Review for All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven!
Quick Review:
Characters: ***** (5/5)
Plot: ***** (5/5)
Writing Quality: ***** (5/5)
Amazon Rating: **** (4.5/5)
Full Review:
Theodore Finch and Violet Markey are practically opposites at their high school. Theodore has already been labeled as a freak and Violet is always involved in petty drama in her popular crowd of “friends”. Somehow they both find themselves standing on the school’s bell tower ledge, but for different reasons. Violet’s sister just recently died and Theodore wonders what would happen if he jumped. Everyone thinks Violet saved Theodore from jumping that day. The truth is only for Theodore and Violet to know. Soon after they get paired together for a school project where they have to find the “natural wonders” of their state, Indiana. On their journey to discover beauty in a state that Violet considers ‘bland’, they learn about each other, and that they’re both not as different as they thought.
First off, let me just say, I LOVED THIS BOOK! It was amazing in every way. It is definitely worth reading. Actually, it’s in my small clique of favorite books (which is extremely hard to get in to). When I finished reading this book I was speechless, angry, in love, blown away, heartbroken, and sighing in approval is if I just finished eating my favorite meal (I may or may not have been patting my stomach). I want to scream and force every soul on the earth to read this magical novel just so we can vent together. The characters get a 5 out of 5. I could relate to Theodore and Violet (even though I am not contemplating suicide) in different ways, some big and some very small. They were developed to their potential and beyond. Whenever I thought I knew the character something new would come up and I would be falling in love all over again. When I read this book, I became the characters. Whenever something tragic happened my heart was torn to shreds and every time there was even a sliver of happiness I was an inflated balloon of optimistic hopefulness. I love Theodore Finch as much as I love myself (he was pretty hilarious), and Violet Markey is my role model as a writer and as a person overcoming tragedy.
The plot was unbelievable. Jennifer Niven’s skills should be illegal. Everything was perfectly placed and structured to make you laugh and cry and feel what she wants you to feel at all the appropriate times. My connection with the characters were so strong that if one of them fell and scraped their knee, my knee would sting as if I was the one who fell instead. Every other chapter is told in either Theodore’s or Violet’s point of view, making the growth of their relationship both believable and enchanting. I was constantly being sucked into the traumatic, intertwining lives of these two broken teenagers. The writing quality was just breathtaking. Niven is my writing role-model and she will not disappoint.
This novel is as original and unique as it gets, but I’ll Give You the Sun and Paper Towns fans will fall in love with this novel instantly. Romance fans (like me) will not only enjoy this novel, but bask in its heart throbbing non-cheesy-ness. Even if you’re not a romantic, this book will leave you gasping for air and grinning like a madman while a tear rolls down your cheek. Suicide is a touchy topic, but this story takes the small seed of death and waters it with just enough hope and laughter so that it blooms into a swirl of flowers and thorns and vines that make it that much more complex and beautiful.
Prepare to be mesmerized!
Happy reading!
XOXO,
Zoe
