ALL THE BRIGHT PLACES by Jennifer Niven

Published:  January 6^th, 2015
Synopsis:
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.

My Review:

I tried to go into this book without too many expectations. There was a lot of buzz circulating this book, but many of the early reviews compared it to The Fault in Our Stars or Eleanor and Park. Even a magazine ad paired it with the other two novels. But I wanted this to be a book of its own; so I avoided reviews and attempted to go into it blindly.

 I was happy with what I found.

All The Bright Places is written between alternating chapters giving us excellent perspective for both characters. The characters developed beautifully throughout the novel and there was no conflict between actions taken compared to character personalities.

The love story between Violet and Finch is messy and complicated and real. At times, this book was almost hard to read. It accurately reflects the manic highs and terrifying lows associated with mental disorders such as depression as well as grief.

Finch is an important literary character for one reason; he’s raw and honest. Jennifer Niven didn’t create a character with romantic suffering. She wrote a character who embodies the truth behind mental illness and sucks us into the labyrinth of depression until we're gasping for air.

This book, as I’m happy to write here, is not another love story between two suffering teens. This book is too horrifyingly honest, too haunting, and too important to be compared to other contemporary YA books.
I could not imagine a more perfect book.

Follow Jennifer Niven:  Twitter
Goodreads: All The Bright Places
Follow me: _BookSniffer_