Publication Date: October 30, 2018
Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers
Genre(s): Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction
Pages: Hardcover, 272 pages
AMAZON – BARNES AND NOBLE – KOBO – INDIEBOUND
Can you want something—or someone—so badly that you change your destiny? Elyse Schmidt never would have believed it, until it happened to her. When Elyse and her not-so-secret crush, Josh Harris, are the sole survivors of a plane crash, tragedy binds them together. It’s as if their love story is meant to be. Everything is perfect, or as perfect as it can be when you’ve literally fallen out of the sky and landed hard on the side of a mountain—until suddenly it isn’t. And when the pieces of Elyse’s life stop fitting together, what is left?
Delightfully Weird, Amazingly Unique, and Emotionally Engrossing
Wow! I don’t even know how to explain what I’m feeling. YOU ARE THE EVERTYHING was such an interestingly well-written and beautifully affecting story about love, loss, life, death, and everything else in between.
Having gone through losing someone recently and dealing with my own grief, this book was not an easy read. I was actually kind of afraid once I realized it wasn’t the lighthearted romance I was expecting. But, the author’s writing style and second person POV sucked me into the story. As if I was the character — going through everything, experiencing all these emotions and just feeling EVERYTHING. It was excruciating and quite overwhelmingly sometimes that I felt like I couldn’t breathe, but I had to keep going. I had to know what would happen next. I had to know that there’ll be a happy ending somewhere. I just had to know. And I did. I can’t say a lot about the plot without giving anything away, but it was very strange and surreal. The ending was just so INSANE. I mean I had my theories while I was reading, but I honestly never saw it coming. So so shockingly good it hurt.
Character wise, I really liked Elyse. She was quirky, funny, adorable and a beautiful mess. I had such an incredibly weird, but fascinating experience being in her head. I can’t say much about the other characters though. I feel like I’d spoil it for you and I just can’t do that. BUT, I will say this. I really enjoyed getting to know the supporting characters in every way.
YOU ARE THE EVERYTHING by Karen Rivers is a wonderfully written story about EVERYTHING. It was exciting and also terrifying. It was sweet, entertaining, and sometimes even funny, but also heartbreaking. Some parts were a bit slow and somewhat annoying, but that didn’t really bother me that much cause I was intrigued and really into the story. I found myself dizzily floating through a whirlwind of emotions and I LOVED IT. So, yeah, this book wasn’t without flaws, but it really got to me and had me feeling and thinking… about EVERYTHING.
If you’re looking for a quick addictive read that’s delightfully weird, amazingly unique, and emotionally engrossing, then I highly recommend you get this book right now. Definitely think it’s not going to be easily forgotten.
I received an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest and fair review. All feelings, thoughts and opinions are my own.
Spoiler Alert: Some may give away clues to how the story ends, so read at your own risk.
“You know it isn’t real, but it’s real enough.”
“We hold on to two types of memories the hardest – The good ones and the bad ones. It’s the ones that aren’t extreme that we lose most easily.”
“Two truths. Something is a lie. But which one is the lie?”
“The thing is that there isn’t a choice, there isn’t always a choice, sometimes the choice is made for you…”
“What could have been, what isn’t, what wasn’t, and what will never be.”
Taken from the author’s website.
I was born, grew up, and currently live in British Columbia, where I take a lot of photos, walk a lot of paths, and write books for children, teens and adults.
The stories I tell are emotionally honest, but they aren’t about real people. Fiction has a way of telling the truth though, don’t you think?
I believe that readers are always asking the question, “Am I OK?” I write characters who suspect that they are not OK, but who eventually find inside themselves the strength to change that belief.
Growing up is harder than ever. The world is often egregiously unfair. Things can seem impossible.
How do we go on?
I believe in the power of stories. I think that stories will save us. They can show us the way.
Novels are magical. Books can be mirrors or windows. We sometimes need to see ourselves. We always need to understand others.
Stories are all secret passages to alternate worlds where we can be safe to explore the unsafe, the unsettling or the unfair hands some people have been dealt.
In the pages of a book, we can be braver than we are, we can go further than we’d normally dare, we can understand more than we know.
Books make us better, period.
I believe in magic. Do you?
Be brave. Be kind. And believe this: You are OK.
I believe in you.
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I hope you enjoyed reading my review.
Have you read this book? Let me know in the comments below.
Nora Reid believes scientific laws control everything, even love. With her grandparents’ epic first kiss story cemented in her brain, Nora develops a hypothesis she’s determined to prove: for each person in the world, there is exactly one other person, and at first kiss, they’ll experience an immediate and intense reaction.
Christina Mandelski was born in South Florida, where her love of reading was cultivated in a house full of books. Stories like The Little House series, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, Island of the Blue Dolphins and The Secret Garden, filled her imagination and fueled her dreams to be a writer. That dream came true when her first young adult novel, THE SWEETEST THING, was published in 2011, and she’s beyond thrilled about her upcoming series for Entangled Crush. Chris lives in Houston with one handsome husband, two beautiful daughters, and two freakshow cats. She has a fondness for the beach, her family and friends, and she still loves to read (especially curled up with a good cup of coffee!) She also enjoys shopping, traveling and eating, especially cake. Always cake. When she’s not doing these things, you can find her holed in a cozy spot with her laptop, writing. Visit her at 
Sincerely Karen Jo 