Review- All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

Goodreads Summary:

The Fault in Our Stars meets Eleanor and Park in this exhilarating and heart-wrenching love story about a girl who learns to live from a boy who intends to die.
Soon to be a major motion picture starring Elle Fanning!

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.

This is an intense, gripping novel perfect for fans of Jay Asher, Rainbow Rowell, John Green, Gayle Forman, and Jenny Downham from a talented new voice in YA, Jennifer Niven.

REVIEW:

I never read book summaries before reading a book. I read them only after reading- or in this case, after reviewing- the book. I feel proud to see that my review and the book summary sort of match. What actually pulls me to a book is the gravitational effect; that's just a disclaimer. With all the positive feedback and reviews I had been reading for All the Bright Places, my curiosity was at it's peak.  I had to know what the book was all about. And I just know that I'm going to love a book when it starts with a line about death, just like this: Is today a good day to die? I was blown away by this famous first line. 

However, once I got into All the Bright Places, I was waiting for a something epic to happen which would make me fall head over heels in love with the book, as what I was reading wasn't all that extraordinary. It was, in fact, something along the lines of John Green's The Fault in Our Stars meets Ava Dellaira's Love Letters to the Dead meets Kelley's York's Suicide Watch- three books I love but three stories I've read and know already. Anyway, it wasn't until the book hit some 80-85% that the something epic happened and as much I admire and crave these types of endings, I was left heartbroken in the most astonishing way possible. 

All the Bright Places is a story of two teenagers, Violet Remarkey and Theodore Finch. I don't want to talk about how they are, what issues they have and what happens to them because it's something for readers to find out for themselves. What I would like to say is that when I was reading Violet and Finch's story, I wasn't just reading a book. I was living the story. Author Jennifer Niven has created two absolutely unforgettable characters who she has portrayed flawlessly. Violet and Finch were so different, yet so similar. So far away, yet so close. They are the kind of characters who try to teach you that's it's okay to be broken. Their points of views were so well written. So distinct, yet so intermingling. The immense importance given to family in this book made it admirable, but seriously, the focus is Violet and Finch. This is their adventure. Their story. Their life. Their book. 

For a book that ends on a realistic note, All the Bright Places brought a smile to my face once I read the last page and shut the book down. This book is about family, friendship, finding yourself, losing yourself, staying true to yourself, being yourself... It is about so much more as well. There are times when the book seems like it's going nowhere, it seems like it's just another book, just another story, just another everything, but a little patience plays a big role and pays off. Violet and Finch are seriously unforgettable. If for nothing else, I recommend this book for the characters. They will become your friends and we all need friends. 

RATING: