The Sky is Everywhere Review

Distiller: Hikari Loftus
Rating: 5/5





The Sky is Everywhere
by Jandy Nelson
Speak (March 22, 2011)

320 pages




I picked this one up with no idea what it was about, just knowing that I loved “I’ll Give You the Sun” and that everyone seemed to also be raving about “The Sky is Everywhere.” 

After Lennie’s sister, Bailey, suddenly dies, Lennie feels like she’s totally lost. Food turns to ash in her mouth, and thinking of Bailey can bowl her over to the point of pure despair in seconds. 

She and Toby, Bailey’s boyfriend, find that when they are together, somehow they can manage the grief. There just isn’t anyone else who understands the total loss they are feeling. But the lines of grieving together start to become blurred the more time they spend together. 

On top of that, Joe Fontaine, moves into town. He’s wide open, so full of life and music and talent. His enormous smile all but consumes Lennie, driving out anything but joy. With so many warring emotions going on in Lennie, it almost doesn’t seem fair that the confusing and wonderful worlds of Joe and Toby must collide. 

When I started reading this, I was wrapped up in the storyline, but not quite understanding what everyone was raving about. haha. I kept thinking, “Yes, this is good. Yes, I love these characters. Yes, I get and have no judgements for this situation.” All I knew was that I had not yet come to the place in the story that would set this book apart. 

It’s within the last handful of chapters, the culmination of everything the story has built up, that I understood all the raving and praise. Mostly this means I was sitting on the floor of my living room at 1:30 a.m. with a blanket wrapped around my shoulders just weeping into a pillow. 

FEELINGS!!!!!!!! 

I love a book that can pull real emotions from me. The themes of grief, family, love, forgiveness, and understanding, topped with Nelson’s ability to create believable and honest characters made this a five star read for me. Some how the way Nelson writes certain feelings or scenes pokes at the edge of my personal comfort zone, and I love facing things so honestly like that. I loved going on this journey with Lennie, and hope you love this if you read it too.