Maggie's Reviews > Everything, Everything

UPDATE: 7/31/17
I'm deciding this is actually 2 stars because as I educate myself further with mental illness', I realize this "love cures all" thing isn't the solution to everything, for everyone, and that's something this book had. Love that cured "the problem." Also, (view spoiler)[ the fact that the mental illness was never really even true yet the love conquers all is? How did that work? Her falling in love cured her fake mental illness? Makes sense. (hide spoiler)] :)

❝Love is a terrible thing and its loss is even worse.
Love is a terrible thing and I want nothing to do with it.❞

The only reason why I decided to buy Everything, Everything was because it's currently checked out by my friend from the library and I had been wanting to read this novel for so long, I couldn't wait any longer. Typical Maggie sees books at Target and decides to buy 4, all being some available at the library but wanting to be bought instead. I didn't completely enjoy it, I actually loved the beginning and part of the middle. But I was completely shocked and upset with the ending and the plot twist. I didn't see it coming, I didn't expect anything, and I had nothing predicted. So, I had no future plans to what this book would bring. I just expected to cry and sob like All the Bright Places did. This was really nowhere near making me cry.

Spoiler alert: You don't exist if no one can see you.

Everything, Everything is about a 17 year old girl named Madeline, who turned 18 in the beginning, who is pretty much allergic to the world, and the outside of her house. She has a rare disease called Severe Combined Immunodeficiency, SCID for short, or known as "bubble baby disease." She's known as being allergic to anything and isn't able to go outside because she could either contaminate anyone she touches or anyone she touches. Her room is plain white including her shelves and walls, t shirts and shoes. She's lucky to have a computer, even though there's really no one she's able to talk to. The only people who are able to talk to her and touch her are her mother, who is also her doctor, and her nurse, Carla. They both know about her famous yet rare disease and known the triggers and sickness that come from it.

Madeline is allergic to people as well. She takes online schooling and normally skypes with her teachers. She doesn't go to school because if she takes a step outside and feels the fresh air, wind, and weather, she could explode and pretty much die, according to Madeline herself. Something severe could happen and her nurse and mother have never allowed her to go out or have decided to risk themselves and see what happens. Neither has Madeline, until she met Olly.

Olly is her new neighbor. He moved in right next to her and was known as an angel of death, a boy who wears plain black clothes—black t-shirt, black jeans, black shoes, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. There isn't much about Oliver, Olly for short. He doesn't tell Maddy a lot (Maddie is Madeline's nickname he made for her) and there isn't much background information about him. All I know is that his father gets drunk and is one of those abusive and violent fathers and husband and decides to slam the door shut when he gets mad. Even though Olly said he has his secrets while Maddie has hers, hers were told but his were kept silent.

As the two start communicating, kind of hating each other at the beginning because of the situation with Olly, his sister and Maddie's mom and the Bundt cake, they were able to form a friendship throughout emailing and somehow be able to meet each other. It all started with conversations, and they weren't awkward. Some were deep and some were just random, trying to make each other smile and laugh without being able to actually see it. Some were deep and full of secrets, wanting to not talk about the topic. Olly straight up tells Maddie he wants to meet her, so they both arrange meetings with Carla. Olly knows about her disease, sort of. She has told him that they can't touch or be really close to each other because bad things could happen to her, but Carla let him know again just in case. When Olly is waiting in a room and Maddie walks in, they both weren't exactly what they were expecting.

Olly is muscular, and is pretty tall, not being able to show his full heigh when he's in another building, communicating. Madeline is the same Maddie, but to Olly she's different. She's beautiful and smart, and she's different than other girls he's fallen in love with. She has big, brown and curly hair while his is black and has his own curls as well. They both have their own similarities and differences, arguing in some but in a good way, being able to make up for them and become good friends.

Little did Maddie know that meeting her next door neighbor would change her life, the way she looks at it, and the way she thinks about it.

Respect. It's mother nature at her finest—awesome, beautiful, impersonal, murderous. Think about it: All that water and you could still die of thirst. And the whole point of waves is to suck your feet from under you so that you drown faster. The ocean will swallow you whole and burp you out and not notice you were even there.

