10 May 2015

Review: All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven



All the Bright Places
Author: Jennifer Niven
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf (Random House Children's Books)
Publication Date: January 6, 2015

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.



Thanks to Bibliophile Soprano for lending me her copy :)



Review:

RATING: 10/5

Unlike my usual style, for this review, I put my rating first just to tell you that you need to read this book. It's amazing. It made me cry. I love the author's note too.

This is the second about-suicide-book I've read (Thirteen Reasons Why was the first), and so far, I like about-suicide books, not because of all of the death, I just like them.
--

Erin's Note: This review may contain big spoilers that you may not want to read, so please pay extra attention to the 

spoiler warning.

:)

--

I'm gonna start with the cover. It's beautiful and simple. I actually came to a realization that it was very related to Finch and his Post-its of thoughts just now.

The flow of the story wasn't too fast or too slow, and the cuts for the perspectives are short. The book has a lot of quotes in it, and I'm gonna feature some randomly. :)

"Sometimes, Ultraviolet, things feel true to us even if they're not."
"It's late.""That depends on who you ask. See, I don't necessarily think it's late. I think it's early. Early in our lives, early in the night, early in the new year. If you're counting, you'll notice the earlys outnumber the lates. 

And they were quoting The Waves, and I love it when they do that. I don't even know if The Waves does exist, so I'll search it later.

For the names, I had a little trouble understanding what Finch (the name) is. Is it Theodore's surname? Is it his second name? But hours ago, I reexamined All the Bright Places' cover, and noticed this: "boy called Finch and a girl named Violet." And Finch was on Theodore's house's mailbox, so yeah, I think it's his surname. Correct me if I'm wrong. :) And I like how he called her Ultraviolet. Finch is supercool.

THREE WORDS: SAD, BEAUTIFUL TRAGIC.

I admit, I'm a Swiftie, and I was just about to write something like this book is tragic and beautiful when I remembered the song.

They changed each other positively. I felt so happy when Violet started counting the days differently. Finch has always thought of suicide, and he somehow finds a way to postpone it, and Violet became a way.

Their wanderings were beautiful. People from my school actually call me Dora for being short and always walking around, and this book even pushed my mini adventures more.


SPOILERS AHEAD


I knew it was coming when Finch disappeared. But it took me some seconds to realize what just happened. Then I reread it. Then I just cried and cried. Violet wandering alone made me cry more.

"You're the best friend I've ever had, Theodore Finch." And he is, even more so than Eleanor.
And she lost both.


DONE WITH SPOILERS :)



I kept on crying up to around five minutes after finishing this book. I was so emotional.

I think that suicide is in a way, selfish. You just end your own problems, then what? Nothing happens next to you. And you leave the people who care for you in sadness.

--

This book is Ultra Remarkey-able. I think I'll remember this for the next ten thousand years of my life.



Follow via email or Google Friend Connect to be notified whenever there's something new on my blog! :)

2 comments:

  1. I'm glad you enjoyed this! I loved it too and totally got emotional about the ending....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Right? I only took breaks whenever I needed a new hanky.

      Delete

Say what you will!