All the bright places

Theodore Finch is fascinated by death. Every day he thinks of ways he might die, but everyday 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 death.

All the bright places is a 2015 young adult novel by Jennifer Niven. Unlike what the cover conveys, it is not a mediocre teenage love story.

All the bright places is a story about two damaged kids doing a school project, a story about a girl who learns to live from a boy who wants to die.

Finch and violet meets at the top of the bell tower at school, both considering to jump off. But somehow they both save each other from doing so.

Later finch persuades violet to be his partner for their U.S geography-“wander Indiana project”. They explore every bit of Indiana before graduation.

The story is told through alternating formats between finch and violet which makes it more interesting because we can see the story from both perspectives.

I like the character Finch because he is unique and complicated. He has all these ideas going through his head and also he loves post-its. He always does the unexpected.

I can totally relate to Violet as 1.she loves to write 2.she ran a blog 3.other numerous reasons.

I really enjoyed the way their voyages to each destination are depicted, like the idea of taking a souvenir and leaving something behind, the idea of taking just a map and “wander-notebook” instead of GPS and digital cameras.

The book takes somewhat a different perspective towards depression, a realistic one. People treat depression like some disease, just some pills and who cares. The thing is we can never really know what's going on inside someone else’s head.

At the end of the story, we are only left with questions. Is world really that much cruel? Do every wound heal or does some of them leave scars behind? Can we ever know what's really going on someone else’s head? There's always this boy/girl whom everyone teases and talks garbage about. Have anyone ever thought what's it like to be them? How all that pain and hatred might feel?

Jennifer Niven had used simple but still eloquent language. Some of the dialogues, once you'd read them they'll never leave your mind.

I can't say that this book might change a person but it sure will change our way of looking at the world.

We do not remember days

We remember moments.

***

Images: Pinterest, gallery

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