All the bright places written by Jennifer Niven follows an unlikely couple. Violet Markey, a girl trapped in the grieving stage after losing her sister in a horrific car accident. And Theodore Finch a suicidal teenager confused in the everlasting struggles of the hell like society as they find trust and security in each other as they learn to love again, but how long can this go on before a fragile and devastating truth rushes back, that no one is okay and even the bright places can’t always overthrow the dark.
A character I found interesting was Theodore Finch (preferably just Finch) because he, like many people, swallows his hurt and finds ways to show other people that it’s okay to be stand out even though he really just wants to slip away. Finch has a life full of adventure and entertainment which is mainly used as a distraction from the emotions he is afraid to feel. He is scared. He is regularly told he is a freak and is stuck in a mind he can’t control but he tries his best, every single day, and eventually we were able to see Finch grow over time, into a more confident person as he found the common ground with Violet, he was able to get her in a car and she trusted him unlike anybody else. but we also had to see him fail, make mistakes and ultimately make the choice to give up on life, his full reasoning remains unclear but that just backs up the idea that there has to be dark as well as bright.
A message I took from the text is that no matter how hard you try, you can’t change a person, you can only add to their story, add to what makes them, them. Finch thought he could make Violet forget about the heartache she felt nine months ago but he only distracted her from it, you can’t take away pain because it will always resurface “because it’s not a lie if that’s how you feel”. Although his method did in fact help her find happiness but, I believe it also set her up to fail, he helped Violet accept the fact that her sister was gone but only set her up for more pain once he too had left her life for good.
Throughout the novel there were many challenges the characters had to overcome like high school and friendships but also emotions and deaths of those they love Violet especially, she had to deal with not only losing her sister but her new friend and companion as well, she had found a sense of security with him but now she found herself all alone again and had to figure out a way to keep herself afloat since the world around her always seemed to be changing for the worst. Throughout the novel Violet was able to finally open up about her sister Eleanor to Finch and share the hurt she felt, in doing so it shows the readers that she is moving forwards and a less painful future could be in reach.
The title ‘all the bright places’ is fitting for this novel as it refers to all the tourist attractions they visited to do their school project, these tourist destinations are also where the pair created their best memories, their bright joyful memories. But I also believe that their bright place was with each other “all the bright places” also refers to the adventure they had together as the blissful and ultimately bright time they shared the bright places are when they can forget all the chaos inside their heads and have fun together. “You are all the colours at once, at full brightness”
I would recommend this novel to mature readers who enjoys a heart racing drama and doesn’t mind shedding a few tears over fictional characters as the well developed story line gives you a sense of presence in the book itself.
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