Review: All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

Author: Jennifer Niven
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Number of Pages: 378
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Synopsis:

"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 book was simply magical. I've had this book since this book came out. I had gotten an ARC from work and it just sat in my ARC pile until I recently cleaned up my bookshelf...good job Harman. This book definitely isn't what I expected it to be. It wasn't the typical teenage depression novel. It was real, from the perspective of these teens who knew they had a problem but also had good days. 

“The great thing about this life of ours is that you can be someone different to everybody.” 

The characters of Violet and Finch were the stars of the novel. It wasn't the plot or the writing that made the book, obviously they play a part, but the characters really made this book what they are. Violet was unhappy from the death of her sister while Finch has a hard home life. Finch was by far my favorite character. He was so free, he was dealing with so much at home and school but he still was such a charismatic character that made you want to be friends with someone like him. Violet was different. She was a little more introverted but she was still really kind, even if she wasn't always that way.

“No more winter at all. Finch, you brought me spring.” 

This book was different from other books about depression. It was never said that either suffered from depression or any mental disorder, it was just implied or said that Finch was "asleep" or "awake". This was one of the reasons that I loved this book. It wasn't the cliched boy and girl meet and end up saving each other. It was so much more realistic. Families and friends can just be around one person 24/7 and never really realize that they are suffering or in need of help. That is where this book really touched me.

“You are all the colors in one, at full brightness.” 

I adored this book. If it weren't for the ending I seriously would have given this book all the stars (I still enjoyed the ending but it ended in the exact opposite way I wanted it to). It was so fucking good! Well written, amazing characters, and it talked about a real issue that affects more teens than we really realize. I would highly recommend checking this book out!

Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars!!