All the Bright Places

Very emotional and takes u places. The writing is so good.

All the Bright Places is a deeply emotional and beautifully written story about love, loss, and mental health. Jennifer Niven captures the raw, messy reality of two teenagers, Finch and Violet who find solace and understanding in each other. The book is equal parts heartbreaking and hopeful, and it doesn’t shy away from difficult topics like depression and grief. Finch's character, especially, stays with you long after the final page. This book made me cry, think, and appreciate the people in my life more. Highly recommend if you're looking for a powerful, poignant read that truly matters.

But in the end one needs more courage to live than to kill himself.” ----Albert Camus Jennifer Niven, an American author, has penned a heart-breaking love story about two teenagers in her book, All the Bright Places that weaves a beautiful yet devastating tale of young love where both the primary characters are suffering from their own trauma yet their strange encounter brings them closer in a weird way but destiny has other and sad plans for these two innocent souls. Synopsis: 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. After reading this book, honestly speaking, I did not understand all those hype surrounding this book and the story. I mean, yeah, this book is going to break millions of hearts and is extremely emotional, but somehow the author could not portray her primary characters in a way they should have been, as they could have made the book much more brighter than its title or its book cover image. On my recent trip to Kashmir, I read this 400 pages long book, and felt so many hues of emotions that I've never ever felt before, after reading a contemporary fiction. Hence for that a huge round of applause goes to the author, Jennifer Niven, for depicting it so captivatingly. Theodore Finch is a kind of guy who is weird and thinks about strange things like death and ways of achieving it. And every time his plan of achieving his final goal is disrupted or rather say interrupted by something brighter, likewise, when he tries to jump from the ledge of his school's bell tower, he finds himself face-to-face with the most beautiful and popular girl of his school- Violet. Violet Markey is the kind of girl who would make her female peers jealous of her looks and popularity and the boys would go ga-ga over her cuteness, sweetness and brightness. Bu Violet can't wait to be done with high school and give wings to her dreams away from her hometown, Indiana, as this place haunts her of her sister's death because of which she can't stop blaming herself for her best-friend-cum-elder-sister's tragic death. Although her plans to get interrupted when she finds herself face-to-face with the crazy boy of her school, Theodore and somehow destiny saves them from their plans thus bringing them closer in the backdrop of their US geography class project to discover unknown and hidden wonders of their home state. But does always destiny ensure that happiness too come along with its way of events? The author's writing style is magnificent that is layered properly and cleverly with myriad of emotions that will pull the readers into the ocean filled with hear-felt fondness that will range from happiness to sadness to humor. The narrative is equally engaging and genuine that will make the readers feel the reality through them. The pacing of this book differs from something being too slow to too fast to moderate, but the smooth flow of the story will keep the readers glued to the pages of this book. The scenes of this book are wonderfully portrayed which will let the readers visualize them right before their minds' eyes. The characters in this book are honest and are drawn from realism, who will capture the hearts of the readers with their shortcomings and their grief. Finch is a teenager with a complex mindset and through out the course of this story, the readers might find it difficult to penetrate his labyrinthine of thoughts and emotions. Finch is not a regular guy, he is traumatized by the events of his life, thus making him obsessed about the idea of death and also to research about the whole idea of death. Yes, he is friendly but in a weird way and the conversations he have are equally strange but that doesn't make his boring or uninteresting, his real pain will push the readers towards him. Violet, on the other hand, is very clear about the way she wants to feel about things and the way she expresses her grief towards her sister's death is striking, but often, at times, she will confuse the readers with her real feelings. Well, the protagonists may be hard to penetrate through their minds but they will make the readers fall for them with their agony with life. Through the characters, the author tries to instill a strong message about appreciation of life to her readers and she has successfully delivered that as the readers are bound to think about the value of their lives. What can I say about Indiana as the glittering and vivid landscape of this state provides as a bright shelter to the sweet love story. The author has painted the backdrop strikingly which will make the readers feel like hopping from one wonderful destination in Indiana to another along with the protagonists. The romance is cheesy in the beginning, which is passionately and innocently arrested by the author with proper emotions. Most of the story is centered around this predictable teenage love story but thank god, near the end, the author diverts this love story towards something highly meaningful and even life-altering. In a nutshell, this unique story will not let the readers let go of the feelings that came along with it, even long after the end of this intriguing book and also this is the kind of story which you can return back to every single time. So when there is a downpour, I'm talking about the emotional one, not the natural kind, then this book will be your sole best friend to brighten up your day.

