Everything, Everything

About the book

Eighteen-year-old Madeline Whittier lives in a hermetically sealed house because she suffers from Severe Combined Immunodeficiency. She stays confined to white rooms, interacting only with her mother and her nurse, Carla, until a new family moves in next door. Olly Bright begins communicating with Madeline through window panes and instant messages, challenging her acceptance of her medical isolation. Their growing romance forces Madeline to choose between the safety of her filtered air and the biological risks of the outside world, eventually leading her to uncover secrets about her diagnosis and her mother’s past.

Teenagers and young adult readers look to this story for its depiction of first love under extreme physical constraints. It attracts those interested in the ethical complexities of parental protection and the psychological effects of chronic illness. Readers find a narrative that balances heavy medical stakes with humor, often expressed through Madeline’s charts and illustrations. The book provides an examination of the difference between existing in a safe environment and actually living, leaving the reader to consider the necessity of risk in human connection.

Details

Published

2015

Publisher

Delacorte Books for Young Readers

ISBN

9780553496642

Language

EN