The Sky Is Everywhere
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''The Sky Is Everywhere'' is a 2010
young adult A young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages of human development significantly influencing the definition of ...
novel by
Jandy Nelson Jandy Nelson (born 1965) is an American author of young adult fiction. Prior to her career as an author, Nelson worked for 13 years as a literary agent at Manus & Associates Literary Agency. She holds a BA from Cornell University as well as seve ...
as her
debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...
. It tells the story of an American high school girl, Lennie Walker, struggling to cope with the sudden death of her older sister. Lennie becomes romantically involved both with her sister's former fiancé, who shares Lennie's grief and loss, and with a new boy in town, who shares Lennie's love of music. Ultimately, Lennie must choose between the two relationships. A
film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...
from
A24 A24 is an American independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. It is based in New York City. A24 was founded in 2012 by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel and John Hodges. Pr ...
and
Apple TV+ Apple TV is a digital media player and microconsole developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is a small network appliance hardware that plays received media data such as video and audio to a television set or external display. Since its secon ...
was released on February 11, 2022. It stars
Grace Kaufman Grace Kaufman (born April 29, 2002) is an American actress, known for her roles including Kate Burns in the CBS sitcom '' Man with a Plan'' (2016–2020), Bronwen in the CBS sitcom ''Bad Teacher'' (2014), Ashley Chandler in the TNT action-drama s ...
,
Pico Alexander Alexander Lukasz Jogalla (born June 3, 1991), known professionally as Pico Alexander, is an American actor. Personal life Alexander Lukasz Jogalla was born in New York City, New York, and raised in Park Slope, Brooklyn. His parents, Magdalena D ...
, Jacques Colimon,
Cherry Jones Cherry Jones (born November 21, 1956) is an American actress known for her roles on screen and stage. She has received various accolades for her performances in television and theatre including three Primetime Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, thr ...
, and
Jason Segel Jason Jordan Segel ( ; born January 18, 1980) is an American actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his role as Marshall Eriksen in the CBS sitcom ''How I Met Your Mother'', as well as for his work with director and pr ...
.


Synopsis

Lennon Walker, called Lennie or Len, is a high school student whose love for nature and band comforts her throughout the day. Lennie's mother left when she and her older sister Bailey were young, but Lennie never minded because she had Bailey, her grandmother Gram, and her Uncle Big. Bailey's sudden death from
heart arrhythmia Arrhythmias, also known as cardiac arrhythmias, heart arrhythmias, or dysrhythmias, are irregularities in the heartbeat, including when it is too fast or too slow. A resting heart rate that is too fast – above 100 beats per minute in adults ...
while she is rehearsing the lead in the play ''Romeo and Juliet'' throws Lennie, Gram and Uncle Big into a depression that takes some time to overcome. Lennie attempts to cope with her loss by leaving notes and poems throughout the town, which often contain conversations the sisters had before Bailey's death. Lennie then begins an unplanned relationship with Toby, Bailey's boyfriend and fiancé, that stems from their shared grief over losing Bailey. In the early stages of Lennie and Toby's relationship, Lennie meets a new boy in town: Joe Fontaine, a handsome and positive friend who shares her love for music and helps her almost forget about her sister's death. Joe visits Lennie daily, befriends Gram and Uncle Big as well, and Lennie and Joe start to fall in love. Lennie maintains her lustful and secretive relationship with Toby, creating an awkward situation as Lennie resents him but at the same time welcomes his lust for her. As Lennie falls in love with Joe, she hates herself even more for continuing to see Toby as she believes her relationship with Toby is unhealthy and wrong. Lennie also discovers more about her mother and how Bailey was desperate to find her, leaving Lennie confused because she and Bailey never discussed this. One day, Toby visits Lennie because he is feeling bad and wants someone to talk to. Lennie kisses Toby on the lips to comfort him, then discovers Joe was watching. Heartbroken, Joe leaves, ending his relationship with Lennie as she discovers that Bailey was pregnant with Toby's baby. Lennie tries to make up with Joe by taking him some of Gram's roses, but doesn't succeed. Gram becomes furious with Lennie for cutting her roses and criticizes her for being selfish. Lennie realizes that she needs to change, apologizes to her grandmother, and tells her about the situation with Joe. Gram reassures Lennie that Joe is in love with her. Lennie writes Joe a letter expressing her feelings, and Joe ultimately forgives her and they reconcile. Toby and Lennie become good friends and visit Bailey's grave together to apologize to her. Lennie walks away from the grave with a smile, knowing that her sister would have forgiven her and that the only way to deal with grief is to accept that it is a part of life and to look ahead to the future.


