One boy helps her remember. The other lets her forget.
Lennie Walker is struggling with the recent death of her only sister, Bailey, when a new boy at school (Joe) is thrown into her life. He helps her forget, at least for a little while, the gloom in her life…just in time for Bailey’s boyfriend Toby helps her remember. Caught in a love triangle she could never have foreseen while dealing with a death that was even more unpredictable, Lennie strives to sort out this new life…this life without Bailey. In The Sky is Everywhere, Jandy Nelson takes her readers into Lennie’s world where we experience her sorrow along with her joy as she learns just what it means to move forward.
Admittedly, my interest in this book was peaked by the fact it sounded similar to my own first novel, Facing the Tide, in general plot, but it turned out our books differed more than I had anticipated. That being said, this book was an enjoyable journey alongside Lennie as she falls out of her sister’s shadow and into a life she never saw coming. You really do find yourself feeling Lennie’s pain from the loss of her sister and the guilt she faces from the love triangle. More than that, you feel her falling in love for the first time. The poetry and various writings Lennie litters throughout the town really help get the reader into her head and feel like they are a part of the ride no one saw coming.
