Olly Character Analysis in Everything, Everything

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:

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 and Citation: 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 and Citation: 73-74

Explanation and Analysis:

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 and Citation: 94

Explanation and Analysis:

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 and Citation: 101

Explanation and Analysis:

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 and Citation: 109

Explanation and Analysis:

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 and Citation: 114

Explanation and Analysis:

“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 and Citation: 149

Explanation and Analysis:

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 and Citation: 162-63

Explanation and Analysis:

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 and Citation: 175

Explanation and Analysis:

“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 and Citation: 196

Explanation and Analysis:

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 and Citation: 203

Explanation and Analysis:

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

Related Characters: Zach (speaker), Madeline “Maddy” Whittier, Olly, Mom/Dr. Pauline Whittier

Page Number and Citation: 218

Explanation and Analysis:

“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 and Citation: 231-32

Explanation and Analysis:

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 and Citation: 256

Explanation and Analysis:

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 and Citation: 259

Explanation and Analysis:

Olly Character Timeline in Everything, Everything

The timeline below shows where the character Olly appears in Everything, Everything. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...older man, a girl a little younger than she is, and finally, a tall, lean boy. He wears all black and moves with a graceful, gliding gait. The boy studies the... (full context)

Maddy lists Olly’s mom’s schedule. She spends her morning on the porch, kisses Olly’s dad goodbye, gardens and... (full context)

Maddy says that Olly’s mom and Kara call the boy Olly, but Olly’s dad calls him Oliver. Olly’s bedroom... (full context)

...sealed room around the front door, so hazards don’t get into the house—and Carla relents. Olly tells Mom that Olly’s mom sent a Bundt cake, but it’s guaranteed to be inedible.... (full context)

Maddy heads for her window and watches Olly’s dad grab the Bundt cake from Kara and throw it at Olly. Olly dodges and... (full context)

...asks how long Maddy is going to mope. Maddy denies that she’s moping, but she is—Olly’s rejection made her feel like a kid and reminded her why she stopped paying attention... (full context)

...first ping at her window, but gets up when she hears more objects hit it. Olly’s window is open, the lights are off, and the Bundt sits on his windowsill wearing... (full context)

...her curiosity gets the better of her. She peeks outside to see the Bundt on Olly’s windowsill, covered in bandages. The next night, the Bundt sits on a table with a... (full context)

In an email, Maddy introduces herself, says that Olly has nothing to apologize for, and asks what the Bundt is made of. Olly declares... (full context)

On Wednesday evening, Olly sees that Maddy is online on an instant messaging system. He messages her, complimenting her... (full context)

On Friday, Olly asks Maddy if she’s grounded. All evidence points to that: she logged off in a... (full context)

The next night, Olly asks Maddy why she doesn’t log on until after 8. Maddy explains that she’s not... (full context)

On Tuesday, Maddy asks Olly if he’s okay and why Olly’s dad was so angry. Olly insists that this is... (full context)

The next day, they discuss Olly’s love of math, which Maddy finds surprising given Olly’s athleticism. He explains that he used... (full context)

...Mom let him come this time because she still feels bad about turning Kara and Olly away. It’s a pain to come see Maddy, since visitors have to undergo a physical... (full context)

...anymore), she tabs to her email while Carla isn’t looking. She has 13 emails from Olly. Maddy catches Carla’s eye, insists she’s not looking at anything, and then lies that she’s... (full context)

Fifteen minutes later, Maddy suggests that Olly could come for a visit. Carla insists that all teens try to get as much... (full context)

Maddy begs Carla again to let Olly visit, but Carla says flatly that they can’t always get what they want. Maddy knows... (full context)

Two days later, Carla sternly tells Maddy that she can’t touch Olly. Maddy asks if Olly is really already here and decontaminated, and Carla replies that he’s... (full context)

Maddy sends Olly an email just before they meet, saying that their meeting will have been perfect. She... (full context)

Olly invites Maddy to actually enter the room. Maddy feels like she knows him after all... (full context)

They discuss the room’s furnishings, and then Olly asks how long Maddy has been sick and what would happen if she went outside.... (full context)

They laugh for a bit and Maddy asks Olly to do one of his tricks. He starts to say that they’ll need to go... (full context)

...decides that Carla is right, but she’s just “in like,” not “in love.” She sees Olly everywhere and also pictures herself floating above the earth, where walls don’t obscure her view.... (full context)

Wanting more scares Maddy, so she sends Olly an email saying that she’s busy and needs to get some sleep over the weekend.... (full context)

On Monday, Maddy has no emails from Olly in her inbox. She insists it doesn’t bother her, but she refreshes her email multiple... (full context)

That night, Maddy gets on instant messenger and apologizes for her email. She asks if Olly is upset with her and explains that she sent it because she got scared. She... (full context)

