All the Bright Places

I've only just finished the book about a half an hour ago, but cannot stop crying. This book os beautifully written, charming, and terribly heart-breaking. Definitely one of the more intense YA books I've ever written. If you enjoyed Eleanor and Park or Looking For Alaska, you will enjoy this book, although it stands on its own and is only really comparable  in its intensity. I seriously, seriously recommend this book.

4.5 stars Jan 6th4.5 stars     I wanted to read All the Bright Places because I am always interested in mental health books, especially ones dealing with suicide. As someone who has mental health issues, has had thoughts of suicide myself, and lost my father to suicide, it is a topic that is very important to me. I think that books like this can help people relate to someone who is depressed or thinking of suicide even if they have never had clinical depression,      In a society where everything is becoming all about instant gratification and what feels good in that moment, it is important to realistically address what happens when moods get dark and it feels like there is no way out. I think that it is important to learn how to love people that are in that situation and  even if they are not normally your friend, if you see someone hurting, talk to them, be their friend, and it may make all of the difference in the world to them. It is also crucial to look at the times where a person may go through with suicide. Blame cannot be placed, you can't ask the what ifs and you have to learn how to let their memory be honored and stay alive and heal and keep living however you can.      All the Bright Places is smart shocking realistic and messy emotional. No holds barred with finch. He was the kind of character who amazed me at his kindness and broke my heart. I loved that he could help someone else and talk them down when he himself can't quit thinking about death and how it could be his escape. But he is also a person who lived life fully. He didn't conform to expectations and tried to see the beauty in life and take risks, chances and life hard.     Our other main character is Violet. Where I can connect with Finch on some levels, and admired him where I didn't understand or that wasn't my personality, I connected with Violet in others. She is a people pleaser, she is more withdrawn, and she is hurting deep inside, and tries to keep it hidden. The healing and growth on violet was undeniable watching her learn to accept loss and still remember and love those that have left her life was inspiring.        Finch is eccentric and troubled but also with a love for life even with thoughts of and plans for suicide torment him. Their reluctant friendship and camaraderie in meeting on that water tower, and Finch talking her down and not thinking less or correcting when people thought that it was Violet who saved Finch. He is persistent in being around her and trying to bring her out of her shell. They both have a lot to teach the other.      The ending is bold and raw. I couldn't believe the route that it took but think that it is eye opening and realistic. Not everything can be a happy ending, there are aspects to mental health that can't be fixed, and there is some pain that is inescapable. But I do like the hope that it does give us. That there are other ways, there is help out there, and there are friends in places we may never have thought to look.  Bottom Line: Gritty, raw, emotional, powerful. 

This book was... amazing.  For heart wrenching novels, this is right up there with The Fault in Our Stars and Love and Other Unknown Variable, two of my favorite novels of 2014.  It touches the soul, it touches the heart, and leaves you reeling.  I started it in the morning and didn't put it down again until I had finished it.  And then I sat there drained.  It was so beautiful in its own way.  I love that this book recognizes that happy ever afters don't always happen in life.  Life is messy, sad, funny, loving, and every emotion in between.  There is love and there is loss. Theo is the guy that no one really understands, including himself.  Even his two best friends seem to know him only on the most basic of levels.  His family is largely a group of people living separate lives and I frequently thought that his little sister Decca was the most together of them all.  He has had a pretty troubled past and he struggles to figure out who he is.  Violet is the, on the surface, the popular girl with the "right" friends and the "right" boyfriend.  Inside, she is a mess, struggling to survive after losing her sister, her best friend.  She doesn't know how to move on, bogged down in her grief.  The two meet in the worst possible moment, two people who are seemingly totally different.  Yet they are drawn to each other and their story is beautiful. There is so much depth to this story.  Yes, there are heart wrenchingly sad moments, but there are beautiful ones, too.  There is a ton of unexpected and witty humor, and so much sweetness from Theo that made him even more amazing.  But there is no denying that Theo's story also made me angry, as a parent.  Without giving too much away, it just angered me to see him as he was through much of the book.  If his parents had just opened their eyes and taken the time to BE parents, his story could have been so very different.  And that drove me insane. My Recommendation:  This is a beautiful read.   The story is not light, but touches on real issues with compassion.  Not every story has a perfectly happy ending, but there is always a lesson to be learned and that is the case with this incredible novel.

I stumbled across this book and boy I didn't prepare to be left in a puddle on the floor after experiencing it

Perfect

The book is a living and breathing piece of art.

Tearjerker that helps you think, a few things aggravated me however. It felt like a romanticization of suicide, and is yet another book that did not practice safe sex. If you liked The Fault in Our Stars, Eleanor and Park, Looking for Alaska, or It's Kind of A Funny Story- this book is all of those mixed together. Recommend for the storyline, but be smart with what you read.

I loved it. From start to sad finish. This book is definitely worth your time. I look forward to seeing the movie version next year.

