Review - EVERYTHING EVERYTHING
“Maddie is allergic to the world.
She hasn’t left her house in seventeen years.
Olly is the boy next door.
He’s determined to find a way to reach her.
Everything, Everything is about the crazy risks we take for love.”
I am not an avid Young Adult reader. Mostly because I’m 27. But I craved some effortless, fun reading and thought a Young Adult romance would be the way to go. This particular book pulled me in like a magpie due to the colorful illustration on the cover, which I later found was illustrated by David Yoon - the author's husband.
This innovative, heartfelt debut novel tells the story of a girl (Maddy) who suffers with SCID which means she is literally allergic to the outside world. When a new family moves in next door, she begins a complicated romance with the boy (Olly) and that challenges everything she’s ever known. The narrative unfolds via vignettes, diary entries, texts, charts, lists, illustrations, and more.
I thought at only 310 pages, it would be worth a go. Afterall, I knew nothing about SCID and was intrigued of how the character would possibly fall in love with an outsider if she could never go outside herself.
The romance has been described as “insta-love” which I’ve found out is popular term used in mostly YA reviews. Basically, insta-love is when girl meets boy and lightening strikes, and that is exactly what this is. Love at first sight novels can be captivating and can really satisfy my girly needs for a bit of guilty pleasure romance. But unfortunately, for me, the love story between Maddy and Olly was unconvincing.
The other aspect of Everything Everything was that the main character suffers with SCID. I have found that SCID stands for Severe Combined Immunodeficiency, a genetic defect of the T- and B-lymphocyte systems that leaves the sufferer extremely susceptible to infectious disease and allergens. The most common treatment at this time is a bone marrow transplant, with “bubbles” of filtered air, sterilization procedures, and isolation being common before donors can be matched. Sadly, I did not learn that from Everything Everything, this was found through my own research after finishing the book.
I didn’t expect this read to be an informational booklet about the disease but I do feel the author could have explored SCID some more. For example, at one point, it was hinted and implied that Maddy could not eat bacon. What are the reasons for this? I’m guessing there are certain foods you can and can’t eat with SCID? Implications were constant throughout the book but unfortunately there was lack of explanation. Which I, personally, would have found interesting. But, admittedly, this did raise awareness of the disease and I have discovered more about SCID after reading Everything Everything. Maybe this was the intention of the book? if so, it worked!
Although, I wasn’t much of a fan for the love story, I did grow to like and relate to the main character. Maddy was trapped in her clinical L.A home with her mother and nurse, but she still managed to keep herself busy and I was entertained by having an insight to her daily activities. She seemed to be immune to depression and was an aspiring architect. She also had a strong and sweet relationship with her mother which was comforting to read. I admired her in many parts of the book, especially as it was evident she was quite happy with her life (before Olly arrived) despite her disability. I also enjoyed seeing her sketches, reading about her amusing window spying and the I.M conversations between her and Olly.
Now, this book has a twist. One that I wasn’t expecting. Which, yes, is a good thing. But I feel the main reason I didn’t expect that twist was because it was so ridiculous. I felt the ending was rushed which (whilst trying to avoid any spoilers) resulted in the ableist narrative in all its horrible glory: you can’t have a happy ending if you’re still disabled. Yoon's writing was enjoyably simplistic and the format was unique and interesting, but I found the narrative to be deeply problematic.
