Jennifer Niven

All the Bright Places

Theodore Finch is fascinated by death. Every day he thinks of ways he might kill himself, but every day he also searches for—and manages to find—
something to keep him here, and alive, and awake.

Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her small 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—six stories above the ground— it’s unclear who saves whom. Soon it’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself. 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. . . .


All the bright places

lily

Actually, I am, which is part of the problem; we are all alone, trapped in these bodies and our own minds, and whatever company we have in life is only fleeting and superficial

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

I can't tell you what was different this time around, only that when I woke up, I felt deader than usual. Awake, yeah, but completely empty, like someone had been feasting on my blood.

A compelling and beautiful story about a girl who learns to live from a boy who wants to die. Now a major film starring Elle Fanning and Justice Smith on Netflix. Theodore Finch constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself, but each time something good stops him. Violet Markey exists for the future, counting the days until she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief for her late 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's able to find the joy in life. And when Violet's with Finch, she forgets to count 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 all the good things in his life, 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 'A searingly honest and heartbreakingly poignant tale about the power and beauty of love' - Heat 'Sparkling' - Entertainment Weekly

Emma

[…] because if I do, I may wake up the darkness, and I want the darkness to sleep.

I walk through the black Indiana night, under a ceiling of stars, and think about the phrase “elegance and euphoria,” and how it describes exactly what I feel with Violet.

Nova <3

The thing I realize is that it’s not what you take, it’s what you leave.

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

I extremely like how Finch can read other people and understands what their face says but their heart means

“[…]It's because you smiled at me that day in class. A real smile […]”

My skin starts to burn. She's quoting Virginia Woolf back to me. My pulse has tripled its pace.

I wish I had a photograph of my face in that exact instant so I could remember myself the way I used to be.

Eva Marquant

'If he really loves you, he’ll find a way.' - Violet

'You are all the colors in one, at full brightness.' - Violet

'You have to live your life like you’ll never be sorry.' - Finch

Sara Vasilescu

People like Theodore Finch don't die. He's just wandering.

Someone

A string of thoughts run through my head like a song I can't get rid of, over and over in the same order: I am broken. I am a fraud. I am impossible to love.

You don’t know how it is. It’s like I’ve got this angry little person inside me, and I can feel him trying to get out. He’s running out of room because he’s growing bigger and bigger, and so he starts rising up, into my lungs, chest, throat, and I just push him right back down. I don’t want him to come out. I can’t let him out.

I remember running down a road on my way to a nursery of flowers. I remember her smile and her laugh when I was my best self and she looked at me like I could do no wrong and was whole. I remember how she looked at me the same way even when I wasn’t. I remember her hand in mine and how that felt, as if something and someone belonged to me.

You deserve better. I can’t promise you I’ll stay around, not because I don’t want to. It’s hard to explain. I’m a fuckup. I’m broken, and no one can fix it. I’ve tried. I’m still trying. I can’t love anyone because it’s not fair to anyone who loves me back. I’ll never hurt you, not like I want to hurt Roamer. But I can’t promise I won’t pick you apart, piece by piece, until you’re in a thousand pieces, just like me. You should know what you’re getting into before getting involved.

I should be happy, but instead I feel nothing. I feel a lot of nothing these days. I've cried a few times, but mostly I'm empty, as if whatever makes me feel and hurt and laugh and love has been surgically removed, leaving me hollowed out like a shell.

Worthless. Stupid. These are the words I grew up hearing. They're the words I try to outrun, because if I let them in, they might stay there and grow and fill me up and in, until the only thing left of me is worthless stupid worthless stupid worthless stupid freak.

I can only tell you how I felt. Ugly. Disgusting. Stupid. Small. Worthless. Forgotten. It just feels like there's no choice. Like it's the most logical thing to do because what else is there? You think, 'No one will even miss me. They won't know I'm gone. The world will go on, and it won't matter that I'm not here. Maybe it's better if I was never here.

So it's good and it's bad and it hurts, but I like thinking about him. If I think about him, he won't be completely gone either. Just because they're dead, they don't have to be. And neither do we.

Miyamoto Musashi

Because it’s not a lie if it’s how you feel.

I mean, its not bad but i definitely expected more.

Maureen

I don't like these kind of stories where the ending just leaves you broken. The detailing is nice, but WHY?

Anna 

Jsem moc ráda, že jsem se k téhle knížce konečně dostala. Poukazuje na mentální poruchy a jejich boj s nimi, a já jsem za to neskutečně ráda, protože o tomto tématu se bavit musí. Příběh sám o sobě není až tak moc dobrodružný, spíše sleduje dva lidi, kteří se postupně zamilovávají. Ovšem to mi vůbec nevadilo. Nejdříve jsem knížce chtěla dát 4 hvězdy, kvůli tomu, že to bylo všechno AŽ MOC hezké, že takhle se žádný kluk chovat nemůže, ale po uvědomění si, kdo Theodor Finch vlastně je, dával mi celý příběh, ať už jeho příliš světlé nebo příliš tmavé stránky, smysl. Za mě, a za mnoho dalších bookstagramerů - kamarádů, vám knížku můžu jen a jen doporučit.
✩
5*/5*

Jackie Cunningham

I honestly couldn’t finish the book, it was too emotional. So I stopped about 3 chapters before the end. I mentally couldn’t :)

Lilya Smaoui

Anne

This book is beautiful enough to make me cry when I already knew the ending!

