“Everything, Everything” Adds a New Twist to Teen Romance

“Don’t die,” he says.
“I won’t,” I say back.


Madeline has an incredibly rare disease known as SCID that puts her in extremely delicate condition. She hasn’t been outside in eighteen years. It’s critical to her health that she never steps foot outdoors, for if she comes in contact with any germs she could very well die.

Madeline is a spunky girl, despite having been confined within the walls of her house all her life. She’s homeschooled and her only friends are her mother and her nurse, but Madeline makes the most of her situation.

Then a boy moves into the house next door and Madeline’s world flips upside down.

Olly is different from anything she’s encountered before. He’s bold and bursting with energy. At first Madeline and Olly can’t even talk face to face, so they get to know one another by texting. When they finally meet, Olly has to stand on the other side of the room so he won’t risk contaminating Madeline. This is the tragedy of her disease.

“How can I live the rest of my life in this bubble now that I know all that I’m missing?”

Their romance was super duper cute and their conversations were entertaining. At times there were simply pages of them texting back and forth, and I loved every word of it. Madeline was stubborn and Olly was a presumptuous parkourist. There were definitely a lot of sparks between them, but sizzling chemistry aside, I thought their personalities melded really well together.

The plot was easy to follow and full of genuine emotion. It had a similar vibe to The Fault in Our Stars in the way that it was sweet, sad, and each chapter was brimming with lovely writing. It kept my attention the entire time.

I absolutely loved the ending and unlike The Fault in Our Stars, it closed off on a happy note. It was the perfect finishing touch to a wonderful story.

“I wanted everything, Olly. I wanted you and the whole wide world. I wanted everything.”