Bulletin for the Center of Children's Books
It's romantic without being gooey and tear-jerking without being campy ... what more could a reader want?
Los Angeles Times
. . .unusually rich with both insight and breathless romance.
Kirkus Reviews
Lennie, 17, has always been content with her role as the girl in the background, playing sidekick to her dramatic older sister, Bailey. After Bailey's sudden death, Lennie finds herself receiving a lot of attention from her peers and her family. Not one but two boys are interested in her: Toby, Bailey's boyfriend, and Joe, an artistic newcomer from France. Lennie loves them both for different reasons, but she almost destroys her relationship with Joe when he catches her kissing Toby. Romantics need not despair, for Joe is also the one who encourages her to rediscover her love of playing the clarinet, an activity that starts her on her path to becoming more independent. Lennie's losses are both heartfelt and appropriately literary and artsy, but her feelings and self-discovery often get buried in the many plotlines. Tied in with Bailey's death are the loss of Lennie's mother, her obsession with Wuthering Heights and her uncle's role as the town Casanova. This well-intentioned story about love and loss too often gets tangled in its own emo. (Fiction. YA)
From the Publisher
"Nelson's first novel is tender, romantic, and loaded with passion."—The Horn Book
"The author brilliantly navigates Lennie's course between despair and hope, sorrow and humor... a gripping love triangle."—Shelf Awareness
"In this amazing tale of love and loss, Nelson introduces a cast of characters who make the reader laugh and cry."—NPR's The Roundtable
"Nearly everyone who's staggering through life in the wake of a loved one's death will recognize themselves in this brilliant, piercing story."—The Denver Post
★ "This is distinguished by the dreamy California setting and poetic images that will draw readers into Lennie's world."—Publishers Weekly, starred review
★ "It's romantic without being gooey and tear-jerking without being campy—what more could a reader want?"—BCCB, starred review
★ "This is a passionate, vulnerable, wonderfully complete and irresistible book."—VOYA, starred review
"[Nelson] writes with abandon... it's a headlong kind of book, preferably devoured at a single setting."—Los Angeles Times
"Brimming with humor and life, full of music and the poems Lennie drops all over town, The Sky is Everywhere explores betrayal and forgiveness through a vibrant cast of characters."—SLJ
"Those who think young adult books can't be as literary, rich, and mature as their adult counterparts will be disabused of that notion after reading The Sky is Everywhere . . . A finely-drawn portrait of grief and first love."—The Daily Beast
"A story of love, loss, and healing that will resonate with readers long after they've finished reading."—Booklist
"A story about love and loss . . . both heartfelt and literary."—Kirkus Reviews
"Sky is both a profound meditation on loss and grieving and an exhilarating and very sexy romance. The book deserves multiple readings simply to savor Nelson's luscious language."—NPR (chosen by Gayle Forman as one of the top five teen reads of the year)
"How grief and love run side by side is sensitively and intensely explored in this energetic, poetic, and warm-blooded novel."—The Guardian
"An addictive, romantic, heartbreaking, and wise tale of one girl's epic loss—and equally epic self-discovery. Seriously, stop reading this blurb; start reading this book!"—Gayle Forman, author of the New York Times Bestseller If I Stay
"Wow. I sobbed my eyes out and then laughed through the tears. I have not fallen in love with a story and its characters like this in a long time. Stunning, heartbreaking, hilarious. A story that shakes the earth."—An Na, winner of the Michael L. Printz Award and National Book Award Finalist
"Okay, I admit it. I have a huge crush on this book—it's beautiful, brilliant, passionate, funny, sexy, and deep. Come to think of it, I might even want to marry this book."—Sonya Sones, author of What My Mother Doesn't Know
"Full of heart, quirky charm, and beautiful writing, The Sky Is Everywhere simply shines."—Deb Caletti, National Book Award Finalist and author of The Secret Life of Prince Charming
"Jandy Nelson's story of grief somehow manages to be an enchantment, a celebration, a romance—without forsaking the rock-hard truths of loss."—Sara Zarr, National Book Award Finalist and author of Story of a Girl and Sweethearts
A Publishers Weekly Flying Start
A YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Nominee
A Junior Library Guild Selection
Translated into thirty different languages
The Horn Book
Nelson's first novel is tender, romantic, and loaded with passion.
The Denver Post
Nearly everyone who's staggering through life in the wake of a loved one's death will recognize themselves in this brilliant, piercing story.
|Los Angeles Times
[Nelson] writes with abandon... it's a headlong kind of book, preferably devoured at a single setting.
SLJ
Brimming with humor and life, full of music and the poems Lennie drops all over town, The Sky is Everywhere explores betrayal and forgiveness through a vibrant cast of characters.
Booklist
A story of love, loss, and healing that will resonate with readers long after they've finished reading.
Shelf Awareness
The author brilliantly navigates Lennie's course between despair and hope, sorrow and humor... a gripping love triangle.
National Book Award Finalist and author of The Sec Deb Caletti
Full of heart, quirky charm, and beautiful writing, The Sky Is Everywhere simply shines.
author of the New York Times Bestseller If I Stay Gayle Forman
An addictive, romantic, heartbreaking, and wise tale of one girl's epic loss—and equally epic self-discovery. Seriously, stop reading this blurb; start reading this book!
author of What My Mother Doesn't Know Sonya Sones
Okay, I admit it. I have a huge crush on this book—it's beautiful, brilliant, passionate, funny, sexy, and deep. Come to think of it, I might even want to marry this book.
winner of the Michael L. Printz Award and National An Na
Wow. I sobbed my eyes out and then laughed through the tears. I have not fallen in love with a story and its characters like this in a long time. Stunning, heartbreaking, hilarious. A story that shakes the earth.
NPR (chosen by Gayle Forman as one of the top five teen reads of the year)
Sky is both a profound meditation on loss and grieving and an exhilarating and very sexy romance. The book deserves multiple readings simply to savor Nelson's luscious language.
The Daily Beast
Those who think young adult books can't be as literary, rich, and mature as their adult counterparts will be disabused of that notion after reading The Sky is Everywhere . . . A finely-drawn portrait of grief and first love.
starred review BCCB
★ "It's romantic without being gooey and tear-jerking without being campy—what more could a reader want?
starred review VOYA
★ "This is a passionate, vulnerable, wonderfully complete and irresistible book.
NPR's The Roundtable
In this amazing tale of love and loss, Nelson introduces a cast of characters who make the reader laugh and cry.
The Guardian
How grief and love run side by side is sensitively and intensely explored in this energetic, poetic, and warm-blooded novel.
National Book Award Finalist and author of Story o Sara Zarr
Jandy Nelson's story of grief somehow manages to be an enchantment, a celebration, a romance—without forsaking the rock-hard truths of loss.
Horn Book
An intimate story-tender, romantic, and loaded with passion.
