{Review} The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

Posted by Donna
Release Date: November 3rd, 2016
Finished Date: September 21st, 2016

Publishers: Corgi Childrens
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Source: For Review
Format: ARC

Pages: 384
Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo 

 

Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.

Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.

The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?

The Review: I really enjoyed Everything Everything last year when I read it even though I wasn’t blown away by it like many people as but I did love how unique the story was and I definitely enjoy it enough to want to read more from author Nicola Yoon. So as soon I heard about The Sun is also a Sun I knew I had to read and so I dived in straight away.

The Sun is also a Star is a story told over one day about two characters coming together during the day where their lives are about to change. The story is told from Daniel and Natasha’s point of view but also from different strangers the characters meet or know. I enjoyed Daniel and Natasha’s point of view but honestly I didn’t like the other chapters that featured the other people such as the security guard or Daniel’s brother and many more. If I’m honest I took me away from the two main characters story and I was reading the story for them. As much as I liked both characters at times they felt a little flat. Their chapters are quite small and with all the different points of view I felt I couldn’t connect to them as much as I would have liked because of all the jumping around. 

What I really liked about the story was how diverse the characters are and I loved to see the different cultures that were in the book. Daniel is Japanese-American and Natasha African-American. It is freshing to read about two different characters with different beliefs and ways coming together in a YA novel. 

The story itself was sweet but I do think the one day story has been done a few times now and I guess I just enjoyed them more than this. That’s not to say this book is bad. I can guess at how many people will love it but for me I didn’t enjoy it as much as I was hoping. But I’d still look out for more books by the authors in the future. 

Thank you to Corgi Childrens for giving me the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review. 

{Review} Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon

Posted by Donna
Release Date: September 3rd, 2015
Finished Date: September 18th, 2015

Publishers: Corgi Childrens
Genre: YA, Contemporary Romance
Source: For Review
Format: Paperback

Pages: 320
Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US / Book Depo 

 

Madeline Whittier is allergic to the outside world. So allergic, in fact, that she has never left the house in all of her seventeen years. But when Olly moves in next door, and wants to talk to Maddie, tiny holes start to appear in the protective bubble her mother has built around her. Olly writes his IM address on a piece of paper, shows it at her window, and suddenly, a door opens. But does Maddie dare to step outside her comfort zone?

Everything, Everything is about the thrill and heartbreak that happens when we break out of our shell to do crazy, sometimes death-defying things for love.

The Review: Everything Everything is a book that is highly popular right now and as soon as it released I just knew I wanted to read it. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about and I’m glad I did because it’s definitely an interesting read.

Madeline Whittier has spent all of her life in doors because of condition. She’s allergic to the outside world. She has Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Disease meaning she’s never allowed to leave her house otherwise she will die. She’s spent the past seventeen years in her protective life and even though she’s not a fan of it, she deals with it because it’s her life. But when a new family move next door, Maddie is curious about Olly and soon she finds herself wanting more from her life. Can Maddie ever dare to want more?

This was definitely a book I think everyone should read. I have to say it’s a first for me reading about someone with Maddie’s condition and it’s frightening. Both as a person and a parent. I couldn’t imagine how hard it would be to live a life like that where you can’t even experience even the basic things that most people take for granted. 

I really liked Maddie and her story. She’s a very likable character and I felt so sorry for her when she tries to push down her hopes and wants because she knows it can never be possible to want more. Olly was a fantastic character and I loved how he was so open to Maddie’s condition. Their romance was a pleasure to read. It grew over time and I hated when they came across so many struggles. But I love that Maddie was willing to risk everything just to get that one happy moment. I’m always a firm believer that it’s the person’s decision on how they want to live their life so was happy when Maddie took control of hers. I honestly read this book believing that there was no hope for these two characters, even while reading it too. I just couldn’t see how the story would end. And then all of a sudden this BIG twist come that I honestly didn’t expect and it turned the story completely upside down. I don’t want to say any more but well done Nicola Yoon for creating a very unique story!

I have to say though I wasn’t a massive fan of the illustrations and diagrams etc. Yes, they were nice to look at but I don’t think they were necessary to the story. If anything they take me away from the story but I know this quite a popular theme nowadays. 

In all, I can see why so many people love this book so go see for yourself and read! 

3.5 stars!  

Thank you to Corgi Childrens for giving me the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review.