Spoilery Book Reviews

All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

*This review will discuss suicide and mental illness, because those are themes in the book. Give it a skip if reading about that might ruin your day*

Back of the book

Theodore Finch wants to take his own life. I'm broken, and no one can fix it.

Violet Markey is devastated by her sister's death. In that instant we went plowing through the guardrail, my words died too.

They meet on the ledge of the school bell tower, and so their story begins. It's only together they can be themselves...

I send a message to Violet: 'You are all the colours in one, at full brightness.'

You're so weird, Finch. But that's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me.

But, as Violet's world grows, Finch's begins to shrink. How far will Violet go to save the boy she has come to love?

My thoughts

I am biased about this review because I adore this book, love it to the moon and back, and have read it more times than I can count. I was only a little surprised that it still had the power to make me sob after I am so familiar with the story.

I connected with these characters deeply, was wholly emotionally invested in them. I thought this was a feature of Niven's writing, but her other books are less spectacular. ATBP is a standout gem from her, perhaps influenced by how much of her own history and pain she poured into it. Compared to her other novels that have 'original' plots, her raw emotions come through on the page for a sensational read.

I love the way it handles the themes of suicide, mental illness and grief. It jumps right into the topic with "Is today a good day to die?" When I read this as a teenager, it felt edgy and illicit, to read a book about a boy considering killing himself. There was no mystery about the character planning his own suicide and I enjoyed it being obvious and frank on the page. Talking about suicide does not increase the chance of suicide. It does not put ideas in someone's head. Finch's discussion of methods never glorifies them, instead considers the messy aspects of each.

My favourite part about this book, is that Finch dies. Hear me out. In a lot of books, a really bad thing happens, and then they recover from it. In this book, it's not a close call, or an almost tragedy. The very worst thing that could happen, happens. And Violet lives through it. Seeing Violet experience the very worst thing and survive, is a powerful story. The death also feels like a plot twist. Despite all the suicidal ideation, as a reader you expect the main character to live. They are the storyteller, so they can't die until the story ends. The clever use of two POV's allowed Niven the space to kill off Finch while the reader expected him to live to tell the end of his story.

My only criticism is something a teacher once pointed out to me, who said there were unrealistic parental figures. I understand that opinion, but the parents could be accurate depending on people's experiences. A stand-out moment of unreality is when Finch's mum refuses to look for him 'just in case', yet asks Violet, a 17-year-old, to do it. That's a lot messed up.

To conclude, I love the way this book battles the topics of suicide and mental illness. I love the story message, that the worst thing can happen to you, and you can survive it. Niven's writing makes these characters feel as real as my own friends, creating a deep emotional connection, subsequently feeling all the pain and loss. I want to recommend everyone to read this book, but it hurts to read, and could trigger some people. So read at your own risk, fall in love unapologetically, and know that your heart will be shattered.

TL:DR

Suicide, mental illness and grief in teenagers that never talk to their parents. A story about how to survive the very worst thing.