Everything, Everything

Everything, Everything

by

Nicola Yoon

Maddy’s love interest. He’s a teenager who moves into the house next door with his family. Olly wears only black clothes and is interested in parkour, a type of street gymnastics, which means that he can climb buildings and perform other physical feats. As they get to know each other, Olly proves himself to be cynical and dark, but though he won’t admit it, he’s also a romantic. He eschews capitalization and punctuation in their instant messages and insists that limericks are his favorite form of poetry. Math is his favorite subject and he spends a lot of his time trying to figure out how to put together equations to describe people and events, such as his dad’s violence. Because Olly isn’t as manly as his dad would like him to be, and because Olly is nevertheless big enough and headstrong enough to stand up to his dad, Olly is often a target of his dad’s verbal and physical abuse. Olly spends much of his time at home trying to defend his mom and his sister, Kara, from his dad’s abuse. Though Olly has been intimate with girls before, his relationship with Maddy feels like an entirely different experience and they soon fall deeply in love. Olly demonstrates his sensitivity and his sense of responsibility to the people around him when he initially refuses to go to Hawaii with Maddy on the grounds that she might die. He eventually chooses to believe that Maddy truly does have pills from Canada that will keep her well, even though he knows this is probably a lie. In Hawaii, Olly shows himself to be more affectionate and warmer than Maddy had previously seen, given how beaten down Olly feels because of his dad’s behavior. Olly is unwilling to break things off easily when Maddy becomes ill and breaks up with him, though he is able to convince his mom to leave his dad. Though Maddy sees nothing of him until months later, his appearance when she meets him in a New York City bookstore suggests that he’s been able to heal since escaping his dad’s abuse.

Olly Quotes in Everything, Everything

The Everything, Everything quotes below are all either spoken by Olly or refer to Olly. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Coming of Age Theme Icon
).
21. Future Perfect; Olly Quotes

Actually, mine’s not blank at all, but I really can’t tell him how beautiful his eyes are. They’re Atlantic Ocean blue, just like he’d said. It’s strange because of course I’d known that. But the difference between knowing it and seeing them in person is the difference between dreaming of flying and flight.

Related Characters: Madeline “Maddy” Whittier (speaker), Olly
Related Symbols: The Color White, Colors (Pink, Yellow, Orange)
Page Number: 73-74
Explanation and Analysis:

“I’ve seen pictures and videos, but what’s it like to actually be in the water? Is it like taking a bath in a giant tub?”

“Sort of,” he says slowly, considering. “No, I take it back. Taking a bath is relaxing. Being in the ocean is scary. It’s wet and cold and salty and deadly.”

That’s not what I was expecting. “You hate the ocean?”

He’s grinning now, warming to his topic. “I don’t hate it. I respect it.” He holds up a single finger. “Respect. It’s Mother Nature at her finest—awesome, beautiful, impersonal, murderous. Think about it: All that water and you could still die of thirst. And the whole point of waves is to suck your feet from under you so that you drown faster. The ocean will swallow you whole and burp you out and not notice you were even there.”

Related Characters: Madeline “Maddy” Whittier (speaker), Olly (speaker)
Related Symbols: The Ocean
Page Number: 73-74
Explanation and Analysis:
28. Mirror, Mirror Quotes

I wish again that I could talk to my mom about this. I want to ask her why I get breathless when I think of him. I want to share my giddiness with her. I want to tell her all the funny things Olly says. I want to tell her how I can’t make myself stop thinking about him even though I try. I want to ask her if this is the way she felt about Dad at the beginning.

Related Characters: Madeline “Maddy” Whittier (speaker), Olly, Mom/Dr. Pauline Whittier, Maddy’s Dad
Page Number: 94
Explanation and Analysis:
30. Madeline’s Dictionary; Secrets Quotes

It feels strange not to talk to my mom about something, someone, who’s becoming so important to me. My mom and I are drifting apart, but not because we’re spending less time together. And not because Olly’s replacing her. We’re drifting apart because for the first time in my life, I have a secret to keep.

Related Characters: Madeline “Maddy” Whittier (speaker), Olly, Mom/Dr. Pauline Whittier
Page Number: 101
Explanation and Analysis:
33. Chaos Theory; Olly’s Formula Quotes

Olly watched the color fade in the glass and remembered the day his dad got fired and how he’d been too afraid to comfort him. What if he had—would things be different now? What if?