Madeline was a character I didn't completely enjoy reading about. I was confused about her personality and actions and couldn't tell if she was a stalker or not. I was asking myself is she was and thinking she was, sine she knew the schedules of her neighbors, including Olly, and would know where he is, what he was doing, and what was really happening at the moment. Other times, it was just open and anyone would be able to see since it was shown as publicity what was happening with Olly and his family. Her relationship with Olly was actually cute, even though it's a bit insta-lovish. I mean, she completely predicted her future and would know she would fall in love with him. She also thought he was attractive when they actually saw each other and would always be thinking about him, would be thinking about their emails, would be wondering if he would email her back or anytime soon, and would be wondering what he was doing or up to. Even when there was another girl at Olly's house, his friend or Kara's, Olly's sister, she would think she was someone trying to win Olly and take him from her, when he wasn't even with her or together in any way. Other than that, Maddy wasn't a realistic character because of her disease and her allergy to people, the outside, and the rest of the world, but her relationship with Olly grew and I was glad they were able to work things out throughout the book until the end. They had their cute moments and never really fought or argued, so I wasn't always on the "something bad is gonna happen" spot since I kind of knew nothing was gonna happen. Olly was pretty understandable towards her and was able to give her time and space when needed. But then we come again to Maddy being a little too caring, where she was thinking about Olly and wondering why he hadn't emailed her when she literally told him to not. I mean, she didn't completely, but asked for time and space because of a situation was having, yet she was in freak mode at some point because he hadn't emailed her. Why let him know you don't want to talk at the moment and then freak out because he hasn't talked to you?

Olly was quite perfect in his own ways. His style is great, that's first. Like he would say, too sexy. He wouldn't wear any other color of clothing besides black and I was glad there was finally a book character that is similar to my type, where I just buy a specific color of any kind of clothing because it blends in with anything and is able to match with anything or its own. I can't tell if he completely fell in love with Maddie since she's the one who told him she's loved him since the beginning or something and he just said she was pretty when he saw her. I mean, just because he thought she was a pretty girl and he was wondering why she was looking out at her window, staring at him, doesn't mean he completely fell for her immediately after seeing her, like her. Other than that. Olly was understandable like I said. He didn't get mad at Maddie for lying to him when she needed to and would worry about her as well because she was outside, trying to defend him and worrying about him. He decided to go on a road trip with her when he knew the consequences that could happen and he would give her time to think. I was glad he wasn't a complete freak and didn't act a bit too imature for his age, unlike Maddie. Or maybe he was, but because there was no point of view from him I couldn't tell. I just knew he would worry about Maddie as well.

Maddie's mom was a bit too controlling, and I was glad her relationship with Maddie kind of faded. (view spoiler)[She had been lying to Maddie her her whole and the worst thing is, Maddie found out herself. Her mother acted like she didn't know and it was all a mistake, but Maddie was never sick. There were no papers for proof and the only reason her mom pretended she was sick was so she could keep her to herself and not lose her like she lost her husband and son. She was a bit too controlling and everything would've been better if Maddie knew. Maddie's brother and father were killed due to a crash, not because it was a purpose. The driver was drunk, but Maddie would probably stay with her mom and keep listening to her like she always has. Maybe the relationship would've improved and been better if she knew the truth. I don't think it would be easy to make up a lie a mother had been keeping from her daughter for the past 17 years. The truth was found and I was glad Maddy decided to move on and literally move away, take some time off, knowing the outside world can't kill her and would only make her sick but no awful sickness that would end up killing her. (hide spoiler)]

Carla was probably my favorite character. She was also understanding but she was really nice, positive, and encouraging. She would make sure Maddie was okay and would be okay and nothing happen would come along and happen. She would give Maddie positive ideas and positive encouragements, telling her positive things that can be used for the future and seen as real things. She was always there for Maddie, and she was one of her only friends.

The writing wasn't my favorite thing. The doodles and pictures were something I did enjoy, but the story itself felt short. Some chapters were, the max, 5 pages long, and others were 1 or 2. I was always thinking why it was like that but then I realized the pictures took over them at times or other times the picture was the chapter. Besides that, the writing was a problem I had with the book, believing some things and trying to not believe others. It was also cute, but maybe that was the problem, I found it to be a little cute when it should've felt more realistic. Some lines were poetic and were able to blend in, but other times they felt too quick.

A butterfly flaps her wings now and a hurricane forms in the future.

Overall, Everything, Everything was not everything I expected. It was still a very quick read and I'm actually glad I got it off my TBR list because I remember wanting to read this novel for so long, not knowing anything about it and not having mixed thoughts about it.