Every Exquisite Thing by Matthew Quick

Every Exquisite Thing by Matthew Quick is a multi-layered, coming of age novel with several complex characters struggling with self-absorption and self-definition. In fact, when I started reading I did not really care for Every Exquisite Thing.  Like Quick’s Silver Linings Playbook, there were parts that made me uncomfortable, especially the relationships between Nanette, a high school student, and older men like her teacher, Mr. Graves, or the fictional author, Nigel Wrigley Booker.

However, another librarian had recommended Every Exquisite Thing and the story improved for me when the focus shifted to Nanette and Alex, a troubled boy from another high school.  Both were loners, uncomfortable with “fitting in” socially and rebels in their own way.  The catalyst for their relationship was a book titled The Bubblegum Reaper that had a kind of cult following. These lonely teens related to characters in that book and eventually to each other.  Non-conformity, rebellion and troubles follow.  So, too, does much introspection, therapy sessions, and experimentation as Nanette tries to figure out who she is and who she want to be. Students will definitely relate to the pressures – from parents and from peers – she feels. Every Exquisite Thing by Matthew Quick received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal (grades 10 and up) and VOYA.