A New York Times bestseller • One of Time Magazine’s 100 Best YA Books of All Time • Winner of the Michael L. Printz Award • A Stonewall Honor BookThe radiant, award-winning story of first love, family, loss, and betrayal for fans of John Green, Becky Albertalli, and Adam Silvera“Dazzling.” —The New York Times Book Review“A blazing prismatic explosion of color.” —Entertainment Weekly“Powerful and … Review
“A blazing prismatic explosion of color.” —Entertainment Weekly
“Powerful and well-crafted . . . Stunning.” —Time Magazine
“We were all heading for each other on a collision course, no matter what. Maybe some people are just meant to be in the same story.”
At first, Jude and her twin brother are NoahandJude; inseparable. Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude wears red-red lipstick, cliff-dives, and does all the talking for both of them.
Years later, they are barely speaking. Something has happened to change the twins in different yet equally devastating ways . . . but then Jude meets an intriguing, irresistible boy and a mysterious new mentor.
The early years are Noah’s to tell; the later years are Jude’s. But they each have only half the story, and if they can only find their way back to one another, they’ll have a chance to remake their world.
This radiant, award-winning novel from the acclaimed author of The Sky Is Everywhere will leave you breathless and teary and laughing—often all at once.
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The writing here is just transcendent. I found myself making highlights on every page. When I grow up I want to write like Jandy Nelson. This book is somehow about everything important in life: love, family, cheating, siblings, LGBT acceptance, art, death… Everything. How did she do that? Read it immediately.
This book — I don’t have the words for this book, except to say: read it, as soon as you can. This is one of those urgent, searing, deeply wonderful books that grabs hold of you right from the first page and turns you inside out. Nelson’s writing is unbelievable in the best way, and the story is heartbreaking and full of something that’s so inexplicable and lovely. I can’t do it justice — read it!
I really loved that book , after finishing it it was like losing a good friend
I loved the style of writing and the quirky characters. This is the best book I’ve read in a long, long time!
One of my top 10 books of the decade, it was just that good! I listened to the audiobook last year and recently reread the paperback. The story revolves around fraternal twins, Jude and Noah and their evolving relationship to each other, their family and art. The story is told from the perspective of both Noah and Jude. Noah tells their early story and Jude the later, after the death of their mother. The story is utterly heart-wrenching and told with the most beautiful, mind-blowing prose. Jude and Noah are artists and their perceptions of the world are so very intriguing. I’ll Give You the Sun is full of mystery, romance, and exquisitely portrayed family drama.
Verdict: A must read and a perfect selection for your book club with loads of fodder for great discussion.
I don’t even know where to begin. While this book fall under the heading of YA reading material, it definitely will satisfy adult readers. The content is mature, the wording exquisite. This book will make you laugh, cry, and experience every emotion in between. It is the story of twins Jude and Noah told in alternating chapters. Not only is this story told in part from different perspectives, it is also told in different periods in the twins lives. Noah giving the years 13-14 and Jude filling in the 16th year. Between the twins each giving half the story, together, they complete the picture tying up any loose threads left hanging. Growing up they were extremely close yet in Jude’s retelling something has separated them.
This is the second book I’ve read of Jandy’s. I did like The Sky is Everywhere better but this one came pretty dang close!
I loved the back and forth past and present POVs between the siblings! Noah and Jude were both selfish, loveable, complex, and amazing! What I loved best about them was that they were both human and humans make mistakes, but you can also grow from your mistakes. So I really liked seeing those changes and character growth as the story unfolded.
The romances were both adorable too! And my goodness the writing! The writing was perfection! The only thing I would have wanted was an epilogue from Noah’s POV! I still need that epilogue!!!!!!!
Wow. This was a hard book to read in many ways, it sneaks up on you with the intensity of what unfolds. And having just suffered a personal loss myself it was especially poignant, but oh wow. What a ride.
Quite a Journey through Tragedy
This was one adventure that was filled with sorrow and tragedy at every turn. It amazes me how this showcases so well how our secrecy’s can erode away our true selves and how hard it can be to find ourselves again. I loves the way this story was told, alternating timelines and pints of view. At first I wasn’t feeling it, but I’m glad I have myself until the 100page mark, because by then I was glued.
