Holding Up The Universe Book Review

Holding Up The Universe

Jennifer Niven

Penguin

October 4, 2016

400 pages

 Review- 5/5

I received an ARC of this book at BookCon 2016.

Jennifer Niven’s new novel Holding Up The Universe was stunning. It was absolutely amazing. The romance was wonderful, the plot was fast paced, and the characters were inspiring. Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven is definitely one of my favorite books of the year.

This novel was inspiring, because of the characters and all they overcame. Libby was such a confident character. She was comfortable in her own skin, and she loved to dance. Her love of dance was probably my favorite aspect of her character, because I am a dancer myself. Libby’s passion for dancing often captured my own feelings for dancing. “I think what an amazing world this would be if we all danced wherever we went.” (p. 260) “The dance is in me” (p 12). Libby’s self-confidence was not unnatural though. She had limits like any other human being. People tried to knock her down, and sometimes they succeeded. But Libby always got back up.

Jack was another dynamic character that was enjoyable to read about. He had so many layers. Jack was not always likable, but I still rooted for him. He did some bad things, but I knew he was good at heart(how corny does that sound?). And by the end, he definitely grew on me. Jack’s little brother, Dusty, was amazing. He was so sweet and quirky. The characters in Holding Up The Universe were both realistic and likable.

The characters through Jack’s eyes was a very interesting aspect to the story.  Since Jack is face blind, or prosopagnosic, he could not identify anyone right away. He had to look at specific features or gestures of a person. This gave the side characters more depth, because we got more details about the characters from Jack’s point of view.

The romance in Holding Up The Universe was very well executed. Jack and Libby’s relationship developed throughout the story, slowly but surely. This book was not all about the romance either. Holding Up The Universe was about Libby gaining her confidence and reentering the world, and about Jack struggling with his prosopagnosia. But the romance added a nice aspect to the story.

Holding Up The Universe by Jennifer Niven was an outstanding read. It was realistic, poignant, and enjoyable. When it comes out in October, I highly recommend picking this book up. If you have read Holding Up The Universe, or decide to pick it up, I would love to know your thoughts.