This book was not my cup of tea however I can see the appeal to a younger person. The main thing that put me off is the dreamlike feel of the book alongside it being 2nd person. The ending was interesting and I would certainly recommend it to someone younger than me (as much as I do like a YA book every now and again)

I didn’t see this book coming. Didn’t expect what it would do to me but I was here for it the whole journey.

This novel is written completely in second person and it was a struggle to say the least but once you’re in it, you can’t stop. You know something is wrong, you can sense it. So you have to keep plugged into the story to find out where it all comes together.

I did NOT expect that ending.

Out of the entire book I will say the last 3 chapters are probably a masterpiece of writing. I was wholly unprepared for how it hit me. The rest of the book had moments that were impactful but on the whole it NEARLY as gripped as the end of the book.

It’s a heavy read for sure and not one I would recommend for anyone looking for a lighter read or a fluffy read. This is one that will drag you down in the feels and keep you there.

I did have one pet peeve, for the love of everything stop saying your boyfriend's FULL NAME. It was infuriating hahaha but makes sense ultimately.

Overall rating: 3.5 stars

I recommend this to anyone that needs a good cry, a emersion novel, and an unexpected jab to the heart.

Happy Reading,

I unfortunately lost interest in this novel at about 3/4 of the way through. I pushed through to complete it but I just didn't find the characters very likeable.

This book was very different. In a lot of ways this story is very haunting. The reader doesn't really know what to feel when they finished the book. This book deals with heavy subjects which I think is great. I feel like young adult books skate around heavy subjects a lot because we don't want to offend people. I think Rivers did a great job with this book. That ending makes me want to scream.

An unusual, often confusing tale of a boy and a girl who are the sole survivors of a plane crash, and the relationship that blossoms afterwards.

Elyse and Josh are brought together after a terrible tragedy, and You Are The Everything follows their journeys to recovery and acceptance of their trauma. I’ll say one thing that I loved about this book: it had an excellent portrayal PTSD and anxiety.

But that was just about it’s only shining star.

Everything else was relatively confusing and unsatisfactory. I was bored by a lot of the story and the prose left a lot to be desired. I didn’t hate the book necessarily, just didn’t enjoy my time reading it. Every time I picked up You Are The Everything, I found myself wishing I could pick up anything else.

Anything.

I didn’t care for Elyse or Josh. A lot of things happened that were confusing and never truly explained.

That is, until we got to the big plot twist at the end.

And it can’t even be called a plot twist if it was basically plain as day from the get-go. There was little mystery to it, and no shock value. It was a cliche, and not in the best sense of the term. Some cliches work. This one did not.

And ***SPOILERS*** the fact that it was all a dream/hallucination/trick of the mind right before Elyse was really supposed to die just made me feel like the entire book was a waste of time.

( 3.5 Stars )

You Are The Everything by Karen Rivers felt like it might be written for a younger age group than me, but there was something about it that was really appealing and since I’ve been reading some pretty heavy books lately, I thought I could use a break. I mean, a tragic plane crash has to be light reading, right?

This is written in the second person, with “you” stepping in to the main narration role. I’ve come across this take before and it always makes me feel a little more drawn into the story, especially when the character compliments your own thoughts and feelings, much like Elyse does for me. I had no problem stepping into her shoes, seeing the teenage world through her eyes. I really connected with her teen naivety and awkwardness on the cusp of self-awareness. However, this voice is not for everyone and I could see it getting a bit old after a while, especially with the way it is written and how many words and banter and back and forth there is.

It’s really hard to talk about this book without giving anything away, and I think it’s the kind of book that you want to read knowing nothing about it.

[So, mild Spoiler, if you don’t want to know anything about the book] This was a very unusual story and I couldn’t tell if, through the whole thing, we were floating through a dream world or if there was some kind of magical realism element to it, or if it was just a sweet and somewhat naive coming of age story about two survivors trying to find their place in their new reality. There were a lot of little moments where reality seemed to blur, where conversational banter seemed to be taken to a more movie-like level, where things don’t happen and memories overlap. But Elyse suffered a head injury, so all these lost moments are easily explained away. I think. Right? [End Spoiler]

My enjoyment of this ebbed and flowed the further I read, but I was always kept intrigued and captivated and curious about whether Elyse was just barely keeping it together, or if she was already flying way off the deep end. At times I thought the narrative dragged a little bit, but I’m one to rush along moments sometimes and this book was full of different moments.