He remembered how his dad had said that one thing doesn’t always lead to another.

Related Characters: Olly, Olly’s Dad
Related Symbols: Colors (Pink, Yellow, Orange)
Page Number: 109
Explanation and Analysis:
34. A Tale of Two Maddys; Freedom Card Quotes

Before, I was worried about keeping secrets from her. Now, I’m worried about not being able to have any secrets at all. I know she’s not upset that I bought new clothes. She’s upset that I didn’t ask her opinion and bought them in colors that she didn’t expect. She’s upset with the change she didn’t see coming. I resent and understand it at the same time.

Related Characters: Madeline “Maddy” Whittier (speaker), Olly, Mom/Dr. Pauline Whittier
Related Symbols: The Color White, Colors (Pink, Yellow, Orange)
Page Number: 114
Explanation and Analysis:
44. Schedule Change; More Than This Quotes

“Can I have my Internet privileges back?” I have to try.

She shakes her head. “Ask me for something else, honey.”

“Please, Mom.”

“It’s better this way. I don’t want you to have a broken heart.”

“Love can’t kill me,” I say, parroting Carla’s words.

“That’s not true,” she says. “Whoever told you that?”

Related Characters: Madeline “Maddy” Whittier (speaker), Mom/Dr. Pauline Whittier (speaker), Olly, Carla
Page Number: 149
Explanation and Analysis:
49. Later, 9:08 P.M.; Madam, I’m Adam Quotes

How am I supposed to go back to my old life, my days stretching out before me with unending and brutal sameness? How am I supposed to go back to being The Girl Who Reads? Not that I begrudge my life in books. All I know about the world I’ve learned from them. But a description of a tree is not a tree, and a thousand paper kisses will never equal the feel of Olly’s lips against mine.

Related Characters: Madeline “Maddy” Whittier (speaker), Olly
Page Number: 162-63
Explanation and Analysis:
55. Other Worlds; Aloha Means Hello and Good-Bye, Part Two Quotes

He’s much too smart to fall for this, but he wants it to be true. He wants it to be true more than he wants the truth. The smile that breaks across his face is cautious, but so beautiful that I can’t look away. I would lie to him again for that smile.

Related Characters: Madeline “Maddy” Whittier (speaker), Olly
Page Number: 175
Explanation and Analysis:
60. Here Now; Madeline’s Dictionary Quotes

“Be careful,” Olly calls out from somewhere behind me.

I’m not sure what that means in this context. Be careful because I may drown? Be careful because I may get sick? Be careful because once you become a part of the world it becomes a part of you, too?

Because there’s no denying it now. I’m in the world.

And, too, the world is in me.

Related Characters: Madeline “Maddy” Whittier (speaker), Olly (speaker)
Related Symbols: The Ocean
Page Number: 196
Explanation and Analysis:
62. Remembrance of Things Present Quotes

By eighteen years old, other teenagers have separated from their parents. They leave home, have separate lives, make separate memories. But not me. My mom and I have shared the same closed space and breathed the same filtered air for so long that it’s strange being here without her. It’s strange making memories that don’t include her.

Related Characters: Madeline “Maddy” Whittier (speaker), Olly, Mom/Dr. Pauline Whittier
Page Number: 203
Explanation and Analysis:
65. Zach Quotes

“Maybe growing up means disappointing the people we love.”

Related Characters: Zach (speaker), Madeline “Maddy” Whittier, Olly, Mom/Dr. Pauline Whittier
Page Number: 218
Explanation and Analysis:
69. This Time Quotes

“You should leave them,” I say. “It’s not safe for you there.”

I say it because he doesn’t know it. He’s trapped by the same memory of love, of better times, that his mother is, and it isn’t enough.

Related Characters: Madeline “Maddy” Whittier (speaker), Olly, Olly’s Dad, Olly’s Mom
Page Number: 231-32
Explanation and Analysis:
77. Reunion Quotes

I wish I could undo the last few months of knowing him. I would stay in my room. I would hear the truck beeping next door and I would remain on my white couch in my white room reading my brand-new books. I would remember my past and then I would remember not to repeat it.

