I’ll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson is a novel that explores the lives of Southern California twins Jude and Noah Sweetwine as they separately endure love, grief, and self-discovery throughout their teenage years.

Nelson is the critically acclaimed author of two YA fiction books, both of which have won many awards. Her first novel The Sky Is Everywhere was released as an Apple TV movie in early 2022 after the book’s publication in 2010. 

I’ll Give You The Sun is her second book which was published in 2014. The characters gain more depth as you read and you learn more about how their past experiences influence their actions and decisions. This creates an element of mystery that makes you want to keep turning the page.

When the story begins, Noah is the quiet one who is always painting, thinking about painting, or fantasizing about the boy next door. Jude on the other hand goes surfing, hangs out at “The Spot”, and lives by the superstitions in her late grandmother’s “bible.”

Noah and Jude have a profound, almost unsettling connection. They tell each other everything and if not, they know what the other is thinking. The twins play unusual games; using pieces of the universe as bargaining chips or quizzing one another on who they would save if their family was drowning. 

But the twins’ lives will never be the same after a loved one dies, Noah’s heart is broken, and art school doesn’t play out like it should have. 

After these changes, Noah and Jude’s lives flip flop as they switch personalities and even favorite parents. Jude hides in baggy clothes, struggles with ghosts, and mourns what her family used to be. Noah joins the cross-country team, parties, and refuses to talk about the past.

Both of them have secrets.

A heartbroken sculptor and his bad-boy roommate go out on a limb to help Jude when the family is in danger of falling apart. The two seem to know how to get to the bottom of all the confusion.

I’ll Give You The Sun is a compelling story with a unique plot that will make you think differently about the meaning of life, human connection, art, adolescence, and more.