I'll Give You the Sun

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 23 JUN 2014

Twins Noah and Jude are inseparable until misunderstandings, jealousies, and a major loss rip them apart. Both are talented artists, and creating art plays a major role in their narratives. Both also struggle with their sexuality Noah is gay, which both thrills and terrifies him, while Jude is recovering from a terrible first sexual experience at age 14, one of two important reasons she has sworn off dating. Nelson (The Sky Is Everywhere) unravels the twins' stories in long chapters that alternate between their perspectives. Noah's sections are set when the twins are 13, Jude's at age 16, giving readers slanted insights into how their relationship deteriorated and how it begins to mend. The twins' artistic passions and viewpoints suffuse their distinctive voices; Noah tends toward wild, dramatic overstatements, and Jude's world is wrapped up in her late grandmother's quirky superstitions and truisms. Readers are meant to feel big things, and they will Nelson's novel brims with emotion (grief, longing, and love in particular) as Noah, Jude, and the broken individuals in their lives find ways to heal. Ages 14 up.