Related Characters: Madeline “Maddy” Whittier (speaker), Olly, Mom/Dr. Pauline Whittier
Related Symbols: The Color White
Page Number: 256
Explanation and Analysis:
78. Neighborhood Watch #3; Five Syllables; His Last Letter is Haiku Quotes

He’s not sure which conversation with his mom finally convinced her. It could’ve been because he told her he couldn’t be part of the family anymore if she stayed. Sometimes you have to leave the people who love you the most, he said. Or, he says, it could’ve been when he finally told her about me and about how sick I am and how I was willing to do anything just to live. He says that she thinks I’m brave.

Related Characters: Madeline “Maddy” Whittier (speaker), Olly, Mom/Dr. Pauline Whittier, Olly’s Dad, Zach, Olly’s Mom
Page Number: 259
Explanation and Analysis:
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Everything, Everything PDF

Olly Quotes in Everything, Everything

The Everything, Everything quotes below are all either spoken by Olly or refer to Olly. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Coming of Age Theme Icon
).
21. Future Perfect; Olly Quotes

Actually, mine’s not blank at all, but I really can’t tell him how beautiful his eyes are. They’re Atlantic Ocean blue, just like he’d said. It’s strange because of course I’d known that. But the difference between knowing it and seeing them in person is the difference between dreaming of flying and flight.

Related Characters: Madeline “Maddy” Whittier (speaker), Olly
Related Symbols: The Color White, Colors (Pink, Yellow, Orange)
Page Number: 73-74
Explanation and Analysis:

“I’ve seen pictures and videos, but what’s it like to actually be in the water? Is it like taking a bath in a giant tub?”

“Sort of,” he says slowly, considering. “No, I take it back. Taking a bath is relaxing. Being in the ocean is scary. It’s wet and cold and salty and deadly.”

That’s not what I was expecting. “You hate the ocean?”

He’s grinning now, warming to his topic. “I don’t hate it. I respect it.” He holds up a single finger. “Respect. It’s Mother Nature at her finest—awesome, beautiful, impersonal, murderous. Think about it: All that water and you could still die of thirst. And the whole point of waves is to suck your feet from under you so that you drown faster. The ocean will swallow you whole and burp you out and not notice you were even there.”

Related Characters: Madeline “Maddy” Whittier (speaker), Olly (speaker)
Related Symbols: The Ocean
Page Number: 73-74
Explanation and Analysis:
28. Mirror, Mirror Quotes

I wish again that I could talk to my mom about this. I want to ask her why I get breathless when I think of him. I want to share my giddiness with her. I want to tell her all the funny things Olly says. I want to tell her how I can’t make myself stop thinking about him even though I try. I want to ask her if this is the way she felt about Dad at the beginning.

Related Characters: Madeline “Maddy” Whittier (speaker), Olly, Mom/Dr. Pauline Whittier, Maddy’s Dad
Page Number: 94
Explanation and Analysis:
30. Madeline’s Dictionary; Secrets Quotes

It feels strange not to talk to my mom about something, someone, who’s becoming so important to me. My mom and I are drifting apart, but not because we’re spending less time together. And not because Olly’s replacing her. We’re drifting apart because for the first time in my life, I have a secret to keep.

Related Characters: Madeline “Maddy” Whittier (speaker), Olly, Mom/Dr. Pauline Whittier
Page Number: 101
Explanation and Analysis:
33. Chaos Theory; Olly’s Formula Quotes

Olly watched the color fade in the glass and remembered the day his dad got fired and how he’d been too afraid to comfort him. What if he had—would things be different now? What if?

He remembered how his dad had said that one thing doesn’t always lead to another.

Related Characters: Olly, Olly’s Dad
Related Symbols: Colors (Pink, Yellow, Orange)
Page Number: 109
Explanation and Analysis:
34. A Tale of Two Maddys; Freedom Card Quotes

Before, I was worried about keeping secrets from her. Now, I’m worried about not being able to have any secrets at all. I know she’s not upset that I bought new clothes. She’s upset that I didn’t ask her opinion and bought them in colors that she didn’t expect. She’s upset with the change she didn’t see coming. I resent and understand it at the same time.

