Happy Book Birthday: I'LL GIVE YOU THE SUN + Review
If you missed our interview with Jandy Nelson for her official Blog Tour, you can check that out by clicking HERE.
Today's the day! The day is here! You can ALL get your hands on a copy of I'LL GIVE YOU THE SUN by Jandy Nelson! The book should be available at all major retailers, but here are some links for some of the most popular stores!
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A peak inside our email inboxes, just for you - because we fangirl - just. like. you.
Ursula and I (Amber) are pretty obsessed with Jandy Nelson's debut novel: The Sky Is Everywhere (You can read Amber's review here and Ursula's review here). So, when we heard there was a new book on the horizon, it was one of those things that we just couldn't wait for.
Luckily, we didn't have to. Our very good friends over at our affiliate site: Bookcrastinators.com picked us up advanced reading copies at BEA this year, so we've gotten to read the book long before it's release date.
(go say hi. because they're so rad!!)
MAN I AM SO GLAD. I don't think we could've waited much longer!
So, check out some conversation Ursula and I had through email about I'll Give You The Sun - we've edited out the spoilers, so this is just for fun. Just so you know it's great and just so you know that you should order it, put it on your TBR list, and read it as soon as you can get your little hands on it! (THATS TODAY!!!)
Urs: So have you started IGYTS yet!?!?! Can you please!?! I’m half way through and I’m dying over here, I need someone to discuss, laugh, fangirl, cry, etc etc etc with PRONTO!
Amber: I just started!!! Who the hell is Ralph?! I'm already in looove with their inner monologues. Oh maaaan! Jandy is a genuis!!
Urs: I know right?! That’s what I love the most, I kid you not that I have a post-it tab marking every monologue I think, just when I thought I read the funniest thing ever here comes the other twin and tops it (mind you this has happened more times than I can actually count! lol) … I’m dying with the parrot, if I ever get a pet parrot I will name him Ralph!
I just love how perfectly dysfunctional they are, it reminds me of Lennie and her grandma (in the dysfunctional department I mean ha!) but you still love them you know? Like family, you don’t care how weird they are you still love them even if they piss you off sometimes haha! I find myself totally pissed at Jude one second after hearing Noah’s “side of the story” and then 2 chapters later I’m completely hating on Noah when I hear Jude’s “side of the story” …
I don’t know what is it about Jandy’s writing man that it completely reels me in, I almost feel like I know these characters personally lol … actually I know what it is.. her characters are so human, you just can’t help but feel for them and feel what they are feeling… WHY IS SHE SO AWESOME!? lol
Amber: It's exactly that!! Her characters jump off the pages at you! They're very much in your face. I feel like I could reach out and pet them! (Though that might be a little weird!)
I think, too, that I like seeing it from the past and from the present, with changing points of view. It's such a new take on the dual POV! At first I wasn't sure about it but now I loooove it! And I really wanna see Noah's art work and Jude's sand sculptures and omg can we talk about this hot British boy that keeps popping up in unexpected places?!???
JANDY IS MY HERO
Urs: LOL! YAAAAAAASSSSSS! There is one part where Jude says “He doesn’t talk, he lilts, his words taking to the air like birds” and I could literally see Jude painting this in her head HAHAHAHA! He was described so vividly that I couldn’t help myself reading out loud in an English accent every time he popped up LOL! (total nerd, no shame!)
The dual POV in the past and the present I think is pivotal in letting us understand what was really happening with them, and in their heads and around them.. we wouldn’t have gotten the whole story if it hadn’t been done this way in my opinion... did we mention Jandy is a genius already?
And The Bible?! The random tidbits from The Bible had me laughing out loud… Clark Gable will never ever look the same to me ha!
Amber: OH MY CLARK GABLE!!! You ain't Lyin! And that james dean lean. Also, I really like that Jandy isn't afraid to show that sometimes ghosts (even if they're not legitimate paranormal beings) are very real to a lot of people!! It makes me feel not so crazy you know?! (But seriously who is breaking Jude's stuff!? Spooky.)
I also really dig that their dad, who seems the least likely to embrace their choices is the one who holds their choices on the highest shelf. And the secrets?! It's more like a thriller than a contemporary romance at times and OMCG I LOVE IT.
"Who knows if there are ghosts or just the living, breathing memories of your loved ones inside you, speaking to you, trying to get your attention by any means necessary? Who knows where the hell Ralph is? No one knows. So we grapple with the mysteries, each in our own way."
^^^
That quote is my life. (But I couldn't really read "sorry Oscar" without saying "oscore!" Lol)
Urs: I have that quote highlighted, like with an actual marker LOL!
The secrets are everything, everything we shouldn’t do, or at least try not to, it showed that sometimes we assume and our own mind takes us places that are just so far from the truth, and we tend to underestimate people and their feelings for us, which I agree was the case with their Dad … Ghosts are real! Even if you don’t actually see them or hear them (or even if you do!) I think we all have them, I believe sometimes they’ve been talking to us and we refuse to listen to them… and sometimes we just accept they are there and embrace them…
I have walked out with life lessons from reading this book (lessons I will pass on to my kids, and friends)… again just like The Sky is Everywhere, Jandy’s writing has left an imprint in my life and she has managed to wedge 8 more people in my heart!
Can we start the countdown to Decatur Book Festival!?!?!? Because meeting Jandy will be for sure a day to remember! <3
(We will have some fun coverage from DBF for you guys coming soon, but you can check out our time with Jandy Nelson at DBF right HERE.)
To wrap it up, here's a few words from each of us on I'LL GIVE YOU THE SUN by Jandy Nelson:
Ursula:
There aren’t enough stars in the sky to give this book! and 5 stars is grossly inappropriate!
This is without a doubt my favorite book this year! (and favorite EVER!)
Jandy once again has brought to me a story that made me cry, laugh, think, appreciate life and love and how important it is to be true to yourself.
A story that only becomes whole when read from both Jude's and Noah's points of view. A journey full of lessons not just for the characters but for the reader. I finished I'll Give You Sun with a smile on my face and a heart full of joy. I feel like every character has taken up residence in my heart and if there was one question left unanswered it was "Where the hell is Ralph?" .... Few authors have been so inspiring and uplifting for me, and Jandy just didn't disappoint! I'll Give You The Sun is on shelves now, go get it because you won’t regret it!
Amber: I wish I could give this book one thousand stars.
Jandy has this way of writing... I mean, it's hard to explain without sounding like a crazy person but I can feel her words in my bones. In my vital organs. I can feel them when I take a deep breath and close my eyes. But most importantly: I feel them when I'm fighting with ghosts of my own.
Jandy Nelson saves me time and time again, and this book is no different. It's a MUST READ just like The Sky Is Everywhere.
I went probably 9/10 of this book without crying. The last few chapters are gutting for me (in a weirdly good way), and at the end I cried like a baby. I swear, Jandy makes me believe in fate on such an insane level that it's chilling.
You'll love this book. Order it, remind yourself, whatever you need to do. Just make sure you own it.
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