Format Acquired: Paperback
Date Published: November 1, 2016
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.
The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?
This book is painful and all the while thought provoking and just all around amazing. So, here's Natasha who is about to be deported to Jamaica, where she knows nothing and no one about. All she's known is America, the land where she was born and the land that somehow accepted her despite her nationality. This book is so timely with all the issues regarding nationalities and citizenship in America. Or, well, at least that's how I thought it is. So there.
“To be clear: I don’t believe in fate. But I’m desperate.”
She does everything in her hands just so that she and her family can stay in America so that she can fulfill her dreams. But the law is the law. There's only so much you can do to bend it to your will. I can sort of empathize with Natasha. Moving away is never easy. It's painful. Even though, you're still with your family in this strange new place, it will never be the same again.
I love alternating POVs. It helps me understand the story more because I always believe that there is two sides to every story. But well in this book, not only does it alternate with the POV between the two main characters, it also goes around with the minor characters.
Now, enter Daniel Jae Ho Bae, Korean born in America. He's an aspiring poet who writes about heartbreak, as if he gets his heart broken so many times already. Growing up in an Asian family, there are high expectations. Being an artist is never an option. It's always either a doctor or a lawyer or a banker or a teacher even. He's bound to be one of those if he follows his parents' wishes and not his.
But that's the least of Daniel's worries, I think. He's head over heels in love with Natasha already. Clearly. I do have issues with insta-love. But well, I guess, I can make an exception for Daniel and Natasha.
“There’s a Japanese phrase that I like: koi no yokan. It doesn’t mean love at first sight. It’s closer to love at second sight. It’s the feeling when you meet someone that you’re going to fall in love with them. Maybe you don’t love them right away, but it’s inevitable that you will.”
And so, Daniel tries to make Natasha fall in love with him with just one day. But, Natasha is, in her own words, a realist. She deals with facts. She likes facts. She doesn't believe one bit that she will fall in love with Daniel. But eventually she will.
Nicola Yoon grew up in Jamaica (the island) and Brooklyn (part of Long Island). She currently resides in Los Angeles, CA with her husband and daughter, both of whom she loves beyond all reason. Everything, Everything is her first novel.
