Everything Beautiful in the World

Edna's mother has cancer, and most people are willing to let her get away with anything. For example, she can fail a Latin test, be late to class, and skip tennis practice. There is one thing that Edna is fairly certain that she can't get away with... dating her teacher. Yet, Mr. Howland is so perfect or well she thinks so. He has long tousled blond hair, great skills on the guitar, and can do a great impression of Dracula. Edna is happy for the first time in a while. Every time, she kissed him, she feels like she is floating. Suddenly more people know and it gets complicated. Edna doesn't know if it can last much longer. Edna was a wonderful character. She did somethings that she later regrets, but what teen hasn't that happened too. She was very caring. Like wondering what happened to her brother, Tommy and also with her mom. I felt bad that she thought it was her fault. Mr. Howland was a selfish man and a jerk. I don't understand what Edna saw in him. Also, why didn't Barbie and Patty tell on him? It really annoyed me. The plot was pretty good. It wasn't predictable. The writing was fantastic and I can't wait for more from Levechuk.

If you combined the family strain and personal search from The Pursuit of Happiness by Tara Altebrando with the forbidden teacher-student relationship from Teach Me by R.A. Nelson and added a pinch of the melancholy from Lisa, Bright and Dark, by John Neufeld, you would get Everything Beautiful in the World, a stunning debut from Lisa Levchuk. Set in New Jersey in 1980, the story is that of seventeen-year-old Edna, an only child whose mother has recently been diagnosed with cancer and hospitalized in New York City. Edna can't (or won't) visit her mother, with whom she fought shortly before the diagnosis was revealed. She can't get that unfinished fight out of her head and feels guilty, as though her words caused the illness. As Edna pulls away from her father, she falls for her sculpture teacher, a married man in his early thirties who "sees beauty in things that other people take for granted," including her. Edna keeps their developing relationship a secret as she continues her day-to-day routine, attending school and working at a pharmacy where she occasionally steals objects and works for a middle-aged man who thinks he looks like Elvis Presley. Though Edna is initially consumed by her relationship with Mr. Howland, the story becomes more layered as time goes on, especially with revelations related to her family's past. Her parents insist that she begin seeing a therapist, so she does, but she still can't manage to visit her mother. In one memorable scene, she and her father set out for the hospital, but Edna gets physically ill to the point that they must make multiple stops, then ultimately turn around and head home. Told in vignettes titled after the locations or goings-on ("Another Night at the Pharmacy," "A Party at Patty's House"), with realistic references to the time period (the music of Bruce Springsteen, the aftermath of the Vietnam War), this coming-of-age story will appeal to fans of Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson as well as those who lived through the actual era and/or read young adult fiction written in the eighties.

I haven't read a "young adult" book in years, not since I read my children bedtime stories decades ago. But a friend recommended this, and I am very glad I read it. Levchuk writes very well, and does an excellent job of getting into the head and heart of a 17 year old girl. At times I was reminded of The Catcher in the Rye. It's that evocative. Edna embodies Yeats' dictum: hearts are not had as a gift but hearts are earned by those who are not entirely beautiful. The cultural references, esprcialy to the popular music of the time, were amusing and realistic. The minor characters, such as the alcoholic pharmacist who has an Elvis fetish, were very well developed.

I couldn't put this book down. Although the plot revolves around some very serious issues that this teenage girl is dealing with, the author's sense of wit and humor keeps the story entertaining. Not necessarily a novel for young adults, and perhaps even better for a reader looking back on teenage years. Loved it!

Loved this book! I'm not sure why it is classified as "young adult" - although the story is focused on a young girl, it is certainly not juvenile. The characters, especially Edna, are extremely relatable and the plot is gripping. I've recommended this book to be the next selection for my book club. Thoroughly enjoyable from the first page to the last for anyone who is now or has ever been a teenager.