Spoiler Free Review:
I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy NelsonMy rating: ❤❤❤❤❤
Readers will find themselves overwhelmed with emotions while reading the heart wrenching, brutally honest, coming of age story that is I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson. The story starts out with Noah and Jude, twins, so close they consider themselves two halves of the same soul. But when tragedy strikes their family Noah and Jude's world turns upside down leaving them both heart broken and turned against each other. Told from Noah's view from the past and Jude's view from the present one magnificent story of many twists and turns is melded together leaving the reader not fully understanding until the very end. This book was so amazing I was unable to put it down. One thing that I loved was how art had such a strong presence in this novel. Jandy Nelson's writing style has so much symbolism and is chock full of metaphors and this gave the story almost a poetic feeling to it. Though with the fast moving plot line her writing sometimes overwhelming and a little confusing causing me to have to go back and reread. Overall this novel was entirely original and amazing and something that I feel everyone should read. This book does contain some mature content and may not be appropriate for all readers.
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Recommended Mindset for Reading
I would recommend reading this if you are in the mood for a romance with deep meaningful characters. This book is perfect for fans of books with strong LGBT main characters and those who love friendships turned love. If you love coming of age stories and you don't want to start a series or adjust to a new world than this book is perfect for you! You should be prepared to not want to put this book down!
Full Review:
Initial Reaction
I have to say this book took my breath away. I have never read anything quite like it before. While some parts felt slightly predictable most of this novel was a whirlwind of plot twists and combating emotions. Because I plowed through this in one day I went from wanting to cry to laughing out loud hysterically. When I got to the end I didn't want it to be over because I felt so connected to Noah and Jude and I have this intense desire to know more about their story. Immediately after I finished reading this I wanted to grab my sketch book and start drawing and simultaneously start writing about my feelings. The content of this book was so inspiring and thought provoking and even though I am nothing like any of the characters it felt like it resonated with me perfectly.Character analysis
The character development in this book was very interesting because of the way the story is told. Because Noah's perspective is in the past we don't see as much of his growth as a character and in some ways it made the ending feel slightly rushed because we don't see him working through and eventually overcoming his problems. When Noah finally tells Jude and their father that their mother was leaving them and that he had lied I wish had been able to see inside his head to understand better how he had changed in order to finally come clean. When he bursts into the studio and symbolically starts the resolution it just felt fake like he just randomly made this dramatic growth in character. I think that Noah's main growth as a character is realizing that he is gay and trying to understand himself. His change in confidence is shown when at the end of the book he grabs Brian's hand in front of his father symbolizing that he finally trusts his father and has come to terms with who he is.I personally felt more connected to Jude and I think this due to the fact that she changes and grows not only when she is narrating but also when Noah is narrating. Her transition from Noah's other half, to that girl, to jealous sister, to guilt crazed wallflower, to an individual felt natural and really encompassed the whole coming of age theme. Her personality as a bible thumping hypochondriac was definitely something I had never experienced in a young adult novel before. Her hallucinations of ghosts were very interesting as well and the fact that the ghost of her grandmother and mother are her guides on her journey to adulthood made her story more unique. The fact that Jude is so superstitious yet she agrees to just give up her ways at the end of the book did feel a little unbelievable to me because it felt like a big part of her personality. Jude's main growth as a character was realizing that she can be whoever she wants to be and that she is an individual from her brother as well as that she in't that girl. I think something that was a big turning point for Jude was when she confronted Zephyr about being raped and realizing that it was not her fault. I feel that in that moment Jude was able to stop blaming herself for everything.
Symbolism
This book had so much symbolism in it that it began to feel like everything was a metaphor. Just starting with the title I'll Give You the Sun, the sun represents so many things in this book. When Noah and Jude divide up the world they both want the sun so much and when Jude tells Guillermo Garcia that she gave up the sun to Noah he tells her no wonder she is so sad. Noah also thinks that if his mother ever died the sun would go out and when she dies its like the lights go out in their lives. Another motif in this book was using artwork to represent how the characters feel. Jude goes from sculpting with sand, to clay, to stone. The fact that her materials become more concrete and lasting shows how she changes as a character. Jude's confidence in herself and her artwork grows as the story continues. Jude's work with stone and carving herself and Noah out of it shows how they feel stuck in a stone cage and how they need to be set free not only from their guilt but also from each other and Jude represents this when she cuts her sculpture of herself and Noah in half.There was also so much minor symbolism that was a part of the writing style itself. The poetic feeling due to the metaphors and blurring of reality reminded me of the writing style in Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon and Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi. This was something I loved about the book because it just added to the overall beauty of the story. I especially loved the artistic and whimsical feeling that was added when Noah was narrating.
LGBT/Coming out
One major part of this book as a coming of age story is Noah coming to terms with his homosexuality. Throughout the book Noah feels like he can't tell anyone about being gay because he is afraid they will not accept him. This is especially true with his father whom he feels is not open minded and is shown when he tells his mother not to tell his father that he is gay. I felt that this book did a great job with showing the struggle of coming to terms with your sexuality. Jandy Nelson did an excellent job with showing how our world view has changed and is more accepting. I am a sucker for romance of any kind and the romance between Brian and Noah was so sweet and wonderful and was just a perfect friendship turned love.Ending/Resolution
The ending in this book was very well written and wrapped up very well. I always love a happy ending and the last couple of pages had me smiling and giggling. There are always two main things I judge an ending of a standalone on predictability and if all the loose ends are tied up and explained. For me this book was not very predictable and the only thing I guessed was that when Jude found the note from Guillermo Garcia to dearest that he and Jude's mother had an affair. I was able to guess this just from the fact that everything in a well written book happens for a reason and the fact that Guillermo Garcia was a wreck on the anniversary of their mothers death and that she would find the book with the note about their interview I gathered that Guillermo Garcia had a more major role to play than just the mentor. Other than that the only thing I predicted was Brain and Noah and Oscar and Jude being together and those are the kind of things you are supposed to predict! As for wrapping up well I think that this novel wrapped up perfectly. I don't have any major questions that went unanswered and when I finished the book it felt right like there shouldn't be anything else. 
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