Must Read: The Sky is Everywhere

This young adult novel by Jandy Nelson has to be one of the few books that made me feel all kinds of emotions in the span of 300 pages. It now fits in my list of favorite books and I highly recommend everyone (mostly those who have sisters) to read this.

17 year old Lennie is the main character and she’s a very passionate and loving sister, granddaughter and musician. Nelson sets up this story to show how Bailey’s (Lennie’s sister) death impacts each member of the family and how each copes with grief. Uncle Big copes by smoking weed, and exploring weird mystical theories with insects and other objects, Grandma loves her garden and painting, while Lennie can only express herself through poems she spreads around the town. Another recurring theme in the story is the sisters’ infatuation with their mom who has a “running” gene which drives her to travel the world but leaves the girls wondering if she will ever come back.

Although their mom plays a role in Lennie’s loneliness, Bailey is always her focus. Having a sister myself, the way Lennie expresses how much she misses her sister, that every new thing she does or learns she can’t share with her sister, hit me hard and really made me empathize with her situation. I could not put the book down because her love-filled poems for Bailey and how she is attached to each memory and object in Bailey’s room, made me want to read more and in a weird way I wanted to feel sad like she was.

This sadness becomes complicated when Bailey’s boyfriend Toby, is equally distraught and the two seem to be the only ones who can understand the depth of losing the person they loved the most. Lennie’s hormones, grief, and confusion lead her to bad choices which she regrets; this adds a whole new dimension towards how she feels about Bailey that makes the reader forgive her rather than condemn her for her mistakes.

What I really wanna talk about is Joe Fontaine. He is the new guy in school part French and part dreamy musician whom everyone instantly falls in love with. Lennie loves the way he plays, looks and smiles. Inevitably, Joe befriends her and the two get on wonderfully together. The two are adorable, he’s got long lashes and plays a variety of instruments while she plays the clarinet and is finally able to forget about death and grief when she is around him.

Secrets come out, hearts are broken but ultimately all ends well. I really wish I could spoil what happens with Lennie’s scattered poems, but if you’re a good reader, it won’t come as a surprise. This book was a rollercoaster of feelings and as it rarely happens, I loved every single character. Once you’ve read this, you’ll have a newfound love for flowers, poems and you finally won’t take your sister, or family, for granted.