There are definitely a lot of little clues throughout that can help piece the overall story together if you’re looking for that, but if you’re just sitting back and enjoying a somewhat sweet survival story, then I think you’ll be more apt to like where the story ends up. Overall, I enjoyed this for the most part. I like books that sometimes get really confusing and blur the lines a little bit and don’t’ lay everything out for your completely. It felt a bit repetitive sometimes, but it was a short and quick read so easy enough to ride through until the end, which is really the whole point of the book.

*I WAS PROVIDED WITH AN E-ARC COPY FROM THE PUBLISHER FOR THIS TOUR. MY REVIEW IS NOT AFFECTED BY THIS*

The first thing I noticed and the first thing that bothered me the most about this book was that it was in Second Person POV. For those of you who don't know what SP-POV is, it's basically just the excess use of "you" throughout the book; otherwise known as the POV fanfiction writers are most common for using.

Now, I'm not hating on the book just because it's in Second Person POV, but I will say that it did bother me—a lot—while reading.

However, one thing I did really like about this book, was the switching of the perspectives. By that, I mean that in one chapter, we were reading through the plane crash, but then in another chapter, we were reading in the hospital or across the states. I love when authors do this, as I like the out of order events.

It was clear throughout the book that the words and actions of the characters were supposed to pull at your heartstrings and make you feel what the MC was feeling. And I did—I felt for the MC and I felt what she was feeling. I understood her pain over her loss, and I understand everything she chose and went through after the crash.

If you aren't fans of Second Person POV, I wouldn't suggest this book for you. However, if you are fans of Contemporary Romance (aka fluff), this would be a book for you.

I rate this book 3.5/5 stars.

I enjoy reading a variety of fiction including ones that are geared towards young adults or teen readers so that I can find new books to recommend to my son. I found You Are The Everything a well written book but one that I don't necessarily agree with in the end.

I do not think I will be recommending this book to my teen as I do not agree with some of the character decisions and found some of it to be disturbing.

SPOILERS

I think if Elyse and Josh Harris had really survived I would not be as upset by the story but with their deaths (and that of the others on the plane including a description of a mother and baby), I found myself shaken.

I will be sharing a short review of the book on my blog in mid-December.

Where do I even begin with this story...gripping, interesting, heartfelt and everything in between. This story will make you cry hard and leave you slightly wounded. I'm giving this story a 3.5 star rating because the narrative was very different. It was written in a way that made the reader feel as if they were the main character.

Elyse Schmidt and Josh Harris are on a plane returning home from Paris with their school (I believe it was the band) when their plane crashes and they're left as the soul survivors. Elyse ends up with a glass eye and traumatic brain injury which causes her to also have a hard time remembering many things. Despite that Josh Harris, who happens to be her crush, is there to help her through and remind her of how beautiful she is.

This is a YA contemporary romance that will rip your heart out of chest. The interactions between Elyse and Josh are compelling. The writing is detailed which I thought was amazing as it pulled me into the story more than most contemporary romances do. Paired with the narrative style, it was all so real and amazing.

That ending...WHYYYY?! It threw me for a complete loop! I was not expecting that to happen at all. It felt like the end of a dream or fantasy.

Do I recommend this, yes I do. Especially if you're looking for 1) a tear-jerker and 2) a different writing style.

Elyse Schmidt is flying home from a band trip to Paris. Having argued with her best friend, Kath, Elyse is sitting next to her crush, Josh Harris. The unthinkable happens when their plane crashes into the side of a mountain. Elyse and Josh are the sole survivors of the crash. A year after the crash, Elyse and Josh are living in Wyoming, dating, and trying to forget the crash that changed their lives. Elyse starts to notice that her perfect world isn’t as perfect as she thought. There are inconsistencies that she keeps noticing. What is happening to her world? Will Elyse figure it out?

