Here is yet another teen romance (like The Fault in Our Stars and If I Stay) inflicting a critical illness on its adolescent protagonist, turning boy-meets-girl into a life-or-death crisis.
Adapted from Nicola Yoon’s YA novel, it stars Amandla Stenberg (Rue in The Hunger Games) as Maddy, a housebound 17-year-old with an immunodeficiency disease that makes her allergic to everything in the outside world – especially Olly (Nick Robinson), the hot skater kid who has just moved in next door. Unable to hook up IRL, the pair start instant messaging, beginning a blandly grown-up sext-free relationship. Both appear totally devoid of teenage hormones and Maddy is freakily well-adjusted for a teenager who has never set foot out of home. This is anaemic stuff, though perhaps its target audience won’t care.
