The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

From the back

When her fiery older sister Bailey dies abruptly, seventeen year old Lennie, bookworm and band geek, is catapulted to the 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 world exploding.

The Sky Is Everywhere starts off with a poem. It’s simple, but filled with grief. That is where we meet Lennie, the main character. Lennie and the other cast of characters in this book is the reason why I gave this book seven stars. Characters and plot are the two huge factors that play into how I review, and in TSIE, Jandy Nelson delivers. Her characters are so bold and bright that anyone reading can’t help but to fall in love with them. Bailey’s family is especially charming to me, with and Uncle who tries to bring bugs back to life and a Grandma that paints green people.

Plot, the second huge factor of my reviews, did not deliver as much as characters did. Parts of the novel were extremely slow moving and hard for me to get through. There are at least 10 pages of unnecessary talk that could be removed and nothing would be missing.

The poems that are interspersed throughout the novel are what I believe to be the greatest treasure in the book. Each one, written by Lennie, tells a history of the two sister’s relationship, even after one of them is dead.

I give The Sky Is Everywhere 7 stars.