You Are The Every Thing is an odd book. First off, it is written in 2nd person. That is something that I am not used to. I have read only one other book where it was written in 2nd person and like this one, I had a hard time following it.

The other thing that I didn’t like about this book was that Elyse insisted on calling Josh by his full name. Josh Harris. Even to his face. It was cute the first few times that it happened. After that, it got repetitive and boring. And it went the same way with Josh calling Elyse by her last name. I wanted to go into the book and yell “Just call him by his and her by their first name, darn it“. I know, overreaction for a book. But man, it drove me nuts.

I didn’t care for Elyse. I couldn’t connect with her at all. Her actions at the beginning of the book started the ball rolling with that. I couldn’t bring myself to like her after that. I can’t say why I didn’t like her but I didn’t.

There were things that I did like about the book. I thought it was very well written. I loved the storyline. The author did a great job at creating a world around Josh and Elyse that I didn’t question. And let’s not forget the ending.

Speaking of the end, I was not ready for it. I should have known what was going to happen because of the hints dropped in the book. Talk about a mind screw.

I gave You Are The Everything a 3-star review. I thought that the book was well written with a great storyline. But, I couldn’t get past that the book was written in 2nd person. I also didn’t care for Elyse. I also didn’t care that she called Josh by his full name….all the flipping time.

I would give You Are The Everything an Older Teen rating. There is sex (not graphic but is mentioned a few times). There is mild language. There is violence. There are no triggers. I would recommend that no one under the age of 16 read this book.

I am on the fence if I would reread You Are The Everything. I am also on the fence if I would recommend this book to family and friends.

I would like to thank Algonquin Young Readers and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review You Are The Everything.

All opinions stated in the review of You Are The Everything are mine.

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

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.

Elyse Schmidt is a typically teenager: a band geek who fights with her best friend, and prefers drawing her feelings in a series of ongoing comics to acting on them, especially if they involve her hopeless crush on Josh Harris. And then she and Josh Harris are linked forever as survivors of a plane crash that kills the rest of their high school band.

Oy with this one. It's in SECOND PERSON. The story starts off normal teenage angst, and then takes a sharp left turn after the crash, and Elyse tries to put her life - and her damaged brain - back together. It takes a series of turns after that, which I saw coming, but maybe that was intentional? I think the thing with this book is it wants to be something more than a typical YA love story and while I get what the author was trying for, I don't think she got there. A certain type of reader may LOVE this, but I just found it exhausting my patience (SECOND PERSON NARRATIVE!!!)

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 / 5

Highly unusual, You Are The Everything by Karen Rivers is so much more than a contemporary romance, and more like a weird dreamworld.

What it's about: Elyse Schmidt is on the way back to California from a band festival in Paris when the plane she is on crashes, and the only survivors are Elyse and her crush Josh Harris. Both of their families move to Wyoming to escape the attention from media and other people, and Elyse and Josh start a relationship bound together by what they both survived..

I don't want to say more about the plot because the end threw me for a loop and there isn't a good way to mention it without giving anything away. Although the book is considered a contemporary romance, it was really more about dealing with anxiety and trauma after a tragedy. The book is written entirely in second person told from the viewpoint of Elyse, and I thought she was very relatable. She is 16/17 in the book and she has major anxiety, panic attacks, and arthritis. Now just add being 1 of 2 survivors of a plane crash and isn't that a ton of stress.

You Are The Everything is very quirky, if you can't tell already from the second person narrative, but also heartbreaking. I didn't actually cry while reading it, but I'm sure some people will.

Also something important to note is that Elyse always calls Josh by his full name in the book, and Josh always calls her by her full name or just Schmidt (which she doesn't like but won't tell him). I can see how that would bother some people and it was weird seeing "Josh Harris" all the time, but it didn't really bug me. I was probably too busy trying to understand exactly what was happening.

