Review: The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

Title: The Sky Is Everywhere
Author: Jandy Nelson
Publisher:  Speak
Publication Date: March 22, 2011
Pages: 288
Source: Bought
Challenge: none

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.

Review: The Sky is Everywhere could not have been a better book, I believe. Of all the contemporary fiction I’ve read it has to be one of the most heartfelt, agonizing, relatable books I have ever picked up. It’s incredible how much emotion Ms. Nelson was able to put on merely 270 so pages.

Lennie’s sister has just pasted away and now she is living in a life where it doesn’t seem right to live. The ever haunting memory of her sister lingers everywhere she goes and grief very nearly consumes her completely, until she meets Joe. The new boy in town who, unlike everyone else, didn’t know the Lennie when her sister was alive. He brings with him a breathe of fresh air that temporarily  allows Lennie to breath without a pain in her chest. But then there is Tony, her sister’s boyfriend, who Lennie relates to more then anyone else. They both feel the terrible loss and pain and being together seems to be the only thing that keeps Bailey alive to them…

The story was really a roller coaster with too many pit falls with one emotional scene after an other. Lennie was such and incredible character. I found myself easily in her foots many times. The theme of music and poems weaves through the book and the results is a raw story of a girl who lost her sister, falls in love, and tries to find a way in and out of a world where the sky seems to be everywhere.