Book Review | I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

I was extremely lucky a couple months back when I won a Twitter giveaway for Jandy Nelson's new release I'll Give You the Sun. I decided to pick this book up as soon as possible because the cover is gorgeous and the story sounded equally beautiful.

I'll Give You the Sun is a young adult contemporary told in a dual perspective format. Twins Noah and Jude were once close, but the older they get the more they drift apart. They each take turns telling the story, Noah at age 13 and Jude at age 16. This difference in perspective and time period is extremely interesting. It allows the reader to put together the pieces of the story and discover the intricately woven masterpiece that Nelson created.

I don't want to tell you much about the plot, as I think I'll Give You the Sun is best read with an open mind. This book is about family, love, self-discovery, and so much more. It is truly heartbreaking, but also very lovely. The writing is quite unique, and often written in a dreamlike style. It took a few chapters for me to really get into the rhythm of Nelson's writing, but I learned to love it very quickly.

My favorite aspect of I'll Give You the Sun is the character development. Both Noah and Jude have different narrative styles, and Nelson does an amazing job at creating specific personality traits for both of them. For instance, Noah is an artist and often thinks in terms of the paintings he creates in his mind. On the other hand, Jude believes in the bible her grandma left for her, and often recites its passages for the reader while adding her own flair to them. I loved being in the heads of these two characters, and by the end of the book I felt as if I really knew them.

I'll Give You the Sun is a wonderful book, and I gave it 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. I did think the ending was a little rushed, and I would have liked the story to continue for at least another chapter. I also found a few grammatical mistakes, and as you know I always deduct for those in my star ratings. Otherwise, I think Nelson's story is extremely captivating. I highly recommend this contemporary, and plan on picking up Nelson's other book The Sky is Everywhere at some point in the future. You can purchase I'll Give You the Sun on Amazon HERE.

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