Carla makes Maddy and Olly wait a week before seeing each other so that they can make sure he won’t... (full context)

Maddy finds Olly on the wall again and sits on the couch. He comments on her choice to... (full context)

Olly suggests that people aren’t really unique; instead, they’re made up of outputs and inputs, like... (full context)

...in someone or something that’s very interesting. She explains that spending all night instant messaging Olly is catching up with her. She’s fallen asleep during two movie nights, which makes Mom... (full context)

...and a pair of blue shoes. Maddy makes a list of various measurements: it took Olly’s dad eight minutes to start yelling last night. He made four complaints about the overcooked... (full context)

Olly isn’t on the wall the next day. Both he and Maddy sound sleep-deprived and Olly... (full context)

Olly is 10 years old. He sits with his dad at the breakfast bar in their... (full context)

A few weeks before, Olly’s mom explained to Olly and Kara that Olly’s dad would be home for a while.... (full context)

Olly’s dad doesn’t get violently drunk until a few months later. He spends his day yelling... (full context)

...Carla pauses the movie and says that it was a mistake to let Maddy see Olly. She asks if Maddy canceled a movie night with Mom. Maddy thinks that her mom... (full context)

...it won’t, but it might kill Mom. She relents and agrees to let Maddy see Olly again. Maddy spends the next day alone. She can’t decide if she’s angry with Carla... (full context)

Maddy tries to convince Olly to teach her how to do a handstand. He stalks around and grumbles that she’s... (full context)

Olly lets Maddy down and they remain standing close to each other. Maddy can’t talk as... (full context)

Around 8:00 that evening, Maddy logs onto the instant messenger and tells Olly that she told Mom she has lots of homework. She says that she’s not sick,... (full context)

...never thought about actually kissing someone. Because of her nerves, she insists that she and Olly should wait a few days before they see each other again. Maddy knows she should... (full context)

Olly is on the couch when Maddy comes into the sunroom the next day. She feels... (full context)

That evening, Maddy tells Olly that she canceled movie night with Mom. Carla will be upset. Olly says that he’s... (full context)

...Mom studies Maddy’s face and Maddy feels guilty and selfish. She wants to be with Olly and feels herself becoming someone new whenever she’s around him. Mom asks Maddy what’s going... (full context)

Olly separates his parents and tries to draw Olly’s dad’s attention away from Olly’s mom. It... (full context)

...dodges Mom’s question of why she’d go outside to help a stranger. Mom realizes that Olly isn’t a stranger as Maddy starts to shake, aware of what she did. Mom makes... (full context)

...Maddy sees a black rubber band on her nightstand and knows that Mom knows about Olly. (full context)

Back in her room, Maddy pulls the curtains aside. Olly is at his window and when he notices Maddy, he looks afraid. He mimes typing,... (full context)

...spits that it was Carla’s responsibility to keep Maddy safe, not introduce her to teenage boys or give Maddy false hope. It hits Maddy that Carla’s gone, and she’ll never see... (full context)

...Maddy can use the internet until three p.m. Maddy is certain that this is because Olly is in school now and doesn’t get home until after three. Seeing that it’s 2:30,... (full context)

...that moping is unhealthy and says that she expects three smiles every day. Maddy and Olly settle into a new rhythm of instant messaging sporadically until three p.m., and after dinner,... (full context)

In the mornings, Olly writes “good morning” on his window, waits for Kara to finish smoking, and leaves for... (full context)

Olly messages Maddy when he can between classes. For his first week at school, he sends... (full context)

Olly is ready when Maddy gets to her window. He writes “lab partner,” and Maddy mimes... (full context)

...startles awake at three a.m. She can see that all the lights are on at Olly’s house and hears a door slam. Olly stumbles onto the porch like someone pushed him,... (full context)

Maddy thinks that strangely, she’s decided she’s willing to die. The sight of Olly crying won’t leave her alone, so she spends her time poring over the photo of... (full context)

...Mom, but it’s not enough. She insists that she’s not really doing this because of Olly, but Olly did introduce her to a new part of herself that won’t be quiet.... (full context)

Olly pulls away and asks Maddy if everything is okay. She bravely says she’s running away... (full context)

...that she has experimental pills from Canada that will give her a few days outside. Olly curses but looks less obstinate. Maddy knows he’s too smart to fall for this lie,... (full context)

They sit in Olly’s car, but he doesn’t turn the key. He insists they can’t really go to Hawaii... (full context)

Olly’s mood improves as they drive away from his house, especially since an old friend of... (full context)

...lose her job, but Carla insists that she’s fine and just misses Maddy. Carla greets Olly too, and invites them inside. She fixes Maddy with a nurse’s stare and asks Maddy... (full context)

Carla makes chilaquiles, but Maddy is too nervous to eat much. Olly asks if Carla thinks the pills are working. Carla says it’s possible, but it’s also... (full context)

