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All The Bright Places | February 4, 2015

by Jennifer Niven (Alfred A. Knopf/Random House Children’s Books, January 2015)

This novel starts with a “boy-meets-girl” scene, but not the way you’d expect. Finch and Violet meet when they find themselves standing on the ledge of their school’s bell tower, both of them dealing with their own internal hardship. Violet is still struggling with her grief over the loss of her sister, who died in a car accident that Violet survived. Finch is grappling with possible mental illness, and searching for something that will keep him alive and awake.

When Violet and Finch team up on a school project (much to the surprise of their classmates) that takes them across Indiana to discover its “natural wonders”, they discover not only unexpected sights, but they also find “bright places” in being with one another. As they fall in love, Violet begins to live in the moment, while Finch still struggles to hold on.

This story covers topics that we’ve seen before in YA novels, but All the Bright Places is both unflinching and heartfelt in its treatment of grief and mental illness, and what happens in the aftermath of tragedy. Finch and Violet are honest and vibrant characters that deal with complex emotions in a relatable way. This “elegant and euphoric” book is certainly one that will stay with me. I especially recommend it to fans of books like The Fault in Our Stars and If I Stay.

 

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