Book 13 Everything Everything

Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon fulfills the
category “Book Set in a
City that Hosted the Olympics” for the PopSugar 2020 Reading Challenge.
Honestly, the city setting for the story turned out to be irrelevant. So,
perhaps not the best choice for the category. BUT it is a great choice for the world
situation of March 27, 2020. The main character has SCID, an immune deficiency
that leaves her quarantined to her home for her entire eighteen years.

Quarantine?
Sound familiar?

The book is Young Adult, so the story is filled with
angst, young love, and learning to grow up. I love that. Madeline Whittier has
spent her whole life in her home, in her white room, unable to go outside. She
has a rare immune disease that leaves her vulnerable to everything. Her mother,
who is a doctor, cares for her along with one nurse. Maddy knows no different.
She lives her days with online schooling, reading, and gazing out the window.
And of course, a cute, interesting boy moves in next door.

Let the romance begin.

I enjoyed the book and sympathized with the principal
character. Even not being a super social person, I felt the heartbreak of not
being able to go outside. And now basically under house arrest here… (I have
some health issues and am practicing some HUGE social distancing practices)…I feel
it even harder. Though for my teens, it’s one thing to live without your entire life, another to
have it taken away. My girls are doing well in our first week home, but the
oldest feels the loss of social interaction the hardest. Thank goodness for
video calls. Maddy, like many people now, can’t go out lest she get sick and
die. Her mother is adamant about that one.

When the new boy moves in, Maddy tries hard not to notice
him, not to watch, not to get interested. There’s a hint of another family living next door previously and
Maddy’s heart being broken over the interaction with someone, a foreshadow, for
sure. The story becomes one of forbidden love, and what love can do to a
person, what it gives you the strength to do. Love gets Maddy out of her house,
and all the way to Hawaii to share some intimate time with Olly, the boy of her
dreams. And of course, she gets very sick.

I’ll
leave the plot summary there as I do not wish to spoil the ending. Other books
I have no problem ruining for you. (Evil laugh) But this one needs it’s finale
undisclosed. (Yes, someone spoiled it for me. It didn’t upset me, but it changed
how I read the rest of the book.)

Anyway, let’s
talk about social isolation and quarantine. Many people are having a tough time
with the lockdown for Covid-19. I, myself, am struggling with how to get
through a few weeks at home with teens. But the country is not at war, people
seem helpful, considerate, and accommodating. I have hope and a little cabin
fever, as most of you do as well. But there are things we can do. Outside is
not closed. Books, movies, museums, and zoos are available virtually. The phone
works, and we can teleconference. We can see the faces of loved ones.