Jandy Nelson’s breathtaking novel takes people’s hearts with unprecedented speed. I’ll Give You The Sun is an overwhelmingly realistic story from teenage twins’ perspectives, Noah and Jude, as they find themselves on a rift of undoubting loss. The New York Times bestselling novel takes up various themes that affect our daily lives and yet are kept under taboos. A creative take from a teenager’s eyes, the story unfolds from their early years in Noah’s narrative, and the later one’s from Jude’s. From the ambition of an artist to the sibling fighting to their personal dilemmas, it’s a coming of age story that will leave you on the edge of your seat.

Noah’s story follows through his life as a 13-year-old in the summer as he slowly falls in love with the new boy next door. His biggest dream is to become an artist, his passion for the arts shared in the whole home, especially with his mom. Noah Sweetwine lives in his own world though, for when he isn’t hiding from the world or painting, he’s brushing his mind’s canvas in his invisible museum. His twin, Jude, is finding herself comfortable in her newly attained physical attractiveness that has had all the boys in the neighborhood wrapped around her little finger. Her confidence and spice leave a flare left to be desired that her brother does not seem to own. Noah’s passion is a sea filled with broken ships drowned under his love for art. The two siblings begin with a seemingly unbreakable bond that begins to fade after various incidents.

Three years later, we’re stuck with a Jude haunted by her mother’s spirit and her grandmother’s words; living with a shadow of who her brother used to be. She’s going to California Art School, a place made for artists and passions, those of which she has been robbed from. After the warning of expulsion for her architectural blobs, she vows to make a sculpture not even her mother’s rage can break. As she finds her journey with a new mentor and a mysterious, attractive boy, she begins to uncover the truth behind her mother’s past and tries to rebuild her relationship with her broken brother.

The novel has many interesting and captivating themes, sibling relationships, death,
ghosts, romances, acceptance, art, religion, family, hope, and even faith in other
people. Through Noah’s story, his passion drives him, as he tries his best to pass
through his mental dilemma of falling in love with the wrong person and the breaking
marriage of his parents. And in Jude’s story, her path is filled with her grandmother’s
fulfilling bible of superstitions that lead her down to accepting her past actions and
moving forward with her life. The two twins end up going on their own journey of
acceptance, and through that way, they fight to find each other again.

Jandy Nelson did not shy away from the rawness that the book was open to
giving. From the muddled emotions of a teenager to the soul levitating freedom of
falling in love, the book is beautifully written in its own way. That said, one cannot
stray away from the fact that once you reach the middle of the story, you might find
yourself more enthralled with one character than the other. However, that does not
lessen how all the characters are met with motifs and metaphors quipped and
submerged into the story of what we call I’ll Give You The Sun. Their development is
based on the idea that they either begin or end up caged in a stone cell, hidden from
the world, their acceptance, and/or themselves. It is breaking free, and until you reach
the last page, you don’t stop holding your breath.

After years of reading different novels, I have a passion for enjoying and
breathing in the fresh air of the world’s stories that feed me. This one was a bliss of
clear and calming wind. The freedom it takes on to express people roundedly is
admirable and definitely worth reading. The Printz award-winning and New York
Times bestseller is the perfect book to add to your list, and I cannot wait to see your
thoughts.