The Sky Is Everywhere - Jandy Nelson

The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
Date Released: March 9th 2010
Publisher: Dial
Pages: 272 pages
Format: Hardcover.
Source: Borders

Summary
Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker, bookworm and band geek, plays second clarinet and spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey. But when Bailey dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to center stage of her own life—and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two. Toby was Bailey's boyfriend; his grief mirrors Lennie's own. Joe is the new boy in town, a transplant from Paris whose nearly magical grin is matched only by his musical talent. For Lennie, they're the sun and the moon; one boy takes her out of her sorrow, the other comforts her in it. But just like their celestial counterparts, they can't collide without the whole wide world exploding.

This remarkable debut is perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, and Francesca Lia Block. Just as much a celebration of love as it is a portrait of loss, Lennie's struggle to sort her own melody out of the noise around her is always honest, often hilarious, and ultimately unforgettable.

My Review:

Beautiful. Sexy. Wow. Stunning. Breathtaking. Romance. Epic. Loss. Self-discovery. Grief. Passionate. Funny. Deep. Shines.

This words and more are in the back of the book The Sky Is Everywhere By Jandy Nelson. After reading Thirteen Reasons why, it left such and impression in me, that I swore I would never read a book where a character died. I kept that promise for a good amount of time. Then The Sky Is Everywhere came up, and I saw all of this words, coming from all of my favorite authors. I had no choice, I had to buy it. I braced myself for the worst, knowing what I was getting into and… OH MY GOD!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE (I’ll stop now) it. It actually became my favorite book. Now I’ll stop gushing and start the review, *clearing my throat*.

Like it says in the summary, Lennie Walker lived in the shadow of her older sister, Bailey, who dies abruptly, leaving Lennie with a role she just doesn’t know when to play. Soon, Lennie finds herself juggling two guys. Tobey, the Moon, and Baileys boyfriend (more like was) fragile, and a light in the dark when everything seems so dark, Lennie realizes that, he’s the only one who understands, and things start to get hot and heavy. And then there’s Joe, the sun, he slips the clouds away from her live, gives her strength to find her place and home, and lets her know she still has so much, that not everything’s lost. She just needed someone to show her who she could be.

For a moment It drove me mad that she was dating Toby, but the deeper you get into the story, and Lennie, you understand why, how is it that they share so much, but, you also understand that what  they had, wasn’t love, it was lust.

And Joe, Joe is just…*sigh* yeah, that’s Joe. He and Lenny definitely have Love, I enjoyed every single moment they spend time together, the whole book actually! How Lenny is struggling to find her own melody in between the noise, getting out of her shell, going headfirst, and turning Fearless. Its also easy to understand the importance of losing Bailey. Because, like I always say: sometimes you need to lose it all, to see you have everything. And I think deeply, that this applies to Lenny.

Each chapter has small notes with Lennie’s poems written on them, giving us bitts and pieces of the world around her, her sister, her story, and Love.

A deep forest, a soft breeze, a river nearby, the soft hum of a clarinet and a guitar, both playing a soft and perfect melody… this is what it felt like to read this book. Exquisite. Every single page. I really think everyone should step on board of Lennie’s story, and discovered what happens, when two different world collide. Jandy Nelson. Remember that name, she’s one to watch, and this, is her masterpiece.

There once was a girl who found herself dead.
She peered over the ledge of heaven
and saw that back on earth
her sister missed her too much,
was way too sad,
so she crossed some paths
that would not have crossed,
took some moments in her hand
shook them up
and spilled them like dice
over the living world.
It worked.
The boy with the guitar collided
with her sister.
"There you go, Len," she whispered. "The rest is up to you."