All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

All the Bright Places

by Jennifer Niven

Now a major Netflix film starring Elle Fanning and Justice Smith.

A compelling and beautiful story about a girl who learns to live from a boy who's drawn to death.

Theodore Finch tries to look for good things in the world, even if sometimes he doesn't always find them.

Violet Markey exists for the future, counting the days until she can escape her Indiana town and its painful memories of her sister.

When they meet on the ledge of a tower, what might have been their end turns into their beginning.

It's only with Violet that Finch can truly be himself - a funny guy who actually wants to experience the joy in life.

And when Violet's with Finch, she forgets to wish away the days and starts to live them.

But as Violet's world grows, Finch's begins to shrink. He's trying to cling on to his bright places, but will it be enough this time?

'If you're looking for the next The Fault in Our Stars, this is it' Guardian

'This book is amazing - I couldn't put it down' Zoe Sugg aka Zoella

'A searingly honest and heartbreakingly poignant tale about the power and beauty of love' Heat

'Sparkling' Entertainment Weekly

Reviewed by inlibrisveritas on

5 of 5 stars

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All the Bright Places is a book I was extremely excited for. It deals with a subject I live on a daily basis, depression. I bought this a week after it came out…and I just finished it almost at the end of April. Why did it take me so long? Fear. About half way through the book I started to realize that this was getting way too real and I had to keep stepping away from it every couple of chapters. But I am glad I finished it, I’m glad I bought it, and I’m glad all of those moments I had to take time to breathe deeply happened.

As I sit here trying to write this review I realize I have so much to say about this book…and yet I don’t have the words to express it properly. I don’t want to reveal too much of the plot and risk ruining it for you, and that limits me to what I can put. I will say this though, when it comes to depression this book gets it right. The feelings that Finch describes, the way he puts it into words…Mental illness is such a solitary thing. There are millions out that suffer that weight and yet you feel like the only one, so to have it right there in book form, written in a way you understand and isn’t some mock up stereotype, it’s both liberating and crushing all at the same time. I think that aspect of the story is incredibly well done and handled in a real and respectful way. In fact I feel that the entire book did a good job at being as rooted in reality as possible. We get to see the typical teen existence in high school with the cliques, bullying, ostracizing, and pressure. We even get a respectful inclusion of sex.

As sad as I’ve now made the book sound (sorry) it is actually an incredibly hopeful story, full of chapters that made me want to get out and wander. It inspires me to go see places that I’ve never heard of simply because I can. Violet starts the story in the same way Finch does, on a ledge of the bell tower, and their stories remain entangled with each other till the end. Violet is struggling to live under the weight of her sister’s death, and Finch becomes her bright spot and she becomes his. I loved the way Finch supports Violet and gets her to move forward, I love their moments together and how utterly optimistic they could be, those parts of the story made my heart sing.

I do realize that this review is probably one of the worst I’ve ever written. It’s scattered and forced, and could do with some focus…but honestly I just don’t know to put into words my love of All the Bright Places. The portrayals of depression and bipolar disorder are incredibly relatable, and written in a way that I think could very well impart some understanding and empathy to those without mental illness. As I said before this book deals with the stigmas that come with being ‘different’ and I think that YA books like this will be one of the tools to help break those stigmas a part.

I’m leaving this book with a full 5 stars for it’s beautiful story and for being a real conversation starter.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 23 April, 2015: Finished reading
  • 23 April, 2015: Reviewed