Yoon’s Everything, Everything is the story of Maddy, a teenager, who, since she can remember, has been house-bound due to SCID, a condition meaning that any contact with the outside world could trigger a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction. In addition, she cannot have any visitors to her house unless they have been thoroughly decontaminated. However, everything soon begins to change when a new family moves next door. She soon gets to know the eldest, Olly, and as she starts to message him on IM, she wishes she could meet him in the flesh. As they become closer, she starts to worry that her illness will get in the way of their relationship and questions whether her situation will ever change…
I really enjoyed the concept of this book, as I didn’t know anything about SCID, the immune-deficiency disease that Maddy suffers from. If you’ve read The Fault in Our Stars or Niven’s All the Bright Places and Holding Up the Universe, you’ll enjoy this book as they all focus on teenagers who don’t let their personal struggles get in the way of living their lives to the full, with the people they love the most.
I read this book in two days, which is relatively short for me as I am a very slow reader. I think this was because I really wanted to know whether Maddy managed to pull through or not, despite her illness. Yoon effectively develops her characters as the book progresses – most notably, Maddy and her mum who change throughout. I really liked Maddy’s character – especially as she kept going when she felt like she couldn’t carry on.
I’m pleased to say that I have restarted my Instagram account @alyssamaereads where I’ll be posting updates and everything book-related.
Fiction for Teens 