“You make me lovely, and it’s so lovely to be lovely to the one I love.…”

rara

chloe rae

4.5 stars!
What a stellar book. Absolutely beautiful. This book tore my heart into pieces but in the very best way possible. It made me look at the world differently. I felt for the characters and I loved them and I loved their love.
This book was different. It dealt with certain things and topics differently. It was a nice breath of fresh air; it was simple yet poetic. Jennifer's way with words was so uncomplicated and refreshing. I just breathed this book in.
I know it took me almost 2 months to finish (college is all-consuming) but it held me that entire time. I'd put it away and then pick it up and jump in exactly where I left off. What a book.
The only reason I didn't give it the full 5 stars is because I wanted more out of Violet at the end of the novel. More...vulnerability maybe. I just felt something was missing.
But overall, what an elegant read. Pick it up.

Keila Rico 

Maui S.

I have absolutely no words on how to describe what I felt after reading this book. I just loved it.

Annika Arguemore

This book is so painful. It's so fucking painful. A well-written travesty.

★★☆ // it was able to deliver the message that intends to say—about how we are ultimately in control of our lives. but at the end of the day, it’s just another young adult book that romanticize a very real problem.

Izyan Suhaila

jean

“All the bright places” is a very eye opening novel about serious illnesses such as depression and suffering from loosing loved ones.

Furthermore this book unveils the different sides and coping mechanisms of depression and, in addition, displays insights of a affected person’s thoughts and actions

“All the bright places” is a very eye opening novel about serious illnesses such as depression and suffering from loosing loved ones.

Furthermore this book unveils the different sides and coping mechanisms of depression and, in addition, displays insights of a affected person’s thoughts and actions

Nina Verhaaff 

3.5 stars 
Enjoyed it a lot but some parts were very quick and they could take it slower to be honest. 
But I enjoyed it a lot to read it got me out of my reading slump.

Charlotte Horne

A classic tale of life and loss and what is left behind.

Raven K

The ending was really unexpected.. kinda caught me off guard. I loved this book and felt a rollercoaster of emotions while reading it. 5/5.

McKenzie Zimmerman

All the Bright Places is a book that has made me feel so deeply attached to the excellently written characters in Jennifer Niven's book. I never thought I would cry because of this book but I sobbed for days after finishing this heart-wrenching novel. There are very few books I won't re-read but I cannot read All the bright Places because it destroyed me emotionally and I will never be able to think about mental health the same after this book.

Hannah Yang

My poor, poor heart.


All the Bright Places is most definitely my favorite book I've read in a while. Despite being a YA novel, I discovered that it handled some very sensitive topics and was overall a much deeper book than I expected.

The book begins with one of the main characters, Theodore Finch, describing how he is “Awake”, which immediately pulled me in. There are many times in a person’s life in which they feel like they need to withdraw from the world, and spend some time with themselves – to Finch, this is when he’s “Asleep”. Finch is your classic troubled child. His mother is distant and neglects both Finch and his two sisters, and his father left the family. He is the “freak” at school and is also seriously bullied at times. 

I’m glad that bullying was an issue addressed in the book. Throughout the book, Finch’s emotions are very well described, and although not everyone has similar experiences, his thoughts are still familiar. Readers can relate to feeling hurt, abandoned, or like an outcast, even if they did not have a broken home or a bad reputation. This was one of the main reasons I thought that the book was so powerful: it could really speak to anybody.

The second main character is Violet Markey. Violet is a writer. Or, she was one. She was one of the popular girls before she and her older sister, Eleanor, were in a car accident. While she survived, her sister did not. Violet battles with feeling responsible for Eleanor’s death, even though it wasn’t her fault. She has lost the feeling of purpose without her sister. It broke my heart to read about how she clung onto Eleanor even when the rest of the world had moved on, and I felt proud of Violet for finding closure by the end of the book. Out of all the characters introduced in All the Bright Places, Violet was the one who continually progressed throughout her journey. It was clear how much she had grown from the beginning of the book to the end.

Both of the main characters, as well as the few supporting characters, were very well developed. Their bright, individual personalities really stood out. The fact that each had their own story or quirks made them feel like real people rather than just cardboard cut-outs. Even the popular girl, Amanda, faced insecurities with self-image. I particularly loved how Jennifer Niven gave Amanda a story, because it shows that every single person may be fighting a hard battle, no matter how unlikely it seems.

The main plot of All the Bright Places revolved around Finch and Violet “wandering” for a final project. In each of the places they visited, they left something of their own so they could keep a part of themselves there. I found this concept very unique, but most of all I loved the different places they went.

I will say, though, that All the Bright Places really balances on a fine line. It approaches many darker and more sensitive topics, but I do think that it’s important for teenagers to be informed about those issues. Things such as abusive or neglecting families, mental health, disorders, self-identity issues, bullying, or lack of self-esteem can really impact a teenager. I think that one of the best ways to reach out to the younger audience is to inform us through something that appeals to us. All the Bright Places is a novel that teenagers can easily relate to, and also enjoy reading.

Overall, it is a very well written book, and the characters are three dimensional and relatable. I was rooting for Finch and Violet throughout the whole novel, and by the end I was a teary mess. There were also some shining quotes that really appealed to me scattered throughout the pages (some examples are, “I am rooted, but I flow,” and “It’s not what you take, it’s what you leave.”) It was a pleasant, smooth, but emotional read for me and I thought the delicate plotline was executed incredibly well.

Brianna Magtoto

It was pretty good, I liked it. Kind of made me sad. Elle Fanning for life.

Mde me cry so Hard. I kand even describe the vibe this book has and how t got me feeling. 

All the Bright Places

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