REVIEW: I'll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson

Pages: 429
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Walker Books
Genre: Contemporary
Release Date: April 2nd 2015 (This Edition)
Buy The Book: Amazon UK

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 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 novel from the acclaimed, award-winning author of The Sky Is Everywhere will leave you breathless and teary and laughing—often all at once.

My Thoughts:
I’ll Give You The Sun introduces us to twins Noah and Jude, who are torn apart by the death of their mother. The book tells us Jude’s story in present day, whilst she is sixteen, and follows Noah’s story a few years previously, whilst he is thirteen. This change in time is one of the reasons why this story was so compelling for me. As readers, we already know bits and pieces about the events that have taken place, and it makes us eager to learn how it all unfolds. 

This is a story that is all about the characters. They’re beautifully complex. Both Jude and Noah have flaws, they’ve both made decisions that weren’t very sensible, they’ve both contributed to the wedge that’s between them, and watching them try to fix everything is as touching as it is heart-breaking. Jandy has a way of making her characters so perfectly believable. 

There are many themes explored within this novel, grief and how it affects people in different ways being one of them. The changes in both of the characters are evident in the switching of time-periods, and it’s both sad and fascinating to see the difference in them. Jude and Noah at sixteen are almost the complete opposite of Jude and Noah at thirteen. The twins deal with their grief in separate ways and I loved seeing how that grief pulled them apart and brought them together again. 

The relationships in this book are wonderfully presented, not just the bond between Noah and Jude, but everyone else they connect with as well, such as Brian and Oscar. I absolutely adored the build-up to the romance between Noah and Brian, but the difficulties they faced tore at my heartstrings. 

Emotions and learning to deal with them are also huge part of this novel, and it’s written in a way that allows you to connect with the character’s situations, whether you can personally relate to them or not. I’m sure there are plenty of readers who will be able to find comfort in the words of this story.

I’ll Give You The Sun is utterly gorgeous. It’s that simple. Everything about it is beautifully crafted; the characters, the build-up of the plot, the jumping back and forth between present and past. Even the pages were visually stunning in this edition of the book. 

I flew through this in a matter of days and was completely sucked into the artistic and glorious world of these twins. Their unique personalities are ones I certainly won’t be forgetting anytime soon. Jandy is such a wonderful storyteller and I adore her writing style. Her books are pure art, a magical mix of prose and poetry. If you have yet to read her glorious novels, I highly suggest you give them a try! 

Royal Rating: