I'LL GIVE YOU THE SUN BY JANDY NELSON

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

I recently finished reading I'll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson and it is successfully my new favourite book. I ordered this in January and, after a painstakingly long delivery, I was delighted when I finally received it. The cover is stunning and so eye-catching; the delivery took so long because it is hardback which is the only edition like this. Even the title just lifts my heart a little.

Synopsis:

Jude and her twin brother, Noah, are incredibly close. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in different and dramatic ways . . . until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as someone else—an even more unpredictable new force in her life. The early years are Noah's story to tell. The later years are Jude's. What the twins don't realise is that they each have only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one another, they’d have a chance to remake their world.

This novel got a well deserved 5 stars on Goodreads because I enjoyed it so much. This review is spoiler free. 

Firstly, I particularly warmed to the characters. Here, twins Jude and Noah, had me gripped right from the start. I loved the way the story switched between Noah and Jude at 13 years old from Noah's perspective and Noah and Jude at 16 years old, told by Jude. That whole aspect of the novel injects an unusual and more interesting feel.

The writing in general was so carefully projected and the artistic references flowed through it beautifully. The way both teenagers were portrayed was finely tuned to the accurate naivety and the 'outsider' emotions weren't cliché. One part of the storyline that I liked was the way both personal and family issues were covered and how they flowed together so well.

Jude's romance made my heart melt. The heart-throb, rock and role boyfriend had me swooning although their turn out was a bit anti-climatic. The tension between them throughout the story was precisely handled to the point where it didn't become boring or slow-burning. I just wish they could have had less of a restrained happily-ever-after. 

Noah was like my little child that I wanted to protect because he was/is so precious and his relationship with the boy next door had my heart racing. At the climax of the relationship between the two I had to stop reading because I was so shocked and I literally squealed with joy. They had a lot bumpier roller coaster ride than Jude's story which is what made the outcome so much more relieving. 

I did actually cry at the end and I'm not too sure why. I think the story was just so emotional and the relief of the ending was astonishing. I would definitely re-read this over and over again. 

Goodreads