THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE- 10 YEARS ON

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Ten years ago, an extraordinary book was placed in my hands. It was one of the first books I shouted about on this blog and now, with the Walker Books 10th Anniversary edition, I have to shout about it again. It is a book that sticks in my memory and in my heart as one of the most superb YA novels in the last decade and I have recommended it more times that I can count.
The Sky Is Everywhere: 10th Anniversary Edition
author: Jandy Nelson
Walker Books (7 May 2020)
ISBN: 9781406390933
When her wonderful, beautiful sister, Bailey, dies suddenly, Lennie suddenly finds herself, not only struggling with her grief, but also taking centre stage in her own life. The loss of her sister,  and finding her emotions torn between her sister's boyfirend (with whom she shares this heartbreaking common ground) and the new boy in town, Joe (the only person she knows who has never had any contact with Bailey) is bad enough. Running like a fraying thread through her mind and emotions is the disappearance of her mother years before without explanation. Stuck in this grief with no intention of packing up her sisters' life and converting Baileys' 'things', her accomplishments and the ghost of her voice to mere memory, Lennie wrestles with the inner demand that she finally should decide who she wants to be. 
 I was, and still am completely captivated by this book. Far more than just a light summer teen read, The Sky Is Everywhere deals with bereavement, family and social issues and trying to find your own place in the world. It is written with such a powerful, genuine voice that cuts to the heart of all of these issues that all of us, at one time or another, have struggled with. It wraps the reader in a comforting blanket and calls on you to cope; to deal with it and lets you know that somehow, it will be okay...okay to look at the hard truths, okay to move forward, okay to feel and be who you are and to accept yourself. And it brings back the joy; to be happy after loss is okay, too. There is so much texture and beauty in this book that it begs to be read again and again. Filled with the thoughts and emotions of 17-year-old Lennie, exquisitely accented with "poems no one will ever read" building the tone, tension and resolution as you go through her journey, The Sky Is Everywhere is simply magnificent. 
https://www.walker.co.uk/The-Sky-Is-Everywhere-9781406390933.aspx

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