I received this ARC from Publisher for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven Published by Random House Children's Books on January 6th 2015
Pages: 400
Source: ARC from Publisher
Amazon-Indiebound
Goodreads
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.
My Thoughts:
I don’t even know where to start with this book. I was so incredibly affected by it. The story and characters burrowed right into my heart. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about them.
These are the hardest reviews to write. I don’t know how to express everything I want to say, but still not say too much. I didn’t know too much about this book when I started reading and I think that’s a good thing. All the Bright Places is one of those books you have to experience for yourself. Here are three things I can tell you that you get from the summary or that aren’t spoilery:
1. I kind of hate that they start the summary off comparing All the Bright Places to two other popular books. I loved those books and think the comparison isn’t far off, however, All the Bright Places stands on it’s own. Also, mentioning the movie before telling about the book is weird to me. I know this is all done to grab the attention of people who like the things that are mentioned and that’s great! I also know that some people are turned off by that kind of thing and I just want to warn you don’t be!!! This book is worth the read!
2. It’s very clear from the description that this book talks about teen suicide and mental health issues. These are not light topics. I was impressed with the way Jennifer Niven approached them. All the Bright Places really makes the reader think about these things (and others) in a way few other books do. For me, it really brought home how far we as a society have to go in the ways we talk and think about mental health issues. There is such a stigma and it just made me so, so angry that people cannot or don’t get the help they need because of it!
3. I was so invested in this book! I found myself talking to and yelling at the characters. I’d want to hug them and then I’d want to shake them. And I cried. Oh man, did I cry! I had originally planned to read this in a waiting room but am so glad I forgot to bring it! There is no way I could have read it in public! Not only would I be a mess, I wouldn’t want to stop. I stayed up way too late reading and then even later thinking about it. I didn’t want it to end.
So yes, I highly recommend All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. It’s one of the first books I read in 2015 but I know it will remain one of my top for the year.
*Random Sidenote: All the Bright Places takes place in Indiana. For an assignment the characters have to explore some of the local landmarks and historical places. They joke about it, but a co-worker and I actually went to Indiana a couple summers ago to do something similar! We were exploring bookish places and visited the home of James Whitcomb Riley, which is mentioned in All the Bright Places. I found this funny 🙂 You can see our book related Indiana destinations here.
Quinn @ Quinn's Book Nook
I’ve been hearing wonderful things about All the Bright Things. I haven’t read it yet, and I don’t think I can read it right now. But I definitely want to at some point.
looloolooweez
OK, I’m sort of laughing to myself because this is like the 5th review I’ve seen for this book today, just on blogs I normally follow. Everyone has something to say about it! The main reaction seems to be anger, which is good for some reviewers and bad for others. I’m really interested to see what the general population’s reaction to this book will be over the coming months.
Cat
I saw this book on a list somewhere a week or so ago and it just made me stop in my tracks. It is certainly something I will be picking up, and soon. I am very happy to see that you speak positively about it. I don’t follow a lot of book blogs anymore, but I do stick with trusted sources. 😉