Many Strange Things Occur to You at 4 a.m. — A Conversation With Nicola Yoon

Nicola Yoon’s debut novel Everything, Everything tells the coming-of-age story of Maddy, a witty eighteen year-old diagnosed with Severe Combined Immunodeficiency. Confined to her house since an infant, she leads a solitary existence, interacting only with her mother and home nurse. All of this changes with the arrival of Olly, her charming next-door neighbor who’s as equally adept at parkour as he is at crafting a swoon-worthy e-mail. Their unusual courtship is charted through their droll email and IM exchanges, where they crack wise about everything from suicidal Bundt cakes to the state fish of Hawaii. School Library Journal listed Everything, Everything as one of its Best Books 2015 and The New York Times praised it as “offbeat, pragmatic and sweetly romantic.” Brendan Dowling interviewed Nicola Yoon on March 1st.