Staff Pick
This book left me breathless. Jandy Nelson's language is entrancing, and you will not find a more spellbinding love story than the one in this book. Equal parts heartbreaking, interesting, and innovative, I'll Give You the Sun is a story about fraternal twins finding their own respective places in the world. Jude tries to decode her grandmother's journals, and Noah finds himself falling for a boy he meets in art class. And together, they also find out the secrets that lie within their own family. Recommended By Connor M., Powells.com
This story is told by the main characters — a set of twins, both learning new things about who they are and how that impacts their relationship with each other as well as the world. The twist is that they're telling their stories from different years. Noah is an artist and describes the world in imagined paintings and drawings. Jude is discovering how much she's grown in three years. They're both discovering what it means to be yourself. Recommended By Sarah G., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
The New York Times Bestselling story of first love, family, loss, and betrayal for fans of John Green, Jojo Moyes, Emma Straub, and Rainbow Rowell.
"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.
Review
"This book is many things at once, all of them engrossing. It’s a book where teenagers think in almost indulgently poetic language while still sounding genuinely adolescent. It’s two separate but equally intoxicating love stories.... Most of all, it’s the mystery of what happened to tear Noah and Jude apart, and what — if anything — can bring them back together again." NPR’s Guide to 2014’s Great Reads
Review
"I’ll Give You the Sun is a daydream... otherworldly and mesmerizing... Nelson’s evocative language envelops one’s imagination... an exquisite surrender to wonder and possibilities." The Boston Globe
Review
"Both structurally virtuosic... and emotionally wrenching. That alone is a rare combination in literature, YA or otherwise. But then add in the characters... This book is a rebuttal to anyone suggesting YA, because it tells stories of young people, is somehow of lesser stuff. I’ll Give You The Sun is literature. Full stop. In my opinion, it’s not just the best YA book of the year, but one of the best books of the year." Gayle Forman for Parade
Review
"Dazzling." The New York Times Book Review
Review
"Have you ever wanted to put a book in all of your friends’ hands? This is that kind of book... Heartbreakingly honest." San Francisco Chronicle
Review
"Bold, even breathtaking. You get the sense [the] characters are bursting through the words, breaking free of normal metaphors and constructions, jubilantly trying to rise up from the prison of language... The book celebrates art’s capacity to heal, but it also shows us how we excavate meaning from the art we cherish, and how we find reflections of ourselves within it.... I’ll Give You the Sun is a dazzling mirror." Lauren Oliver for the New York Times Book Review
Review
"This is the big one — the blazing story of once inseparable twins whose lives are torn apart by tragedy." Entertainment Weekly, "5 YA Novels to Watch Out For"
About the Author
Jandy Nelson, like her characters in I’ll Give You the Sun and The Sky is Everywhere, comes from a superstitious lot. She was tutored from a young age in the art of the four-leaf clover hunt; she knocks wood, throws salt, and carries charms in her pockets. Her critically-acclaimed, New York Times bestselling second novel, I’ll Give You the Sun, received the prestigious Printz Award and is a Stonewall Book Award honor. Both Sun and her debut, The Sky Is Everywhere, have been YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults picks and on multiple best of the year lists, have earned many starred reviews, and continue to enjoy international success. Currently a full-time writer, Jandy lives and writes in San Francisco, California — not far from the settings of her novels.