All The Bright Places by: Jennifer Niven

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

Word Association: Dark Coming of Age, Cute Romance, Suicide, Gripping, Hopeful,

Raw, Mental Illness

Pacing: Good pacing, kept me moving right along. Backstory and history of characters

was a little slow but necessary information was given

Pros: Realistic discussion about depression, suicide, and trauma, cute romance with

lots of chemistry, entertaining “exploration” scenes between the main characters

Cons: Heavy topics, Sad, Death, Emotional read

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Summary via Goodreads:

Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.

Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.

When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.

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Review:

"It's my experience that people are a lot more sympathetic if they can see you hurting, and for the millionth time in my life I wish for measles or smallpox or some easily understood disease just to make it easier on me and also on them." - Finch

All the Bright Places tackles mental health in a fresh, raw, and heartbreaking way. We follow our main characters Theodore Finch and Violet Markay as they struggle with their own traumas, mental health, budding romance and the desire to end their lives.

The story opens with Finch seeing Violet at the top of the bell tower at school. Finch was up there contemplating the logistics of jumping off, something he will do many times throughout this story for the various ways he thinks about his death. After coaxing Violet off the edge he realizes that she was up there doing the same thing.

Violet and Finch have different reasons for wanting their lives to end but they help each other cope with the world around them, even seemingly giving each other a reason to live. Violet’s sister died in a car accident the Spring before and she is not dealing with the tragedy well. She used to be a very popular student and was into writing. She used to be a lot of things and now she counts the days until graduation, until she can leave her Indiana town and escape the death of her sister.

Finch is generally a happy go lucky guy, depending on what version of him you get that day. He is forever changing his wardrobe, style, and even sometimes his accent. He is clearly not happy with who he is, so while Violet is trying to escape her past Finch tries to escape his future. He is constantly placing himself in scenarios where he can end his life and we get all the details about why each one of them is not right for him. We are left guessing about his internal struggles until it is revealed that Finch probably has bipolar although he won’t get diagnosed.

"For a minute, I can feel it: the sense of peace as my mind goes quiet, like I'm already dead. I am weightless and free. Nothing and no one to fear, not even myself." - Finch

Finch and Violet bonded after that first meeting, with some pushing on Finch’s part, and quickly found happiness in one another. For a school project they had to drive around Indiana looking for places that make their state special. These scenes were my favorite to read. They were so fun and lighthearted and it really felt like I was reading about high school kids just falling in love. They had amazing chemistry and I found myself truly giddy at their first kiss.

"No more winter at all. Finch, you brought me spring." - Violet

I found the adult characters a little forced and unrealistic, but that is one of my only criticisms about this book.

For the sake of keeping this review spoiler free I won’t discuss the ending, you’ll just have to read for yourself! This book, although sad, was a pleasure to read. It was relatable, if you’ve ever felt a little bit hopeless, it was poignant, and despite the heavy topics it was funny. Highly recommend this book, especially for teens and young adults.