Review by Bella, teen reviewer

I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

four-stars

Summary:  The New York Times Bestselling story of first love, family, loss, and betrayal for fans of John Green, David Levithan, and Rainbow Rowell Jude and her twin brother, Noah, are incredibly close. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in different and dramatic ways . . . until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as someone else; an even more unpredictable new force in her life. The early years are Noah’s story to tell. The later years are Jude’s. What the twins don’t realize is that they each have only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one another, they’d have a chance to remake their world. This radiant novel from the acclaimed, award-winning author of The Sky Is Everywhere will leave you breathless and teary and laughing; often all at once.

 


 

I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson is a coming of age story about Jude and Noah Sweetwine, twins dealing with grief and a constantly changing family life.  I found the style in which this novel was written intriguing, enticing me all the way through the very end.  Jude and Noah’s stories complete each other perfectly.  Noah, who tells his story at the age of thirteen, and Jude, who tells her story at the age of sixteen, are both perfectly flawed characters that most teenagers can relate to on some level.  My only criticism for this story was the beginning, which starts of a bit slow for my taste.  Once I got past the first few chapters, I fell in love with both Jude and Noah’s stories.  Both stories perfectly capture the realities of family, grief, death, and love. 4 stars. –Bella, teen reviewer

 


 

I’ll Give You the Sun received a Printz Award, a Stonewall Award, and was named a YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults.

Find the book in our library: I’ll Give You the Sun