I’ll Give You the Sun

Nelson, Jandy. I’ll Give You the Sun. 2014. 371p. ISBN 0803734964. Available at FIC NEL on the library shelves. This book has been nominated for a Flume Award in 2015.

The twins Jude and Noah have always been very close, close enough to refer to themselves as NoahandJude. Noah falls in love with Ben, the athlete next door who is only spending the summer here. Jude is a daredevil, and her entry into her teenage years have caused a chasm between herself and her mother, who is an art critic and a biographer, and who clearly loves Noah more.

Both teens are hoping to enter a special high school for artists. The death of their mother makes them question everything they knew, and both cope with this tragedy in different ways. Noah stops making art, and tries to live a more sedentary life while hiding his homosexuality. Jude, meanwhile, goes from being a tease to hiding herself underneath oversized sweatshirts, while actively believing in ghosts.

Told from both Noah and Jude’s perspective, I’ll Give You the Sun also adds a few years to the narration. Noah relates events and thoughts from his isolated and artistic life at thirteen, whereas Jude describes her life three years later. And yet, somehow the two of them speak to each other as if it was happening at the same time. Having been separated by thoughts and by action three years ago, can the two twins find a way to make peace with each other and begin the healing process they haven’t had following their mother’s death?