Book Review: I'll Give You The Sun
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
"You Have To See Miracles For There To Be Miracles"
After
spending two years of my life reading literature for the sole purpose of
passing exams, it’s not really surprising that after my GCSEs were over I took
a break from fiction. However, being an English student, since then I have felt
the overwhelming pressure to read, because it’s something I should just do, but time has escaped me and I’ve
never quite got around to it until now.
So, following some gentle persuasion and acquiring my own personal library in the form of my
friend Lauren, I finally picked up a book again last month and it’s safe to say
I couldn’t put it down. “I’ll Give You The Sun” by Jandy Nelson follows the
trials and tribulations of teenage life through the first-person dual
narrative of California-born twins Noah and Jude, a whole host of events consume
their lives and the emotionally driven plotlines intertwine in more ways than
one, to give different perspectives of the same three years of their lives,
covering issues such as rejection, bullying, sexuality and grief.
Noah’s
chapters, named “The Invisible Museum”, take place when the twins are on the
verge of adolescence at just thirteen years old. Introvert Noah immerses
himself in art, drawing whatever and whenever he can, leaving him an outcast
seeking solace in a sketchbook. His sister Jude, however, dives off cliffs and wears
short skirts and red lipstick to spite her mother, seemingly total opposites
yet still with an inseparable bond. One of their first experiences of teenage
life is trying to get into a prestigious art school, Noah attempts to follow his dreams and avoid the “asshats”,
as he calls them, that go to the public-school alternative. Competing for not
only a place at the school but also for their mother’s praise, jealousy is rife
and tragedy strikes. One thing leads to another which tears the twins apart,
leading them both on different paths and further away from each other, all
while still living under the same roof – with the aftermath illustrated in Jude’s
narrations “The History of Luck” set three years in the future. The sister is grief-stricken
and consumed by the guilt of past events, and struggles through life with the
advice of her Grandmother’s ghostly superstitions and the ‘Bible’ of wise words she left
behind.
The
alternating points of view throughout make for a vivid and ever-complex read with
each page adding more layers to a whirlwind of a story. Seeing both sides makes
the reader question where their loyalties lie, wonder who (if anyone) really is
in the wrong, and discover that even though they have been drawn apart, the
twins lives are still connected through their similar thoughts, regrets and the
odd character popping up in both sides of the narrative.
Moving, thoughtful
and even humorous at times, if you want an exciting and emotional novel which
explores important taboos society doesn’t like to talk about and plenty of
twist and turns along the way, then this New York Times bestseller is definitely
one for you. After close to a year not reading, it was a great start for me and
has kick-started my love for literature again – a book I wholeheartedly
recommend!
I’ll Give You
The Sun by Jandy Nelson
Published: Walker
Books, 2014
Genre(s):
Young Adult / Coming-Of-Age
ISBN: 978-1406326499
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