Final Thought: The ending of this book is just CRAY, and I really need other people to read this and help me decipher exactly what was going on. It basically left me with that "what did I just read?" feeling that so many of us love so much. Overall it was a quick read and did make me laugh as well as hit me in the heart. I recommend checking it out if you are into something a little unusual that is not your typical YA contemporary romance novel.

You Are the Everything is an emotional almost stream of consciousness from Elyse. As she thinks about the person she wants to be, the meaning of fate, and the repercussions of events beyond our control. You spend a lot of time in Elyse's head, jumping between memories and thoughts, but on the way there, you're treated to some truly emotional thoughts. There's a raw honesty to these thoughts. To these late night, in the middle of the night confessions.

This book takes you on a roller coaster of emotions. Everything from, "OMG" all the way to tears. There's a quiet elegance, a quiet truth, a quiet heart break between the words, between the pages. Elyse is a girl full of dreams, fantasies, and her own thoughts. This isn't the book for those who want tons of action, this is for those who want quiet reflection, memories you have to sift through, and ruminations

The most significant thing about this book is that it’s written in second person. This is so rare for me!!!!???? The only other books I’ve read in this point of view was in the choose-your-own-adventures.

So, this book gave me an entirely new perspective on narration.


I would recommend the book for that reason alone.

I would also recommend to anyone who wants to be emotionally crushed and tormented.


BEING EMOTIONALLY ATTACKED
The emotional build-up was SO EXTREME. By the end I was forlornly crying.My eyes were legitimately blurry with tears. I never react this way about anything, ever since I became soulless in 2017.

But I CRIED OVER OUR MC, ELYSE. She is so small, she’s literally under 5 ft. and she’s imaginative and her life has barely started????? But now she’s devastated by grief.

I don’t handle it well when my characters are involved in plane crashes. It’s not something I encourage from writers at all. By saying that, I really mean please place all my favorite characters in a plane crash scenario so I can distress over them.


THE BAD ROMANCE (LET’S TALK ABOUT HOW UNHEALTHY THIS RELATIONSHIP IS!)
They really should’ve stuck with friendship. Why you ask?

At one point Elyse has a panic attack while with Josh. Let’s see how he reacts.

Josh: “Schmidt, stop it! Hey! What are you doing?”

Elyse: You make a humming sound in your throat. Your brain starts to feel heavy and magnetic, like it’s being pulled into the ground.

Josh: “Schmidt. Hey,” He grabs you. Then he is shaking you, your whole body is vibrating. “Breathe. Just breathe.”

I would like to state that this is FOR SURE not how you handle a panic attack. I’ve experienced these and the absolute last thing I want is for someone to shake me and tell me to stop.

I mean. JOSH. BUTTERCUP. THIS IS COMMON SENSE.

Some panic attack tips: Refrain from doing anything Josh does. Instead, stay calm and positive and gently offer a hug or something. Avoid being a condescending loser. This is my completely unprofessional advice but it’s 100% more effective than Josh’s approach, or your money back.


Josh is generally not a great boyfriend for Elyse. I tried so hard to like him for her sake. But overall, this didn’t feel like a romance. If anything, it’s about two characters who glorify one another in the face of trauma.

Their connection never felt real to me, even if I wanted it to SO MUCHHH. We hardly get any interracial couples in YA, so it felt like a missed opportunity when their love story lacked substance. But, at least we have Elyse crushing on him unhealthily obsessing over him in a very cute creepy way, which was at least something?

Another thing that got on my nerves was that they called one another by their first AND last name. Always. They were f’ing determined. Josh was ALWAYS Josh Harris. Istg if I heard “Josh Harris” “jOsH hArRiS” “JOSH HARRIS” in my head one more time, I would’ve instantly banned the name from existence. Where there’s a will there’s a way.

The author intended it to be a unique quirk in their relationship, and it does have value as a metaphor for their lack of intimacy; the entire relationship is based on the way they imagine one another to be. Not how they actually are.

