Madison Meeks – Media Director

mvm7037@psu.edu

Photo Credit: Renee & Nicole / Delacorte Books

(Beware there are some spoilers!)

Two people falling in love, one cannot leave the house. The outside world is keeping them from each other. “Everything, Everything” by Nicola Yoon is a love story for the ages. “Everything, Everything”, which first published in 2015, and was later developed into a movie in 2017, follows the story of 18-year-old Madeline White. 

Madeline is being treated for severe combined immunodeficiency, also known as SCID, by her mother, a doctor. Madeline is barred from leaving her house or touching anything that has not been sanitized due to her immunodeficiency. The only person she is allowed to interact with other than her mother is her nurse, Carla. She spends her time reading books and finds comfort in them. 

A family moves into the house next door to Maddy’s, and as she watches them from a window, she sees a mother, father, their daughter and son named Kara and Olly. The fact that she is watching them from her window is kind of creepy, but she cannot leave her house so I will not judge. Maddy and Olly become friends and start messaging each other online. Through their messages, it is revealed that Olly’s father is abusive and his sister Kara has a problem with smoking. 

After a while, Maddy and Olly finally meet face to face when Maddy’s nurse Carla sneaks Olly into the house. We stan Carla! It’s about time that they meet in person. Yes, it is careless due to Maddy’s SCID, but again we stan Carla!

They begin regularly meeting each other at Maddy’s house. Maddy even steps foot outside for a few seconds. Pauline, Maddy’s mother, fires Carla after learning that Olly and Maddy were secretly meeting. Why is she firing Carla? Carla was only trying to help Maddy. She bans Maddy from ever seeing Olly again yet the two continue to talk online. 

Pauline shows Maddy a family photo from when the family took a trip to Maui when Maddy was a few months old. Deciding to risk everything, including her health, Maddy decides to go to Hawaii, after seeing the family photo. She invites Olly to go with her who first says no and worries about her health but then agrees to go after she lies to him. Maddy lies and tells Olly that she will not get sick because she is taking a new medication. This lie does not seem like it is going to work. The two go to Hawaii and explore but Maddy gets sick. Maddy is then sent back home and Carla is rehired. Maddy stops talking to Olly because she does not want him to miss out on the world. She then sees that Olly, his mother, and his sister are moving due to his abusive father. 

Will Maddy and Olly ever see each other again? What is going on with Pauline? Is there another reason that Maddy got sick in Hawaii? Will Olly find out that Maddy lied to him? 

Find out these answers and more by reading “Everything, Everything.” Hopefully, people will enjoy the rest of the novel and the story of Maddy and Olly. “Everything, Everything” is perfect for readers who like love stories like “The Fault in Our Stars”, “The Sun is Also a Star”, “Five Feet Apart”, and “All the Bright Places.”