Mini {Audiobook} Review: I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson ~ ***The Starry-Eyed Revue***

Title: I'll Give You the Sun
Author: Jandy Nelson
Narrator: Julia Whelan, Jesse Bernstein
Series: n/a
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Publication Date: September 16, 2014
Source: Audio from Sync
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

A brilliant, luminous story of first love, family, loss, and betrayal for fans of John Green, David Levithan, and Rainbow Rowell.

Jude and her brother, Noah, are incredibly close twins. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude surfs and 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 divisive ways . . . until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as an unpredictable new mentor. The early years are Noah's story to tell. The later years are Jude's. What the twins don't realize 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 radiant, fully alive, sometimes very funny novel from the critically acclaimed author of The Sky Is Everywhere will leave you breathless and teary and laughing—often all at once.

WHAT I LIKED:

- I liked everything. More than everything. From the first word to the last, I just absolutely adored this book.

-The narrators were fabulous. Granted, I didn't like the voice Whelan did for grandma.. it reminded me too much The Sky is Everywhere. But at the same time, I don't think that narration would have been as good without grandmas annoying voice. If that makes sense? I really loved the narration for Noah. It was perfect. both of these narrators put so much into this story. especially at the emotional parts. And there are many.

-The FEELINGS. OMG, the feelings. I literally finished this book hours ago, and I canceled the review I was going to post this Friday so I could blab my love for this one. Like Noah and Jude's art, my love for this story bursting out of me.

-The POV switches. I loved this because its not just a switch in points of view, Noah's parts take us back in time. Something devastating happens, and there is before and after. It's so nay things guys!!! And when it all comes together in the end.... I didn't know if I wanted to cry or cheer.

-The characters. Every single one of them.. so unique and no where near perfect. And the relationships they have between each other. *sigh* I especially loved the connections Jude and Noah had. as well as the conflicts. Sibling rivalry is real.. and it's relevant here.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:

-There isn't anything I didn't like. I will admit, I picked this one up and then shelved it because I couldn't get into it at the time. I'm a mood reader. If I'm not in the mood for it, I won't enjoy it. Sometimes it's just better to come back to it. Especially with works from Authors like Nelson. I remembered how emotional The Sky is Everywhere was and when I realized I'll Give You the Sun was just as deep a read/listen, I decided to come back to it when I was ready.

So glad I did, because I would not have appreciated it as much had I pushed myself through it back then.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

-I have so much love for this story. Jandy Nelson's two books have blown my mind. I cannot wait to see what she has in store for us in the future.

About the author:

Jandy Nelson, like her characters in I'll Give You the Sun, comes from a superstitious lot. She was tutored from a young age in the art of the four-leaf clover hunt; she knocks on wood, throws salt, and carries charms in her pockets. Her debut novel, The Sky is Everywhere, was on multiple Best Books of the Year lists, was a YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults pick, earned numerous starred reviews, and was named both a Publishers Weekly Flying Start and an Indie Next List Top Ten Pick. A former literary agent, she holds a BA from Cornell, an MFA in poetry from Brown, and another MFA in writing for children and young adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She now lives and writes in San Francisco, California—not far from the settings of her books.

Find Jandy:

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