hope leaving me with a sense of inspiration and completion.

I've always gravitated to stories that deal with loss and sadness. I think the reason being is because it is often in the most severe of cases that characters really grown and develop. I always look forward to not only seeing where the author will take a seemingly well known idea but also to the new cast of characters that I will meet. Jandy's characters in The Sky Is Everywhere are fantastic and very well thought out. They were definitely one of the best parts of this novel for me. From Lennie to Toby to Gram and Big, each one is different yet original and had their own little quirks that really brought a sense of reality to them. I have to say that sometimes, the female protagonists of novels kind of start to blur together after years and years of reading. There isn't always something distinct about them yet with Lennie, I felt she was always authentic and truly a individual. She stood out a lot to me and I'm sure will continue to do so.

There are a lot of elements in The Sky Is Everywhere other than just Bailey's death and Lennie's romantic relationships. A few threw me by surprise as I did not see them coming. Everything in this novel had a purpose and in the end all elements only helped to make the bigger picture even brighter.

There have been a lot of compliments being given to Jandy Nelson in regards to her writing and I have to agree. I enjoyed her writing style immensely and greatly appreciated the poems that were found at the beginning of each chapter. They not only provided me with farther insight into Lennie's loss and struggles in life but they also dwelled upon Bailey and past conversations she had shared with Lennie which helped bring life to a character that was no longer living.

Overall: The Sky Is Everywhere is a fantastic book. Readers like myself who love contemporary or "realistic" fiction I think would fall in love with this novel just as I have. If you're a fan of character driven novels with great character development and real life situations then this is definitely for you. :)