Captivating, intense, raw.

this was ..PERFECT. 

All the Bright Places broke me. I managed to read it during a buddy single sitting read. I could not put the book down and by the end of it my face was a hot mess. I couldn't breathe through my nose or read through the tears. This book was heartbreaking, beautiful, breathtaking, emotional, and full of life, hope, and dreams. I went into it knowing so many people loved it, and quite frankly I now completely understand their obsessive love and how this book, that wasn't even on my radar before I received it on my doorstep, is the next big contemporary novel. It doesn't hurt that it already got picked up for a movie and is in the middle of casting. I have never read a point of view like Finch's. I daren't close my eyes for one second in fear of being left behind with his running thoughts. If I had one word to describe his chapters it would be exhilarating. It was so hard trying to catch up to him. I was fascinated and completely immersed during his chapters. Jennifer Niven made everything so damn believable, and truly captured the way writers should write about mental illnesses. Finch's character is so strange and beautiful and you can't help but fall in love with him. I know my friend and I did. As for Violet, I felt she is sometimes overshadowed by Finch in reader's eyes but I really enjoyed her chapters too. Some people said it was unnecessary to have a dual POV but I believe seeing everything and Finch through Violet's eyes is really an eye opener for the readers. Violet and Finch's story is tragically beautiful. The struggle they both go through is so real that you can't help but root for them and wish them eternal happiness. I have not fully connected with book characters as much as I did with those two for a while. All the Bright Places deserves all the praise it got. It is its own book and comparing it to other contemporaries truly doesn't do it justice. It is the story of two unlikely teens getting together and fighting their own battles while trying to pursue happiness. It isn't the cookie cutter tragic teen story, I hope it is the start for the redefining of realistic contemporary YA fiction. Teens are people and they are all unique and different. Only when we start telling each of their stories can we really understand the complexity of life and people around us. All the Bright Places taught me that and so much more. To give you an indication of how loved this book is, I read this for a book club where out of the five people, four of them gave this book the full 5 stars. 

I hate this book with a burning passion. Not only is it an unrealistic and frankly offensive portrayal of mental illness, but it's poorly written. Finch is written with so many different cringe-worthy personalities that it's obvious the author couldn't decide how they wanted to write their character and/or doesn't know how to consistently write a stable character. I could go on about the flaws, but I'll save your time. Overall, this book is an unrealistic and practically romanticizing mental illness.

There's no real words to describe it. This book broke my heart and somehow put it back together. I will be reading this again and again, and again.

I haven't finished much of the book , but so far i really enjoy reading it. Each paragraph is about a different person, either Finch or Violet, so the book has multiple points of view and i feel like thats more entertaining. Its really inspiring to keep going even when your at your worst and you feel like you cant go any longer. I very much suggest everyone to read this book.

This book changed my view of the world. More importantly helps me deal with my suicidal thoughts and from commiting suicide. This book changes my life.

Okay, so coming from a Survivor of Suicide, just going to say that this book will make you cry, or at least make you feel.

This is my favorite book of all time, ive never cried so much reading a book.

I had hope and it was crushed. Yet I like that about this novel. Unlike most books I've read the ending isn't happy. That's what makes me respect this book, even though I didn't like some of the ways it described mental illnesses.

If only heartbreakingly authentic, brutally honest, poignantly real books like this were on school reading lists, more kids would read and enjoy the experience. They might even read something that could save a life, their own, or someone else in trouble. I've read a lot of YA novels in my years as a bookseller, and I know the tendency to compare a book to others based solely on certain criteria. Yet this one need not be compared to others to win a much deserved audience. In single terms, it is golden.

This book is awesome, in the most literal sense of the word. I cried, hard, again and again. The story is brutal and honest, and I absolutely fell in love with it. It brings to light subjects that are often left alone and it shows the layers inside suicidal people, and that they are never just a label or diagnosis. It is about two broken people, trying to find their place in the world, if there is one for them. I strongly recommend this book to everyone, not just people with interests in suicide or mental illness. It makes you think about the big questions about life and death, and it shows you what it means to live. Achingly beautiful.

when I first began reading this book, I didn't care for it. About the first 35 pages I was kinda bored and not super into it, I even bought a different book to read instead. When I finished the other book though I went back to this one and I'm so glad I did. Once you hit around page 40, this book is so incredible. I could not put this down. So many emotions are felt throughout this story. If you've read John Green's "Looking for Alaska" this is extremely similar. I love everything about this book and was in tears when I finished it. I HIGHLY recommend this book!

A realistic insight into the mind of a teen who feels he has no way out, while taking another damaged young girl and helping her fly again. Couldn't put it down- deeply moving. If you liked The Fault In Our Stars, this book is just as powerful.

Such a good story. I love how it shows you that even when it seems like you're at your worst moment and you can't go on, you can push through. Something I will be keeping in mind