Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven

-
"Holding Up the Universe" was such a fantastic read. I enjoyed it the very moment I began reading it and that does not happen very often! I am the type of reader that easily gets exhausted when reading a book, but with this one I just kept reading on and on. That is how great is it! 

This novel is about Jack and Libby who both struggle with things of their own. Jack has face-blindness which means that he can't recognize anyone - not even the people he loves. He keeps this a secret, although it is a heavy burden to bear alone. Libby is overweight and has been ever since her mother passed away. She has not been in school for years, but she is finally ready after having lost some weight. Although the problem is that people have a hard time seeing past her size. Jack, however, is the first one to see Libby for who she really is. The two are connected and help each other out as life comes at them in full force. 

Libby has been through a lot of grief in her life and she is still struggling with it. Moreover, she has been bullied a great many times and learnt to deal with it on her own. When she makes new friends at the high school, she has a hard time opening up to them because she is so used to saying "I'm fine" and then deal with it all alone. Whereas Jack struggles with being true to himself. He feels like a horrible person because he has made some stupid mistakes, but he does not realise that he is also a really nice guy. Libby sees this nice side of Jack. As well as he sees all the wonderful things about her. He truly sees Libby and appreciates everything that's her. They are so great together. 

Keeping it short I would like to comment on some of the themes and messages of this novel. First of all, we have no right to judge another person based solely on their appearance. We actually have no right to judge other people whatsoever. How other people want to look is none of our concern. People can be who they want to be and they should not care about what others may think of them. Life is too short for that. 
Moreover, it is important that we follow our hearts instead of following the crowd. It is okay to stand out and do something different. This novel encourages its readers to stop following the norms of society. Especially Libby teaches us this when she dresses herself in a bikini and stands before her entire school with the words "I am wanted" written over her body. That was such a brave act and even though Libby was terrified to do it, she did it anyway because she followed the advice her mother once gave her - following your dreams is scary, but not doing it is even scarier (something like that). And that is so true! Libby helped so many other girls and boys by putting on a brave face and doing something entirely over the line. Jack also changes because he realises that he has to tell his family and friends about his disorder in order for him to be true to himself. Therefore, the novel also teaches us that we should not carry the world on our shoulders. Instead, we should share our burden with others.

This novel teaches us many great lessons about life. How it has its ups and downs and that we all struggle with something. Most importantly, it shows us that a little bit of kindness and openness can do wonders. 

Jennifer Niven, 388 pages, Penguin Books, 2016

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SOLGT

-
Image
Nadia og hendes datter Tina (til venstre) Zana (til højre) En sand historie fortalt af Zana Muhsen: Zana og Nadia Muhsen er 2 piger på 15 og 14 år. Deres mor er briter, og deres far er araber. Som de voksede op, var deres frihed meget begrænset. Deres far var meget streng og vogtede konstant over dem. En dag fortæller deres far dem, at de skal til Yemen på en drømmeferie i 2 uger. De siger ja med det samme, da de aldrig har været ude at rejse før, og fordi det lyder meget spændende. Zana rejser nogle dage før Nadia, med hendes fars ven Abdul Khada og hans søn Mohammed. Da Zana ankommer til Yemen, er det overhovedet ikke som forventet. Der er utroligt varmt, og landskabet skifter meget fra landsby til landsby. Zana går anderledes klædt i forhold til andre kvinder, som er fuldt tildækket med lange bukser og tørklæder. Zana er meget uvidende og venter på, at hendes ferie skal begynde. Hun tror jo, at hun skal på en drømmeferie, men i virkeligheden har hendes far solgt h...
Read more

Forfatningen af Gemma Malley

-
Image
Anna er et Overskud. Hun lever i året 2140, hvor man har evigt liv, fordi man kan tage nogle stoffer, der hedder LangtLiv. Det har gjort, at verden er blevet overbefolket. Derfor står der i Forfatningen, at det er forbudt at få børn. Nogle børn, der bliver født ulovligt, bliver dræbt, andre bliver sat på et Overskudshjem som Anna. Hun bor på Grange Hall. Hun hader sine forældre. Det var en synd, at de fik hende, og nu betaler hun prisen for det. På Grange Hall bliver børnene oplært i forskellige ting som usynlighed. De får hele tiden at vide, at de ikke burde være der. - hvert minut er stjålendt. De må ikke stille spørgsmål, de bliver tæsket, hvis de gør noget forkert, de bliver isoleret, de har ingen ejendele, og de skal hele tiden kigge ned. Anna er Præfækt, og hendes mål er at være Værdsat. På Grange Hall er lederen en sur og meget skrap dame, Mrs Pincent. Der er ikke noget kærligt eller menneskeligt i hende. Hun bestemmer, hvad overskuddenes straf er, og hun viser ingen barmhj...
Read more

"It Ends With Us" by Colleen Hoover

-
Image
Lily Bloom grew up in a house with an abusive father and a mother who couldn't say no. As Lily grew up she came to hate her father for his actions and swore that she'd never be with a guy who abused her. Lily is 23 years old and has moved away from her hometown. She now lives in Boston. One special night she meets the handsome and successful neurosurgeon, Ryle Kincaid. They immediately connect and have a rare, but honest conversation about the naked truths of their lives. They think they'll never meet again, but that's the funny thing about the universe. We never know what's going to happen to us.  I was very excited to read this novel as I had heard great things about it. I even saw that it won a Goodreads-award. That's why I thought it would be absolutely amazing. It's not that I was disappointed when I finished the novel. I am just being honest as I write that the issue with this novel is that it in some ways fails to be authentic.  To be fair, the...
Read more