Review: I'll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson

[OnceUponABibliophile]

I’ll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson is tragically beautiful tale about a set of twins, Jude & Noah. Their story alternates being told by Jude and Noah at two different times in their lives. Noah’s narrative takes place when the twins are between the ages of 13 and 14 while Jude’s takes place in the present at the age of 16.

Noah and Jude were very close. They were practically inseparable as if they were the same person. However everything starts to change a year before the twins go to high school. Their mom is intent on getting them both into CSA, a prestigious high school for artistic students. Noah wants to, scratch that NEEDS to get in so he can finally be among people like him. Jude, on the other hand just wants to go to public high school with all the normal kids.


Noah at 13 is an extremely talented artist. He lives his life between the pages of sketchpads instead of out in the real world. Noah slowly finds himself falling in love with the boy next door. Jude at 13 is the outgoing popular girl. She’s a thrill seeker who wears short skirts and red lipstick much to the chagrin of her mother. By 16, a tragic event alters the twins in distinctive ways leaving them no longer speaking to one another. Each has become a completely different person. However, what they don’t realize is that they both have incomplete versions of what really happened to change everything.


I was drawn to this book immediately because it was about twins. I am a twin so I find all things twin related fascinating. As I begin reading I realized that that while this book is over 300 pages it only has 8 chapters! If you are like me in the sense that you don’t like to put a book down in the middle of chapter this might be frustrating for you.

Jandy Nelson’s writing style in this is very metaphorical. If you’re not a fan of “flowery” writing then this might not be the book for you. However, if you can get past the long chapters and the fluffy writing style I think you will find this book enjoyable because the story is very good! I commend Jandy for being able to write chapters narrated by two different characters sound distinctly unique. Noah and Jude both have a voice that comes through loud and clear while reading.


This book is all about family relationships, self-discovery, second chances and how one tragedy can affect a group of people in profound ways.

[garima597]

I have read this book and i really liked it. It shows a great bond between a brother and a sister & their great affinity for nature and painting. It is an amazing book.

[Fuzaila]

Even though I couldn't get into this book until about halfway through it, I really liked this book. The turn of events were unpredictable and unrealistic, but the artistic writing was enthralling. Great review!

[Eva Darrington]

Your review has me wanting to pick up this book. I would love the twins theme, as there are many sets of twins in my family going back. Twins have a special bond, undoubtedly, and I'd like to see where Jude and Noah end up (and what caused the estrangement). Thanks for a very well-written review. I enjoyed it.

[Abigail R]

This has been on my book list for a while. Glad to read someones take on it and that people are enjoying it. I also don't like putting a book down in the middle of a chapter but I've gotten better at making myself stop!
Thanks for adding this forum!