I’ll Give You The Sun is hands down one of the very best YA books I’ve ever read. It should have a permanent seat on the NYT Bestseller list. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you absolutely will not predict the plot twist. Jandy is an absolute gift to the book world.
“I’ll Give You the Sun” started out so promising. Reading the sample, I felt connected to the characters and wanted to know more. Unfortunately the story devolved into pages and pages of teen angst as Noah grappled with his homosexuality. I pushed on, skimming through most of what was being said, hoping the author would get back to his twin, Jude, who, I thought, might have a more intriguing story behind her.
Jude finally arrived and she did add intrigue, but again the story dragged. Too much of a good thing does not make it better. And, while the writing was solid, I found myself skimming until, fed up, I turned to the last few pages to see how it ended. Ironically, I found the ending satisfying.
I really don’t know how to rate this novel. I see that the novel has garnered significant praise and, while I’ve read and liked several YA novels, this one just didn’t cut it for me.
BLURB
At first, Jude and her twin brother are NoahandJude; inseparable. Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude wears red-red lipstick, cliff-dives, and does all the talking for both of them.
Years later, they are barely speaking. Something has happened to change the twins in different yet equally devastating ways . . . but then Jude meets an intriguing, irresistible boy and a mysterious new mentor.
The early years are Noah’s to tell; the later years are Jude’s. But they each have only half the story, and if they can only find their way back to one another, they’ll have a chance to remake their world.
This radiant, award-winning novel from the acclaimed author of The Sky Is Everywhere will leave you breathless and teary and laughing—often all at once.
http://www.darlenejonesauthor.com
*Turns the last page* My heart is so happy right now.
Over five years ago, Jandy Nelson made me a fan for life after experiencing her writing in The Sky is Everywhere. I’m not sure why it took me this long to finally read her sophomore novel, but it’s young adult stories like this that remind me why I still enjoy reading quality YA literature. As I bob and weave through various YA entries, I only manage to hit pay dirt once in a blue moon. It hasn’t stopped me from trying, but has definitely impacted the number of YA stories that I will add to my reading queue. It’s been far too long. I (WE) need Jandy Nelson to continue writing stories of this caliber.
This is one of my all-time favorite books. I must’ve read it about five times by now and I’d read it five more times again. Beautifully written and heart-wrenching.
Great for people who are dealing with lose or discovering who they are!
i constantly recommend this book to people i have never loved a book so much that ive reread it as many times as ive reread this
I’ll Give You the Sun is one of those books you wish would last forever, even as you careen headlong into an ending that is 100% inevitable. The writing is fresh and honest. The relationships felt real and relatable. The characters have so much depth that I sometimes worried they’d never find their way home. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.
I’m an incredibly voracious reader so I’ve read so many books but this one somehow managed to blow them all out of the water. With an amazing thought out plot that is paced perfectly, written incredibly well with beautiful language, it’s unforgettable and unique and AMAZING in every possible way. Words cannot begin to describe how incredible this book is.
No words to describe how amazing this book is! I just could NOT stop reading it and every page was glowing. This is my all-time, one and only most favorite book. Definitely a must read!
Some YA books read like Disney channel screenplays, and some read like art-house films. This is one of the latter. Rarely have I cared as deeply for YA characters as I have for Noah and Jude. They are brilliantly unique characters, flawed, vulnerable and damaged by a rift in their relationship that each is partially responsible for creating. However, beneath their facades of impassive isolation, they both suffer from remorse and a deep longing to find their way back to each other. The circuitous route by which they come of age independently of one another, finding love, finding themselves and finding forgiveness is one filled with magic. Jandy Nelson weaves the themes of art, love, magic, and family in a spellbinding story that will make you laugh, cry, and think about the book long after you have finished it.
Though its not my usual genre, but I’d heard things about this one that made me want to give it a go. And holy crap, did it take a chunk out of my heart. This is a heavy read, it would be easier to stop but you just don’t want to. To be honest I think the less you know about it going in the better, at least that’s what I found for myself. Unexpected and truly moving, I cried more than a few tears with this one.