Book Recap: All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

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.

★★★★★ (5 stars)

A story of two people who met in the school’s bell tower, both looking for answers, both having their own stories to tell. But also, they found themselves WANDERING in a place they thought they knew so well.

• The characters of the story are very realistic. This book is not just about a weirdo falling in love with someone popular and they lived happily ever after. This book is about the story of Finch and Violet. Finch is, yes, a weird guy who wanted to die. Well, as everyone believes him to be. And here’s Violet. A girl who is haunted by her past, the death of her sister in an accident. Two people, meeting on the ledge of that bell tower, believing that no matter how messed up life has been for them, it still has something to offer.

• The story is so informative. Suicide has been one of the most popular issues among teenagers and it is quite inevitable as of the world today. Finch, who wanted to die, is very knowledgeable on the different ways death is executed and the different people who died of suicide. Even some of their epitaphs are included. This novel also contains places within Indiana some may know and some may not.

• The story is beautifully written. The author’s writing style is fantastic. Like Eleanor and Park, the story is written in two different perspectives. One is for Finch and the other is for Violet. I admire fact that despite the sad theme of the story, which is suicide, the author still manages to put a sense of humor in each character narrating the story.

• The theme of the story is very sensitive. As I have mentioned earlier, the main theme of the story is about suicide. If you don’t like to read about the reality of death in suicide, then, this is not the book for you.

What I don’t get in this book is the fact that it is compared to John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars.

Yes, I agree on its comparison with Eleanor and Park but the story for me doesn’t fit The Fault in Our Stars’ description as it fits in Paper Towns. Maybe, because of the death aspect of the story but, really?

For me, the story is a combination of Eleanor and Park and Paper Towns. Well, that’s my opinion though but let me explain why.

The story tells us about a suicidal boy named Finch who met Violet, a girl who is always looking forward to her future, well, that’s before her sister died in that accident wherein she survives. But the story also focuses on that project wherein they should find places within the state of Indiana . In this project, they became partners. That aspect of the story makes it comparable with Paper Towns.

Another information is, this book is going to be a movie!

Click here for more details.

Anyways, this book has been one of the books I’ve read in my “Suicide Marathon” last April. (I did not know that I bought three books talking about suicide and read it successively. Ha!) And it has been a great experience reading a book like this since it is an eye opener for a topic so famous yet so controversial.

So, if you are looking for something wonderful to read, this book is highly recommended. (smiles)