Olly sends Kara a text saying he’ll be home in two days. In a mock Q&A,... (full context)

As he sits on a stationary baggage carousel, Olly announces that baggage carousels are a perfect metaphor for life. He says that when people... (full context)

Embarrassed, Olly turns away and announces that Maddy needs a lei. He talks a greeter into giving... (full context)

As Maddy and Olly ride toward their hotel, the car turns and suddenly, Maddy can see the ocean. She... (full context)

Their hotel is right on the beach, and greeters give Olly and Maddy each a lei. At the check-in counter, the woman welcomes them as Mr.... (full context)

Olly takes the book to the bed, ascertains that Maddy has read it more than 20... (full context)

Maddy feels better after eating. Olly insists they need beach gear and souvenirs, so they stop at a souvenir shop. Maddy... (full context)

...behind is covered and wonders how she’s supposed to be in public wearing so little. Olly knocks and asks if she’s snorkeling. Maddy pulls open the bathroom door quickly and Olly... (full context)

Maddy surprises Olly by wading into the ocean right away. She and Olly swim around the reef. They... (full context)

Olly suggests they jump off a cliff and leads her to the edge. Olly goes first... (full context)

Olly calls Zach and Zach shows up a half-hour later. Zach immediately begins playing air guitar... (full context)

Olly asks Zach to borrow his phone and they briefly discuss that Olly’s dad is still... (full context)

...too shaken to effectively lie. Zach seems to understand immediately, but says he won’t tell Olly—he knows what it’s like to lie. Maddy asks what’ll happen if he tells his parents... (full context)

Olly and Maddy get back to their hotel in the late afternoon. Olly somersaults onto the... (full context)

...have 20 minutes to make it to the beach to watch the sunset. She shakes Olly awake and slips into her new red dress, thinking she looks like the picture of... (full context)

Olly and Maddy kiss until Olly’s stomach growls. Maddy suggests they get something to eat and... (full context)

Sitting on the beach, Olly tells Maddy that Olly’s dad apologized and cried after he hit Olly’s mom the first... (full context)

Maddy reaches for Olly, but he pulls away. He says that Olly’s mom won’t talk about it anymore, but... (full context)

In a spiral pattern, Maddy recounts her dream of running away from home with the boy she loves. She sees the ocean and falls asleep in a noisy room with him.... (full context)

...adrenaline shots, and the hospital. She remembers the smell of the airport, Mom crying, and Olly’s look of sadness, relief, and love. Maddy knows she’s going home and will be trapped... (full context)

One evening, Maddy logs onto the instant messenger. Olly is worried, says that Mom won’t let him visit, and tells Maddy that she doesn’t... (full context)

...wakes from a dream in which she’s in a field of poppies. Multiple iterations of Olly march toward her, wearing gas masks, bearing handcuffs, and crushing the poppies. Maddy spends her... (full context)

...She says that these works reveal that everything is nothing. Maddy selects every email from Olly in her inbox and deletes them. (full context)

...she tries not to use it. She reads existential and nihilist books, doesn’t think about Olly, and resumes her classes after four weeks. Mom hovers worriedly and seems to want things... (full context)

...to hate their children. Maddy says that she’s a terrible daughter. When Carla asks about Olly, Maddy refuses to say, thinking that if she can hold onto her pain, her heart... (full context)

...says that a moving truck has pulled in next door. The two men talk to Olly’s mom, but Olly’s dad isn’t around. Maddy joins Carla at the window and watches Olly,... (full context)

Olly’s dad leaves for work around nine a.m. and gets home late in the evening, looking... (full context)

A few days later, Maddy goes through the emails from Olly that she put in her trash folder. He sent her a few limericks that make... (full context)

Maddy thinks that according to Olly’s math, it’s impossible to predict the future—but she thinks it’s also impossible to predict the... (full context)

...stay with Mom, both for Maddy’s physical health and Mom’s mental health. Maddy considers emailing Olly, but she’s not sure what to say. Carla manages to convince Maddy to stay, but... (full context)

Maddy drafts four different emails to Olly sharing the news and saying she misses him, but she doesn’t send them. Mom tries... (full context)

...the doors and turns off the air filter, and buys goldfish. She names them all Olly. Six weeks after, Dr. Chase tells Maddy it’s too soon to enroll in high school,... (full context)

...weekly forecast of sun. Maddy runs outside and without thinking, climbs onto the roof of Olly’s house. She admires the orrery and marvels that when she was up here five months... (full context)

...She wonders if she’d still be Maddy, in this house, who fell in love with Olly. Maddy thinks that if she could find the moment, she could fix Mom and understand... (full context)

...Prince is that love is worth everything. She lands in New York. She only told Olly that there’s a gift waiting for him at a used bookstore near his house and... (full context)

Olly pulls out his phone to check Maddy’s directions, which are that he’ll know the gift... (full context)