Ashleigh Macro 4th April 2015

Review: I’ll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson

Stunning, believable novel that broke my heart and put it back together again.

I’ll Give You The Sun summary

Jude and her twin brother Noah are close until a tragedy drives them apart. Now they are barely speaking – and both falling for boys they can’t have. Love’s complicated.

My thoughts

Oh goodness, what a wonderful, wonderful book. I recently read Jandy Nelson’s The Sky Is Everywhere and upon finishing it and absolutely adoring it I couldn’t wait to pick up her new novel, I’ll Give You The Sun. And actually, I think I loved it even more.

I’ll Give You The Sun has a split narrative, alternating between Noah age 13 and Jude age 16 every chapter. So not only do we get to know each character and grow to understand their complexities, we also get to experience what the twins’ lives were like before the tragedy, during the days directly following the tragedy, and then how that tragedy had affected them a couple of years down the line. It’s a really clever way of telling the story and I thought it worked perfectly. There are several heart-breaking twists and turns in this novel, and that split narrative aids these twists brilliantly.

Almost finished reading I’ll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson, it’s incredible. My heart ❤️��❤️

— Ashleigh Allsopp (@AshleighAllsopp) March 21, 2015

Noah and Jude are incredible characters. I believed every moment of this novel, and found myself growing really attached to them despite their flaws. Noah’s struggle with his sexuality, and particularly his relationship with his dad, is stunningly well-written. I loved the way Jandy Nelson splashed painting ideas throughout the novel so we could imagine every image Noah created in his mind and sometimes on paper.That’s made even cooler with the paint splatters and illustrations that grace the pages of this novel. It’s both beautiful to read and to look at. I also thought Jude’s relationship with her mentor was fascinating, and her tendency to speak to deceased relatives she knew were merely in her mind was both adorable and utterly sad.

I finished it! Oh goodness, it’s so good. My heart is bursting. #IllGiveYouTheSun

— Ashleigh Allsopp (@AshleighAllsopp) March 21, 2015

I would strongly recommend reading I’ll Give You The Sun. I loved it, and I imagine it’s one of those rare books that I’ll pick up and read again at some point in the future. Jandy Nelson has quickly become a favourite author of mine, and I can’t wait to read whatever she comes up with next.