**3.5 stars** 
 Everything, Everything is one of those novels I keep hearing about and has amazing hype so I've been wanting to read it for quite some time. I just never found the time to actually do it. Then I got to meet the author, Nicola Yoon, so I had determination to finally pick this one up and read it. In the end, I was glad I did. The approach to the storytelling was unique and interesting even though the romance wasn't exactly something new and exciting. There were some ups and downs for this one but in the end there was definitely more good than bad. 
 Everything, Everything is the story of Madeline with SCID (or bubble baby syndrome) as she comes of age and learns that being "alive" isn't the same as "living". She meets the boy next door, Olly, who opens up a brand new world for her and the rest of the story is pretty much about their romance. I feel that perhaps too much of the impetus for her to embrace life was based on a romantic relationship and not enough on her wanting to experience life for herself. It also left me with some questions in regard to the potential longevity of their relationship. Why is Olly the perfect guy for her? He's literally the only guy she's ever met. I think the idea may have been that both of them are trapped in their respective homes but just for different reasons. Maybe that's the kindred spirit between them? Other than that I don't really find much in common about them. I guess I just wanted a bit more of a connection between them on another level to show that their relationship had the sense of destiny. But, on the other hand, I found their romance to be incredibly heartfelt and sweet. Here's my favorite line from Olly to Madeline: 
 "You're all the good things wrapped into one good thing." 
 Everything, Everything is incredibly imaginative in its approach to telling the story. While the majority of the book is told in the usual novel format, the story is also told through emails, IM's, blog entries, and through art. I actually loved the inclusion of the art in the storytelling because it gave life to the inner world that Madeline lives in. Sometimes the story is best told by not saying something rather than just outright saying it. The things that were said though were often really poetically put and I loved how Nicola Yoon described Madeline's emotions. Here's another quote that was a favorite of mine: 
 "A description of a tree is not a tree, and a thousand paper kisses will never equal the feel of Olly's lips against mine." 
 So... there's a big twist towards the end that I had suspected for almost the entire book if I'm being honest. It's a devastating blow for Madeline and I don't even know to begin with how I feel about it besides calling it unmitigated rage. (view spoiler)[Madeline doesn't have SCID. In fact, there is absolutely nothing wrong with her. Her mother essentially lost her damn mind after her husband and Madeline's brother died in an accident when Madeline was a baby. Basically, Madeline's mother has been keeping her locked up her entire life for no reason. (hide spoiler)] Just... whoa. It's pretty heavy. The only issue I had with the twist (besides outrage on Madeline's behalf) was that the twist wasn't really explored. It just kind of happens and we spend very little time going over the ramifications of the aftermath. I would have loved to explore Madeline's feelings about not only the twist but to how she will live the rest of her life and figuring out her new identity. There was an opportunity for some really deep character growth here but again I feel like that was put aside in favor of further developing the romance. 
 Everything, Everything was incredibly well written and imaginative. But, was it an amazing book? No, it wasn't. It has a lot to offer and I enjoyed reading it but it did have a few problems for me. While I did appreciate the sweetness of the romance, I think there were some missed opportunities for individual character development for Madeline outside of a relationship. I wanted to see her become her own person because it was something she wanted to do for herself instead of because she was in love with a boy. I think this could have been a 5 star book if we got to dig in deeper than we got to. Unfortunately, this stayed in the shallow end of the emotional pool for too long rather than jumping into the deep end.