Major themes

Some major themes in ''The Sky Is Everywhere'' are music, nature, death, and love. Music appears through Lennie's love for her clarinet & band class and Joe Fontaine's love for his trumpet & guitar. Nature is exemplified by the "Lennie plant" (a plant which Gram views as indicating Lennie's emotions), the forest, and Gram's flower garden. Death is shown by the death of Bailey and the death of Gram's many flowers, which are all important to the story. Love is shared by Lennie with Bailey, Gram and Uncle Big, with Toby, and with Joe. Love keeps the story going on, although the love might be between different people in different situations.


Style

The style of ''The Sky Is Everywhere'' contains foreshadowing, in that Bailey dies while rehearsing the part of Juliet in the play ''
Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...
'', much like Juliet dies in the play. The manner in which the author portrays Lennie's emotions is also interesting; as member of TeenInk says, "she doesn't just write it poem/noteon a piece of paper and tuck it away for her own sake, she writes it on the bark of trees and on the inside of Bailey's closet." Lennie's character does not simply write her thoughts in a diary like a "normal" teenage girl, she writes on whatever she can get her hands on, whether that be a lollipop wrapper, a paper cup, a napkin, a tree, or her recently deceased sister's closet. Robert Dunbar described the tone of ''The Sky Is Everywhere'' as "at times, skittish and witty", saying that "there is an often poignant dissection of grief, of guilt, and their effect on the maturing young as they struggle to accommodate themselves. . .".


Background

Author Jandy Nelson said that in writing ''The Sky Is Everywhere'', her first novel, daily she would "write in the mornings, early, usually from 5 am to 9 am and then whenever I could throughout the day (sometimes on napkins in restaurants, scraps of paper in the car, like Lennie actually, except I keep all scribbles) and I'd write again at night, and all day weekends." Sometimes she would write for sixteen hours or more. She said she had a feeling of "urgency, of needing to get the story out." Nelson was motivated to write a novel in which the main character loses someone very close to her by Nelson's own similar loss when her mother died. She wanted the reader to be able to relate to others who had lost a very close loved one. Nelson also wanted to write a story where happiness and sorrow were quick to follow each other. Nelson said that none of the characters she used were real people, and that the characters were just a "mish-mash of many people you know, including yourself."


Publication history

Since its 2010 publication, ''The Sky Is Everywhere'' has been published in over 22 countries.


Reception

''The Sky Is Everywhere'' received generally positive reviews. Shauna Yusko of Booklist praised the book saying, "Readers will identify with her and root for her to finally make the first steps toward healing." Likewise, News designer Judy Smith said that ''The Sky Is Everywhere'' was, "written for a young adult audience, utwill be enjoyed by anyone fascinated with the randomness of life." Believeinmexoxo, member of TeenInk said, "this book is a dramatic masterpiece." Vanessa Lewis, co-founder of a children's bookshop, said that ''The Sky Is Everywhere'' had a gorgeous cover, was an "exploration of grief, love, and life," and was hard to put down. Robert Johnson of VOYA readers said that, "The feelings associated with a sibling's death are expressed accurately, changing from sadness to incredulity to laughing and crying at the same time." Karen Cruze said that ''The Sky Is Everywhere'' will appeal to fans of Sarah Dessen and Deb Calleti.


Film adaptation

In August 2015,
Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of ...
acquired film adaptation rights to the book. In October 2019, it was announced
A24 A24 is an American independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. It is based in New York City. A24 was founded in 2012 by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel and John Hodges. Pr ...
and
Apple TV+ Apple TV is a digital media player and microconsole developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is a small network appliance hardware that plays received media data such as video and audio to a television set or external display. Since its secon ...
would produce the film, with
Josephine Decker Josephine Decker (born April 2, 1981) is an American actress, filmmaker, and performance artist. As of 2020 she has directed four experimental feature films: the psychological thriller '' Butter on the Latch'' (2013), the erotic thriller '' Thou ...
directing, and Nelson writing the screenplay.
Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
began in October 2020.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sky Is Everywhere 2010 American novels American novels adapted into films American young adult novels 2010 debut novels Dial Press books