Discovery: I'll Give You the Sun

I'll Give You the Sun

by Jandy Nelson

Read for "Discovery"

"The Meaning of Auras"

http://www.yourfreeonlinepsychic.com/color-of-auras/

I'll Give You the Sun is a beautiful story of twins Noah and Jude who are exploring first loves and greatest loss in their teenage years. Noah and Jude are both extremely artistic and share this talent with their mother. But when the twins are fourteen years old, their mother tragically dies in a car accident. They are left alone with their emotionally distant father and start to grow apart.

One of the most compelling aspects of this story is the narrative frame in which it is told. The chapters are split up between Noah's and Jude's perspectives on the time of their life at that moment. Most of Jude's narration takes place when the twins are 16 (after the death of their mother) and most of Noah's narration takes place when the twins are 13-14 (before the death of their mother). This was so interesting for me as a reader because I got to switch back and forth between the perspectives and the personalities of these two characters before and after this crucial life event. 

Additionally, the narration of the two characters distinctly forms their respective personalities. Noah is a painter and thinks in colors. He is always seeing prospective paintings in his mind as he goes about life and interactions with people. This aspect of his narration was extremely pertinent when it came to the descriptions of his relationship with Brian. When the two were happy and falling in love, the colors Noah used were bright. And when the two had their rift and Noah's mother dies, the colors are glum and somber. Jude, on the other hand, is a sculptor. Her descriptions were more, funnily enough, concrete. She panned out every thought and emotion and tried to find reason. And although her "reason" was a series of Bible verses she wrote herself, she tried to stick by a strict code and follow it, so as to keep herself in line.

This is a true coming-of-age novel about self-discovery. As Jude and Noah both encounter love and broken hearts, they also encounter death and grieving. Additionally, they learn about one another and become more loving of one another as they find their competitiveness over art has been dividing them when it should have been bringing them together. 

I would definitely recommend this book to students, especially those with complex family dynamics. I can understand what it is like to have a tumultuous relationship with a sibling at that age, so I can only imagine all the other students out there who think their siblings don't understand them. This book helped me to open my eyes to my perspective at the time and see how far my sister and I have grown since then. I don't see how this novel wouldn't be able to help other readers in similar situations.