quippe | Entries tagged with nicola yoon

The Blurb On The Back:

It’s just before Christmas and no one is prepared for this whiteout … But sometimes the most magical moments are a total surprise!

As the city grinds to a halt, twelve teenagers band together to help a friend pull off the most epic apology of her life. Will they be able to make it happen in spite of the storm?

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk and Nicola Yoon’s YA romance follow-up to BLACKOUT has another all Black cast and good lesbian and gender-non-conforming representation but one of the chapters veers towards bi-erasure and I just couldn’t take to Stevie or empathise with her (despite her neurodiversity). Ultimately it’s okay, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as BLACKOUT.

WHITEOUT was released in the United Kingdom on 10th November 2022. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Live life in a bubble? Or risk everything for love?

Maddy is allergic to the world. She hasn’t left her house in seventeen years.

Olly is the boy next door. He’s determined to find a way to reach her.

Everything Everything is about the crazy risks we take for love …

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Nicola Yoon’s debut YA contemporary romance is a sweet tale of impossible love against impossible odds with great illustrations by David Yoon but it’s hindered by a plot twist that’s way too easy to guess and the ramifications of which don’t get a thorough examination. I’m not a massive fan of love-at-first-sight storylines (which this is), although Yoon handles it in a sweet way and I enjoyed the dialogue, which shows the characters getting to know each other and sharing information. I thought that Olly’s storyline was a little hackneyed and wasn’t really needed, although it’s written well enough but I wish there hadn’t been so much made of how attractive each of them is, mainly because I’m bored of teen love only ever happening to attractive people. The big problem for me though is that there’s only one way this romance can play out and the twist (when it comes) was far too easy to guess. I could have dealt with that had the emotional ramifications and other consequences been addressed but instead Yoon decides to brush them to one side, which I thought was a mistake as it robs Maddy of a lot of emotional development and because there’s no real discussion of the impact of the revelation on her relationship with her mother or Carla. This is a shame because there is a lot to like about this book – it’s genuinely sweet and easy to read and Yoon writes with confidence and wit. As such although this book didn’t quite do it for me, I would definitely read Yoon’s next novel.