I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson is an amazing teen novel about a pair of twins facing the world.

The first thing that stood out to me was the way it was written. Nelson uses such vivid adjectives when she describes colors and feelings as well as deep, meaningful metaphors and personifications. It was her writing style that hooked me to the story and had me turning the pages nonstop until I reached the end.

The next thing I noticed was the format. The chapters switch between the perspectives of the twins, Jude and Noah. The younger years are Noah’s to tell and the older ones are Jude’s. When the twins are 13 and 14 years old the focus is on Noah and when the twins are 16 years old it switches to Jude. Yet somehow, Nelson gets their stories to meet up in the middle and merge as one. It is truly is the work of a genius.

While Noah struggles with coming to terms with his sexuality and proving his worth as an artist, Jude converses with her dead grandmother and tries to win her mother’s forgiveness through sculpting. At the same time they are both trying to cope with their mother’s death and be a family with their grieving father again, and hide behind the guilt of their secrets.

This story is beautiful and moving in more ways than one. Not only is it about two siblings becoming comfortable in their own skins, but a pair of twins learning to forgive and love each other despite their differences.

I found myself rooting for the characters and being pulled into the pages. I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a heartwarming story about forgiveness, love and family.  

Because of the author’s unique writing and the creative story line, I’ll Give You the Sun is now one of my favorite books and I can’t wait to read Nelson’s other books.

Rating: A+