PLOT The plot was not the most unique plots that have ever amused the people on Earth but still it connected. It connected to the level I can’t possibly explain. I know it has something to do with my brain and the hormones it produced when I read this book but believe me they were good hormones. Two people accidently meet on the top of the Bell Tower, both trying to attempt suicide. Both of them don’t and then pair up for a school project which required the students to go to the major attractions of the town and note whatever they saw. The book survived only on this story and as I ‘m typing this I realize that this is the simplest plot I’ve heard of. Two people meet for a project and they fall in love. There was a single and tiny thing that I wanted to point out. ~THE TEXT IN RED IS A SPOILER TO THE BOOK ~ I didn’t like that in the end the author lets suicide win. It meant that anyone should end their life and just gain that peace that they’ve been searching for. It’s just a little thing that made me think about. ~ END OF SPOILERS ~ CHARACTERS Theodore Finch is one of the most complex characters in the fictional world. He does what he thinks is right and most of the time it isn’t close to right but his intentions are right, just the way he does what he does is a bit too loud, I guess. He is sure intelligent and knows what to do. (I’m talking about the book’s last part. The ones who have red this know what I mean!) Violet Markey is a girl who is still in the stage of grieving after 9 months of her sister’s death. She tries to commit suicide, unsure of really how to do it. She is talked through it by Finch and it saves her. She is a writer but she left writing anything after her sister’s death but after she meets Finch she starts writing again. I love the fact that they both complement each other and inspire each other to do something good. WRITING STYLE The writing style is so smooth that I never thought about it after the books starts; and it’s a good sign. A good writer’s story is the one you flow by reading and don’t really concentrate while reading. I read the book in almost 5-6 hours and that’s when I couldn’t stop myself. I wanted to know the end of the book and I wasn’t going to sleep and waste time so instead I stayed up late and read the whole book! And it was a blessing that all of the people in my house were sleeping and I was the one only awake because what came next couldn’t be seen by anyone. I ugly cried. Yes, I did. And you will too; unless you a) you have a heart of rock, or b) your tear glands don’t work. MY REVIEW This is one of the best books I’ve read in this year and I’m glad I picked though it being a contemporary novel (I don’t usually read those, but I’m GLAD I read this) YOU’LL LIKE IT IF:- You like contemporary reads. You like a short, sweet and romantic book You are okay of the fact that this book’s main plot contains suicide You are okay with the fact that you’d be ending your read with ugly crying You are okay with the fact that you probably have to read this book in some little corner of your room where nobody visits but you YOU’LL NOT LIKE IT IF:- You are not okay of the fact that this book’s main plot contains suicide You don’t like short and sweet books, you need something deep and thoughtful like a sci-fi read maybe. You are not okay with the fact that you’d be ending your read with ugly crying You are not okay knowing that you have to sit in privacy I give it 4.5/5 stars just because of that small problem.

Beautifully written, engrossing, will make you smile, laugh, cry and break your heart. This book draws you in like stepping in quicksand (anyone who has read the book will know the reason I used this example as it is used by Finch). While it is a great story about loss and how to deal with it, along with the pains of teenage fitting in, being shunned, etc, along with discovering love and what that means, this book deals very forcefully and in your face with teen depression and suicide. In fact, at the end of the book, the author tells her own sad experiences with it, making it clear how she was able to write this story with such force and such heart wrenching feelings. But, but, but, this is a beautiful book! It is so compelling, and you get so attached to the characters, and their love story, that it is an absolutely beautiful story for anyone of any age. The two main characters, Violet and Finch, come from two very different worlds. Violent was very popular, with the in crowd, until she lost her sister in a car accident which she feels guilty about is suffering from severe depression and gets more and more isolated from her friends. Finch, "The Freak" as he is labelled by almost all his classmates, is ostracized and constantly made to feel he really is a freak. Then one day when he is standing on the Belltower of the school, contemplating jumping, suddenly Violent appears there beside him, contemplating the exact same thing. Ironically, Finch saves Violet, but everyone at the school thinks Violent saved him, since he a Freak and has been noted as being suicidal. Finch, a genuinely nice guy, never tells anyone that he actually saved her, and for that Violet is so truly thankful to him. Then they end up doing a class project together, and in each other they find a true deep friendship, that eventually becomes more. This is a touching love story, but it is so much more than that. It deals with real issues about teen depression and loss. If you enjoyed reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower, you will likely love this book as well.

Omslaget till boken kom trasigt, som om någon klippt i det högst upp

My book came damaged and had a big rip from The side

It is very rare for a book to make me cry, but this one brought me to tears. It is a devastatingly beautiful story about two teenagers who suffer from depression who find each other and fall in love. As Violet and Finch fell in love with each other, I came to love the both of them, as I'm sure you will too. They are such real characters that you can't help but care about. They feel so real and alive on the page, and their story becomes your story as well. All The Bright Places is not a book to read if you want something happy. It is educational and hopeful and powerful, but it is also incredibly heart-breaking. Violet and Finch will stay with you long after you finish the book, and you will feel the loss. I am both grateful and regretful that I read this book. On one hand, it is an amazing story. On the other hand, I feel like I just lost a friend. Jennifer Niven is an incredibly talented author and I hope she pursues more YA books in the future. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more on depression and mental disabilities, or anyone who is suicidal and/or has lost someone to suicide.

Não tenho o costume de ler YA, então não sabia muito o que esperar desse livro. Comprei porque li a sinopse e me interessei. Acabei me surpreendendo muito com a escrita e o rumo da história. Gostei tanto que comprei a versão em inglês também. Acho que tem alguns problemas com o desenvolvimento de alguns personagens, até mesmo da Violet, que só passei a gostar do meio pro fim da história. Mas no geral, me emocionei e me identifiquei com o livro. Acho que por ser baseado na vida da autora, ela conseguiu ser bem realista ao tratar dos temas abordados no livro. Trigger warning: se você for sensível às temáticas de morte e suicídio, não leia essa livro, pois fala-se disso o tempo todo. Ps.: não percam tempo assistindo ao filme, é muito inferior ao livro.