Severe combined immunodeficiency, SCID. A life of constant protection from pathogens. Devoid of contact with germ-carrying strangers. All Madeleine has ever known is life inside of her house with her nurse, Carla and her mother. A life of being sick and fearing illness intermittently. Until Olly moved next door, that is.

Maddy and Olly strike up an online friendship consisting of email and texts. They know each other; they understand each other. They are both high-schoolers. Maddy is homeschooled and spends hours mired in online tutorials; Olly and his sister deal with a chaotic, abuse-filled household headed by his alcoholic father. 

The young people find things to discuss and ponder about life. She longs to see him and feel his touch. Luckily for her, Carla agrees to allow Oliver into the house. However, Maddy's mother flips her top at this news. Everyone who enters the house must undergo a strict sanitizing procedure in order to remove foreign molecules from their person. Anything to stave off illness and almost-certain death.

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon, 2015

The couple's jaunt to a far-off place seems a bit far-fetched, but the book is an otherwise pleasant read.

SCID video

SCID web site

Nicola Yoon's web site

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