Nicola Yoon

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Nicola Yoon is a 52 year old Jamaican-American Author. Her family first emigrated from Jamaica when she was only 11 years old. She studied Engineering at Cornell and spent 2 decades working on wall street all before she got her first book deal (3). She wrote her first novel over the span of three years, mostly in the early hours of the morning before work.

Yoon is popular for her first novel, Everything Everything, published September 1, 2015. This book is currently given a 3.98 star review on the website "Goodreads." Nominated for Best Debut Goodreads Author in 2015 and for Best Young Adult Fiction in 2015 (2). Everything Everything is a #1 New York Times Best seller. According to Goodreads, Everything Everything was inspired by Yoon's daughter. She constantly feared for her child's safety, so she made a novel about what a mother would do to protect her child if she was allergic to the whole world.

"Even if you knew love could kill you, what would you risk to experience it - Just once? Just for a little while?"(5). This sentence for New York Times, in my opinion, really gives the hook that you need. This hook would grab me in a heartbeat.

"This became an instant fave! Beautiful writing, Extraordinary story & Rich Characters." Commented a reader.

"4.5 stars, pretty damned close to perfect." 

The Sun is Also a Star is Nicola Yoon's second novel that she published. The novel came out November 1, 2016, A little over a year after the release of Everything Everything. According to Goodreads, this novel also has a 3.98 star review, while also being a #1 New York Times Best Seller and a nominee for Best Young Adult Fiction in 2016. This book is based off Yoon's own life, A Jamaican immigrant married to a Korean-American. There are a lot of mixed reviews for this novel.

"2 1/2 Stars. I tried. I'm sorry, but I tried. I couldn't love this like I wanted to." Said Emily May, A Goodreads user.

"Within the first 20 pages of The Sun is Also a Star, I knew I was reading something special, and within the first 50, I knew this was going to be one of my favorite books of 2016." Commented another Goodreads user.

As an everyday reader, I truly enjoyed Everything, Everything, I think it's a really great story, and it was one of my first reads. It really got me into reading a couple years ago. Reading all the comments about The Sun is Also a Star, I genuinely think that it will be a book added to me future reads list!




(1) Lapite, written by S. (2018, February 23). 11 things you (maybe) didn’t know about Nicola Yoon. Coffee Bookshelves. https://coffeebookshelves.com/2017/03/09/11-things-you-maybe-didnt-know-about-nicola-yoon/

(2) “Everything, Everything.” Goodreads, Goodreads, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18692431-everything-everything

(3) “The Sun Is Also a Star.” Goodreads, Goodreads, “The Sun Is Also a Star.” Goodreads, Goodreads, www.goodreads.com/book/show/28763485-the-sun-is-also-a-star#CommunityReviews. Accessed 16 Feb. 2024.

(4) “Nicola Yoon.” Penguin Random House Speakers Bureau, 1 Feb. 2024, https://www.prhspeakers.com/speaker/nicola-yoon

(5) Joiner, Whitney. “‘everything, Everything,’ by Nicola Yoon.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 6 Nov. 2015, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/08/books/review/everything-everything-by-nicola-yoon.html

Comments

  1. Morgan FetzerFebruary 19, 2024 at 6:09 AM

    I really liked how you gave the number that good reads scored her. That gave me a really good idea of how people felt in relation to the book. I liked how she wrote the book about protecting her daughter, and found it fascinating that she wrote it in a way that her daughter was allergic to the whole world. This was really intriguing, making me want to read it to fully understand the basis of the book, because it sounds a little bit confusing but intriguing as well.

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  2. Bella LeporeFebruary 20, 2024 at 1:07 PM

    While reading through your blog, I thoroughly enjoyed the summary of her first novel, because I thought it was an interesting concept of showing the love she has for her daughter, while also making the readers interested. I thought it was a great touch to add both negative and positive comments on her book because it shows different perspectives that people have about the book. I think you did a great job in adding external sources to show the background of Nicola Yoon.

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