Which is one sure fire way to ensure it doesn’t last past prom ; )

MY FEELINGS FOR ELYSE
I really loved MY FEMALE PROTAGONIST! Elyse is highkey relatable. She’s a hypochondriac, has arthritis, and is generally nervous about everything (there for a minute I thought I was reading my autobiography). She’s also a person who dyes her hair in outrageous colors and draws graphic novels and shamelessly crushes on the object of her desires. I embraced her fundamentally.

Sadly, as the plot goes on, she becomes increasingly immature. That charming awkward spark slowly descends into a chronic state of whiny human. DISCLAIMER: I’M A TOTAL JERK I’M SORRRYYYY. I understand that going through a plane crash isn’t the best thing for a personality. But her dialogue has this immature quality that I felt really bad for hating.


But, at the same time, as the story progressed I realized Elyse’s mental well-being was pretty shitty. I questioned her sanity 90% of the book. Not because she has short-term memory loss due to plane-related trauma, but because she isn’t fully connected with fundamental reality. She’s constantly questioning the absoluteness of her experiences.

And I loved her breakdown because I love being stressed out *winks sadly*

Overall, this book was NOT what I expected whatsoever in any way. There were some crazy plot twists (in fact, the entire plot was one tremendous collection of crazy) and I was emotionally wrecked. The characters aren’t even that great but I still felt attacked by everything they went through.

I was expecting something REALLY different! A novel in which the female main character, totally in love with a school mate finds out that there are more important things than being kissed in life; especially after she survived a plane crash. I was hoping for a teen romance while discovering who you really are... it isn't!
I felt like i was watching a movie with no sound with the button Fast-Forward pushed on constantly. I felt like everything was fast-forwarding, there were no details, no emotions, almost no dialogues!!!
The fact that it is a second person narrative is REALLY disturbing!!
"You don't want to marry with Josh Harris. You want to fall in love with him. That's different."
At first I thought i just had to get used to it, but eventually it was more and more annoying as i continued reading!
As for the plot, the major plot twist is pretty predictable, there are hints all over the book and at the beginning of part two I had already figured it out. The ending is really well-written nut it doesn't make up for the rest of the book, the author wanted to get THERE and it feels, but the journey to this ending was not as enjoyable as I thought it would be.

I know everyone else who has read this found the ending and big reveal to be truly heartbreaking and earth shattering. For me, it had the opposite effect. I saw the twist coming as soon as I read the blurb, and that's fine. But I didn't feel anything when it hit, except anger and frustration. Because I felt like we went through that whole book for absolutely nothing. I also really, really hated the second person POV used in this book. It was jarring and took me out of the story every time. I like a good second person, but this was not it. Finally, I understand that crushes are overwhelming and everything--believe me, I've been there. But the main character couldn't get through one paragraph without gushing over her crush. It was maddening. I wish I loved this but sadly I didn't like a single part of it.

I thought that the plot of this story was interesting. I really struggled with how the book was written. The odd use of perspective, and the jumpy narrative made it difficult for me to be engaged in the plot.

I loved this book! The full review will be posted soon at kaitgoodwin.com/books! Thank you very much for this wonderful opportunity to connect books to their readers!

I. AM. SHOOK.

Rivers' books have been a mixed bag for me. I really enjoyed her exploration of grief and guilt in Before We Go Extinct, but I wasn't a fan of the weird-but-not-in-a-good-way The Girl in the Well is Me (and as someone who adores the weirdness that is Andrew Smith's science-fiction, that should tell you something).

So I wasn't sure what I was would get with this one--and I'm still not sure what I just read. But it's damn near a 5-star read. The blurb just doesn't do it justice. Yes, it's about a pair of teenagers who survive a plane crash, find love, and deal with guilt. But...it's also NOT about that at all.

I felt extremely anxious throughout the entire book...there are pieces woven in that are confusing and disturbing and produce WTF moments that you kind of shrug off. BUT THEN THEY MAKE PERFECT SENSE AND WHY DID I SHRUG THEM OFF?! My anxiety levels were off the charts.

This is a terrible review, I know. I just honestly don't know what to say without giving away large spoilers. If you like reading books that offer something different that keeps your emotions reeling, read this.