Review: Every Little Thing in the World by Nina de Gramont

Tags: YA, teen pregnancy, friendship, wilderness, self-discovery, summer

Summary

16-year-old Sydney is on the fast track to a bad life. She doesn’t seem able to communicate with her parents anymore, and, more immediately, she’s pregnant, and not sure what to do. Unaware of her pregnancy, Sydney’s parents send her to a summer camp in the Canadian wilderness. Along with Natalia, her beautiful best friend, and some new people she meets, Sydney embarks on a four-week-long adventure that helps her explore the complexity of different forms of relationships and, hopefully, ultimately figure out what she will do.

Review

With freshness and immediacy, Nina de Gramont takes us deep within the complex mind of a pregnant teenager in the absolutely incredible EVERY LITTLE THING IN THE WORLD. But this is more than just a book about teen pregnancy: it’s also a lovingly detailed celebration and dissection of all different types of human interactions and relationships.

It’s been a while since I’ve read a YA book that gives such insight into human and teenage nature. Sydney’s voice never feels forced, despite the astonishing range of observations she provides us, many of which are things we could only dream of having learned as a teen. The tensions she experiences in her relationships with the important people in her life are perfectly written and balanced.

In this sense, then, EVERY LITTLE THING IN THE WORLD is so much more than a story about teen pregnancy: as Sydney canoes through the Canadian wilderness, she learns about friendship, lust, unrequited crushes, parents, and what really matters to her. This book doesn’t try to present a moral; rather, it’s an exploration into one teenager’s mind. We may not necessarily agree with everything Sydney does, but after reading this book, we come to appreciate the thought processes that go into people making different decisions.

EVERY LITTLE THING IN THE WORLD is so much more than it appears to be upon first glance. Read this for a beautiful and amazing in-depth look into teenage interaction and decision-making.

Similar Authors
Sarah Dessen
Rachel Cohn

Writing: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Plot: 4/5

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5


Cover discussion: 4.5 out of 5 - I featured it a while ago in a Cover Lust post because it's just so vibrant. And I know, I know, Sydney doesn't look like that in my head either, and she spends most of the time in the book anguished over her pregnancy... but still. What can I say? Can you tell by now how much of a sucker I am for gorgeous photographs?

Atheneum / March 23, 2010 / Hardcover / 282pp. / $16.99

Review copy received from author. Thanks, Nina!

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