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The Importance Of Life In Madeline Whittier's Everything, Everything

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In Nicola Yoon’s new young adult story, Everything, Everything, Madeline Whittier is a young 18 year old woman who has never stepped foot outside of her home. Due to a rare sickness called SCID, or severe combined immunodeficiency, she is not allowed to breathe the outside air or interact with anyone that has not been properly sanitized. Having the same repetitive routine everyday has left her wondering what it would be like to live a normal life. This all changes when a new family moves in across the street and Maddy immediately takes notice of Olly, a teenage boy whose room is directly across from hers. When the traces of true love start to appear, she decides that having a chance to live a full life is worth the risk. With a plethora of …show more content…

When the new family moves in across the street, Maddy immediately knows she is going to fall in love. After meeting for the first time, it is hard for them to stay away from one another. For Madeline, Olly represents many more things than just a crush: he symbolizes an outside world, a normal life and everything she imagines being a teenager to entail. The combination of being confined inside and the aspirations of true love, leads Madeline and Olly to take an adventure into the real world in Hawaii. Seeing the ocean has always been a dream of Maddy’s. Maddy tells the reader, “I can’t believe I’ve missed all this. I’ve missed the whole wide world”(Yoon 195). She finally experienced everything she had dreamed of. The vacation comes to an abrupt halt when Maddy becomes ill. This drastically changed the course of their love. After coming home from Hawaii, Maddy distances herself from Olly. The two drift apart after the frightening experience. However, when Maddy is aware of the fact that she does not have SICD she attempts to reconnect with Olly. Although, the readers do not find out if the reconnection ever succeeds. The story concludes with Maddy meeting Olly for the first time after their venture. It is never revealed if their love ever heals. This is not the only relationship that is left obscure from the book. Since Maddy is not allowed outside of her home, she creates a special relationship with her mother. The mother and daughter have a kind of

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