In the YA Diversity Book Club, we chat about the latest YA books that celebrate diversity. Our book club includes Sandie @ Teen Lit Rocks, Kristan @ We Heart YA and Kristina @ Gone Pecan. Each month we’ll focus on one book with a book review (our discussion chat) and bonus features.
Our August book club pick is Nicola Yoon’s debut EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING. It’s a book about a girl named Maddy who can’t leave her house because she is allergic to everything. A boy named Olly moves in next door and they find creative ways to communicate. This book hits shelves next week and I think that Maddy’s story will have wide appeal. And good news- a film version is in the works! Today I’m sharing some book recs for readers to check out after Everything, Everything, and don’t miss an author Q&A with Nicola Yoon, our book club discussion and more fun stuff!
Many thanks to Delacorte/Random House for providing us with review copies of this book!
About the book:
Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon, Hardcover, 320 pages, Delacorte Books for Young Readers, September 1.
Goodreads * Amazon * Barnes & Noble * IndieBound * Audible
If you love Eleanor and Park, Hazel and Augustus, and Mia and Adam, you’ll love the story of Maddy, a girl who’s literally allergic to the outside world, and Olly, the boy who moves in next door . . . and becomes the greatest risk she’s ever taken. This innovative and heartfelt debut novel unfolds via vignettes, diary entries, illustrations, and more.
My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.
But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.
Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.
About the Author:
NICOLA YOON grew up in Jamaica and Brooklyn. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband, who created the artwork in these pages, and daughter, both of whom she loves beyond all reason. Everything, Everything is her first novel.
Find Nicola: Website | Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram | Goodreads
For our book club chat this time around we took the discussion to Twitter, and you can read the Storify summary below, and find more fun features:
- Kristina from Gone Pecan features an “Author Q&A with Nicola Yoon“
- Sandie from Teen Lit Rocks features “Hapa Characters in YA“
- Kristan from We Heart YA features our “#YADBC Chat About EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING by Nicola Yoon“
If you love this book, read on to find out about more books we think you’ll enjoy!
Everything to Read After Everything, everything:
As Kristan brought up in our twitter chat, Everything, Everything is a great example of “Writing Inclusively.” (Check out this blog post to find out more about this awesome campaign) Everything, Everything features a biracial protagonist and other diverse characters and situations. (some things I can’t reveal because spoilers!) We talked about some read-alikes readers might want to consider picking up after Everything, Everything.
Sandie recommends:
None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio – This moving novel is about the experiences of an intersex teen.
Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider – This book is about the bittersweet romance between two teens dealing with a deadly illness.
Kristan thinks Everything, Everything will appeal to Rainbow Rowell fans and also recommends:
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli – This witty glbt romance features stylized emails and other flirty banter similar to Everything, Everything.
I think you’ll also like:
Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern – This emotional read features different types of disability experiences and some romance.
The Last Leaves Falling by Sarah Benwell – This is my current read, and while I haven’t finished it yet I think it fits here. It’s about a Japanese teen with a fatal disease. He’s isolated somewhat like Maddy and strikes up online friendships.
Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel by Sara Farizan – This humorous lgbt romance also features strong supportive friendships.
Next Month:
Hope you’ll read-along with us in September as we discuss THE WEIGHT OF FEATHERS by Anna-Marie McLemore,
Follow us on Tumblr to keep up with our book club schedule and feature posts. Have something to say about Everything, Everything or our other featured books? You are welcome to submit your posts for inclusion in the roundups on Tumblr.
Everything, Everything and Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda are two of my favorite YA reads so far this year!
This sounds right up my alley – I hope to read it soon.