Related Characters: Madeline “Maddy” Whittier (speaker), Olly, Mom/Dr. Pauline Whittier
Related Symbols: The Color White, Colors (Pink, Yellow, Orange)
Page Number: 114
Explanation and Analysis:
44. Schedule Change; More Than This Quotes

“Can I have my Internet privileges back?” I have to try.

She shakes her head. “Ask me for something else, honey.”

“Please, Mom.”

“It’s better this way. I don’t want you to have a broken heart.”

“Love can’t kill me,” I say, parroting Carla’s words.

“That’s not true,” she says. “Whoever told you that?”

Related Characters: Madeline “Maddy” Whittier (speaker), Mom/Dr. Pauline Whittier (speaker), Olly, Carla
Page Number: 149
Explanation and Analysis:
49. Later, 9:08 P.M.; Madam, I’m Adam Quotes

How am I supposed to go back to my old life, my days stretching out before me with unending and brutal sameness? How am I supposed to go back to being The Girl Who Reads? Not that I begrudge my life in books. All I know about the world I’ve learned from them. But a description of a tree is not a tree, and a thousand paper kisses will never equal the feel of Olly’s lips against mine.

Related Characters: Madeline “Maddy” Whittier (speaker), Olly
Page Number: 162-63
Explanation and Analysis:
55. Other Worlds; Aloha Means Hello and Good-Bye, Part Two Quotes

He’s much too smart to fall for this, but he wants it to be true. He wants it to be true more than he wants the truth. The smile that breaks across his face is cautious, but so beautiful that I can’t look away. I would lie to him again for that smile.

Related Characters: Madeline “Maddy” Whittier (speaker), Olly
Page Number: 175
Explanation and Analysis:
60. Here Now; Madeline’s Dictionary Quotes

“Be careful,” Olly calls out from somewhere behind me.

I’m not sure what that means in this context. Be careful because I may drown? Be careful because I may get sick? Be careful because once you become a part of the world it becomes a part of you, too?

Because there’s no denying it now. I’m in the world.

And, too, the world is in me.

Related Characters: Madeline “Maddy” Whittier (speaker), Olly (speaker)
Related Symbols: The Ocean
Page Number: 196
Explanation and Analysis:
62. Remembrance of Things Present Quotes

By eighteen years old, other teenagers have separated from their parents. They leave home, have separate lives, make separate memories. But not me. My mom and I have shared the same closed space and breathed the same filtered air for so long that it’s strange being here without her. It’s strange making memories that don’t include her.

Related Characters: Madeline “Maddy” Whittier (speaker), Olly, Mom/Dr. Pauline Whittier
Page Number: 203
Explanation and Analysis:
65. Zach Quotes

“Maybe growing up means disappointing the people we love.”

Related Characters: Zach (speaker), Madeline “Maddy” Whittier, Olly, Mom/Dr. Pauline Whittier
Page Number: 218
Explanation and Analysis:
69. This Time Quotes

“You should leave them,” I say. “It’s not safe for you there.”

I say it because he doesn’t know it. He’s trapped by the same memory of love, of better times, that his mother is, and it isn’t enough.

Related Characters: Madeline “Maddy” Whittier (speaker), Olly, Olly’s Dad, Olly’s Mom
Page Number: 231-32
Explanation and Analysis:
77. Reunion Quotes

I wish I could undo the last few months of knowing him. I would stay in my room. I would hear the truck beeping next door and I would remain on my white couch in my white room reading my brand-new books. I would remember my past and then I would remember not to repeat it.

Related Characters: Madeline “Maddy” Whittier (speaker), Olly, Mom/Dr. Pauline Whittier
Related Symbols: The Color White
Page Number: 256
Explanation and Analysis:
78. Neighborhood Watch #3; Five Syllables; His Last Letter is Haiku Quotes

He’s not sure which conversation with his mom finally convinced her. It could’ve been because he told her he couldn’t be part of the family anymore if she stayed. Sometimes you have to leave the people who love you the most, he said. Or, he says, it could’ve been when he finally told her about me and about how sick I am and how I was willing to do anything just to live. He says that she thinks I’m brave.

Related Characters: Madeline “Maddy” Whittier (speaker), Olly, Mom/Dr. Pauline Whittier, Olly’s Dad, Zach, Olly’s Mom
Page Number: 259
Explanation and Analysis: