Synopsis: "I’ll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson is a young adult contemporary novel that follows twins Noah and Jude Sweetwine. They were tied at the hip when they were younger, but something seems to happen to their relationship as they grow older. As pre-teens, Noah is falling in love with the quirky and handsome new boy next door while also falling in love with art and his dreams of getting into art school. Jude tries to fit in with “those girls” and wears short skirts and red lipstick, and goes cliff diving with boys that have a lot more on their minds than the deep water below. As 16 year-olds, however, Noah and Jude’s relationship is a rocky road that barely includes talking to one another. The younger years are told in Noah’s point of view, while the older years are told in Jude’s. A heart wrenching coming of age story that explores how sometimes we turn out to be the opposite of what we thought we would be, "I’ll Give You the Sun" is a masterpiece in the themes of family, passion, and growing up despite the internal demons that hold us down.

As an avid reader of young adult fiction, I have come across many contemporaries that seem to try to hard to capture the life of today’s young adults. Jandy Nelson, however, does just the opposite. While exploring the internal problems of growing up, as well as the external problems, Nelson strikes a perfect balance. Not everything is about boys and girls getting together, not everything is about being the most popular or the class geek. Instead, it’s about discovering who you are among all these people, and learning that who you are when you’re younger may not exactly be who you turn out be.

Family also plays a huge role in this book; not only in the relationship between Noah and Jude, but the relationships they have with their father, mother, and grandmother. When tragedy strikes, each character reacts differently and in their own unique ways that help them get through the day. Not only that, but the influence of artwork and the creation of artwork plays a huge role in the novel. As a reader, I wanted to visit Noah’s Invisible Museum and stumble across Jude’s flying women sand sculptures on the beach. Much Noah and Jude’s emotions are shown through their expression of artwork, and as a reader, this seems to be the perfect way of showing rather than telling how these characters are dealing with their inner and outer demons.

In the end, this young adult contemporary novel is one that packs one of the biggest punches you’ll ever get in a book of this genre and category. The depth of it gives it the likeness of Benjamin Alire Saenz’s "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe" and Becky Albertalli’s "Simon vs. The Homosapien’s Agenda." A read for all ages, "I’ll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson will leave you feeling satisfied and happy not only for the characters in the book, but for yourself in reading it.

Final Rating: 5/5 Stars