nicola yoon – Zakiya N. Jamal

From Page to Screen: Everything, Everything

Posted on May 24, 2017May 22, 2017 by Zakiya N. Jamal in From Page to Screen

everything, everything movie.jpg — Source: Alloy Entertainment

I loved Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon when I read it last year so I was super excited to see the movie, especially when I discovered Amandla Stenberg was playing Maddy.

For those that haven’t read this book (for shame!), the story follows 18-year-old Maddy who has spent the majority of her life inside her house because she has a disease that basically makes her allergic to everything. However, when a boy named Olly (Nick Robinson) moves in next door, Maddy begins to think maybe some things are worth the risk.

I thought the casting for the film was really well done. I was hesitant about Robinson as Olly at first but seeing him in the role, I thought he was perfectly casted. I also thought Anika Noni Rose as Maddy’s mom was a good choice though I do wish they would’ve chosen an Asian actress since Maddy’s mom was Asian in the book. However, as I suspected when I first saw the trailer, the movie basically flipped the races of Maddy’s parents, making her father Asian. Still, her father is dead in the film so this diminished the opportunity for Asian representation, which is disappointing.

Besides that, the film did make a few other changes that I wasn’t particularly fond of. For one, Maddy and Olly’s text conversations were shown in the form of them meeting up in Maddy’s architectural models, along with the astronaut she includes in each of her models. I just thought this was a strange way to show their conversations and didn’t like it at all. I especially didn’t like that the astronaut kind of became a character. It just seemed strange to me.

I was also disappointed that the film took out Nick’s friend but he wasn’t necessary for the story so I get the change. Another change, which I actually did like, was that Carla’s daughter and Maddy were actually friends in the film because they weren’t in the book. It was nice that Maddy had a friend that was around her age.

Overall, I did like the film. Of course it didn’t hold a candle to the book but it was decent. Would I see it again? Probably not, but it was a nice romantic film and as far as book to movie adaptations go, I’ve definitely seen worse.

Have you seen the Everything, Everything movie yet? Let me know your thoughts on it in the comments below.

Book Review: The Sun is Also a Star

Posted on November 15, 2016November 14, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews, Books to Buy

Synopsis:

Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.

Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.

The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?

Purchase From:

Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Book Depository

Review

*I received a free advanced reader’s copy of this book from First in Line and B-Fest. This did not influence my review of this book in anyway. This is an honest review of the novel as I saw it.*

Nicola Yoon knows how to make me feel all the feelings. At first I wasn’t sure I would like this novel because it’s written in an interesting way. Not only do we get the first person perspectives of Daniel and Natasha but we also get the history and future histories of other characters. We learn what’s to come for Daniel’s brother, Charlie, and Natasha’s father’s history of regret. Yoon not only gives us insight into almost every character that Daniel and Natasha come into contact with but she also gives us the history of African-American hair care, the meaning of fate and love, and many other things.

In the beginning I wasn’t a fan of these extra little side stories and histories and just wanted the Natasha and Daniel parts of the novel but then I ended up actually loving those sections that weren’t about Natasha and Daniel. I started worrying about Irene, the security guard, and Jeremy, the lawyer. I wanted to know how their stories would end and what their future histories would look like. Yoon made me become invested in characters that weren’t even main characters and that’s what’s truly remarkable about this book.

Yoon expertly weaves a love story that’s also an exposé on how our actions, whether they’re big or small, can affect the lives of the people around us. How one moment or one day can alter someone’s life forever. The Sun is Also a Star takes place within the span of a day but we see so much more than just what happens in this one day. We see what led to this one day in Natasha and Daniel’s lives and what comes after and it’s beautiful and heartbreaking to read. This novel deals with not only romance but immigration, racial tensions, a lot of science, and poetry.

If you’re looking for a love story that will make you swoon Natasha and Daniel definitely give you that but The Sun is Also a Star isn’t just a romance novel. It’s so much more than that. It’s a story about people, and how despite our differences we’re all connected in some way. Definitely give this book a read if you haven’t yet. It’s worth every penny.

Stars:

Favorite Line:

“Love always changes everything.”

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Book Review: Everything, Everything

Posted on October 25, 2016October 24, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews, Books to Buy

Synopsis:

My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.

Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.

Purchase From:

Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Book Depository

Review

I had to renew this book twice from the library before I finally got around to reading it. What can I say, YA contemporaries aren’t typically my thing. But after much persuasion from my friend and the fact that the due date was coming up again I figured why not give it a chance. I finished it in a day. Literally started it Sunday morning and finished it by Sunday night. Needless to say I loved it.

Maddy is my heart and soul. She was sweet, funny, and much more forgiving than I am. Seriously she is goals for me. I hope to be able to love people and forgive people the way she does. Although I loved Maddy I fell in love with Olly. He was cute, funny, wears all black, and is just the perfect person for Maddy. Their love story sucked me in hard but what really kept me on the edge of my seat was Maddy’s illness and how it affected her life. I can’t imagine not being able to leave my house, not being able to touch people, not having a “normal” life. What I could understand though was Maddy’s love for books and her little reviews cracked me up as did her definitions.

I loved the drawings in this book as well, which were done by Nicola’s husband, David, which I thought was super cool. Overall I think what I loved most about this book was really just the plot. The romance between Maddy and Olly was perfect but the story that Yoon weaved left me speechless. I was shocked, enraged, and saddened with the last 100 pages of this book. I didn’t know what to feel and had to let my friend know that I was emotional wreck. Truly I did not sign up for all these emotions but I loved every second of it. If I could shove this book into everyone’s hands I would because it’s absolutely marvelous. It also makes me happy that Maddy’s biracial and her nurse, Carla, is from Mexico (diverse characters!). Speaking of Carla she was amazing and I absolutely loved her. I typically don’t care for the “grown-ups” in YA novels but Carla was the best.

In summary, if you’re like me and have put off reading Everything, Everything please rectify this problem immediately and read it. Honestly it’s so great and it’s also a pretty quick read. This is definitely one I need on my shelves.

Stars:

Favorite Line:

“In my head I’ve been in love before, but it doesn’t feel like it. Being in love with you is better than the first time. It feels like the first time and the last time and the only time all at once.”

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