I'll Give You the Sun in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Feb 28, 2015 Abby Johnson rated it really liked it

Shelves: teen, diverse

This book? Is a work of art. The metaphors leap off the page, glistening with color. Emotions, raw and heady, grip the reader and draw you right into the story. It's a story about love - all kinds of love: family love, romantic love, love of craft, passion for art... and what happens when these loves break apart. I think this is a book you could read again and again, taking something different from it each time. Huzzah for the 2015 Printz Committee. Well done, friends. ...more

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Jan 26, 2015 alana rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, making-things, teachers-and-pupils, art-school, audiobook, addicted-to-ya-2015

I’ll Give You the Sun is a well-crafted young adult novel in which twin protagonists tell differing perspectives of their early to mid-teens during which time they suffered personal tragedies and painful sexual awakenings. The storytelling trick is that Noah’s story takes place “before” everything while Jude’s narration begins a couple years “after” the big events. The book progresses toward an inevitable intertwining of the two when all is revealed and made whole. The flip-flopping is a fun nar I’ll Give You the Sun is a well-crafted young adult novel in which twin protagonists tell differing perspectives of their early to mid-teens during which time they suffered personal tragedies and painful sexual awakenings. The storytelling trick is that Noah’s story takes place “before” everything while Jude’s narration begins a couple years “after” the big events. The book progresses toward an inevitable intertwining of the two when all is revealed and made whole. The flip-flopping is a fun narrative tool, though the missing gaps are very intuitive to fill in before it’s all spelled out for the reader (and the twins, for that matter).

I genuinely loved Noah’s story. His experiences were so believable, and his reactions seemed so real. Listening to this as an audiobook, I got so excited when the male narrator returned to pick up where we’d last left our boy. Jude’s tale made me much more frustrated. (view spoiler)

Another thing I loved about the book is the realistic and emotional portrayal of creating art both as a teenager and an adult. I’ve never really read a young adult novel that did this in such an easy-to-identify-with way (Though shout out to A. G. Howard’s Splintered series for some recent use of art-making in YA fiction). Although looking back, all the artists are fairly emotionally unstable, I didn’t actually find that manipulative or stereotypical…just believable. Maybe I don’t read enough realistic fiction! Well, the neat and tidy ending is more than a bit lending toward fantasy. (view spoiler) Finally, I would totally read a book from Heather’s perspective. Oh, and this was an Addicted to YA BOTM for January 2015.
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Dec 05, 2019 Lacey Louwagie rated it really liked it

Shelves: youngadult, lgbtqi, mp3-audiobook

This one is kind of hard for me to review because the writing is SO STUNNING. Both the main characters are artists, and the language used truly marks this book as a work of art, with unique images, turns of phrases, and an unabashed pushing of the envelope where language and description are concerned. Most of the characters are vivid, too, but especially Noah and Jude and their tempestuous, secret and betrayal-laden relationship. The book examines layers of deception, jealousy, and trauma that c ...more

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Mar 07, 2018 Lauren rated it it was amazing

Shelves: book-club

Goodness gracious this book knocked the wind out of me and I’m reeling. Such a heartbreaking and gorgeous story. I will forever root for these twins.

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Nov 12, 2014 Kaitlin rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, ya

I read this book at a quick clip. I'd seen it reviewed but didn't really know what it was about before diving in. It tells the story of twins lives from the age of 13-16 when a lot happens and a lot changes. I'm reviewing this today without book breaking spoilers for some reason.

I really thought the characters in this book were well developed, from the twins to the sculptor to the love interests to their mom and dad, even to the 'ghosts' Jude interacts with.

The plot was great--it's about two sm I read this book at a quick clip. I'd seen it reviewed but didn't really know what it was about before diving in. It tells the story of twins lives from the age of 13-16 when a lot happens and a lot changes. I'm reviewing this today without book breaking spoilers for some reason.

I really thought the characters in this book were well developed, from the twins to the sculptor to the love interests to their mom and dad, even to the 'ghosts' Jude interacts with.

The plot was great--it's about two smart, creative, thoughtful teens coming of age. Noah starts out as the guy on the outskirts, a weird kid who curls into himself rather than venturing out. He gets teased. He's very artistic, and he's trying to figure out how to be himself in the world. Jude is popular and has tons of friends, she's a bit of a wild child. She and her grandmother were very close--the grandmother has died recently and always told Jude she had the family ability of something slightly magical. She believes in charms and has a relationship with her grandmother's ghost. She and Noah are best friends, but are competitive at the same time. They're both artistic, although Noah is a little more vocal about it. We follow them through decisions that change their lives, through lies they tell, truths they omit, and follow their relationship with each other and themselves as they go through it all. The language is smart, these aren't your typical teens. the secondary characters are equally bright. I loved Noah's relationship with his father, Jude's relationship with her mother (and vice versa). I loved the quirky astronomy loving, baseball phenom Brian. I really enjoyed the English model (whose name is escaping me...) and his tough life. And of course, Jude's sculptor mentor. What a character. He was so full of life and so vivid. That story line tore my heart a little. Maybe because I'm an adult... it was good. I cried and laughed and really enjoyed it!

The only part that left me a little iffy is Jude's 'relationship' with Zephyr. That felt like it needed to be examined from Jude's perspective a little more. When the 'big event' happens, Noah is telling the story so we don't hear first hand from Jude about what happened until much, much later. Just really pages before Jude's big realization where she takes control of her life (which happens at a bit of a breakneck pace if I'm being honest) we find out what happened. I wanted more time to (for lack of a better word) digest what happened to her and wanted more info about how she felt during it all. I needed that because I could have given her a little more sympathy if I had it.

That being said, I really enjoyed this and recommend it to people who like Rainbow Rowell, John Green, and any YA with strong quirky characters. ...more

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Aug 14, 2015 Talia rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya-fiction

Noah and Jude are twins, close in their relationship and looking forward to the future together. Three years later, they are barely speaking to each other. This story of betrayal, love, and art jumps back and forth between two points in time and between Noah and Jude, each telling their side of a story, until everything meets together.

Wow, what a beautifully written story. There are plenty of lines to "chew over" and savor, and the characters are so well written, no one is unlikable or a cliche. ...more

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Feb 01, 2020 Marisa rated it really liked it

Shelves: lgbtq, ya, 2020

I thought I’d reviewed this already. I enjoyed it. It’s engaging and well written, but there as a weird Twiilight-esque romance one of the main characters gets wrapped up in, and it made me super uncomfortable. Why did he even have to be 19 to her 16? Him being older did nothing for the plot, it was just there for the “forbidden fruit” factor, which I almost always find kind of gross.

That said, there’s some really beautiful writing in here, and two distinct, well-crafted voices. I was between 3 ...more

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