All the Bright Places
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4.5 • 155 Ratings
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
NOW A NETFLIX FILM, STARRING ELLE FANNING AND JUSTICE SMITH!
The New York Times bestselling love story about two teens who find each other while standing on the edge.
Theodore Finch is fascinated by death. Every day he thinks of ways he might kill himself, but every day 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 recent death.
When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school—six stories above the ground— it’s unclear who saves whom. Soon it’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink. . . .
“A do-not-miss for fans of Eleanor & Park and The Fault in Our Stars, and basically anyone who can breathe.” —Justine Magazine
“At the heart—a big one—of All the Bright Places lies a charming love story about this unlikely and endearing pair of broken teenagers.” —The New York Times Book Review
“A heart-rending, stylish love story.” —The Wall Street Journal
“A complex love story that will bring all the feels.” —Seventeen Magazine
“Impressively layered, lived-in, and real.” —Buzzfeed
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
We were bowled over by this young adult novel about two teenagers struggling with mental illness, pain, and confusion and looking for reasons to carry on. Though its premise is unequivocally dark—the opening scene involves dual thwarted suicide attempts—All the Bright Places is full of humor, honesty, and beauty. Theodore Finch is the school weirdo, a troublemaker with a keen, overactive intellect. Violet Markey is a popular girl who hides her dark thoughts and overwhelming anxieties. A heart-wrenching marvel, Jennifer Niven’s first novel for teens will wow older readers as well.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Seniors Theodore Finch and Violet Markey run into each other on their school bell tower, contemplating what it would be like to jump. It's more dark-cute than meet-cute, which also describes the book. Finch thinks about suicide every day; Violet was happy until her sister died in a car crash. While Finch, aka "Theodore Freak," is a marginal presence in their high school, he's smart and handsome a musician who, readers gradually realize, suffers from undiagnosed manic depression. Violet is equally smart, and as they traverse Indiana for a geography project, looking for "wonders," they flirt, argue, admit dark secrets, and fall in love. In her YA debut, adult author Niven (Velva Jean Learns to Drive) creates a romance so fresh and funny that it seems like it could save Finch; she also makes something she foreshadows from the first line surprising. The journey to, through, and past tragedy is romantic and heartbreaking, as characters and readers confront darkness, joy, and the possibilities and limits of love in the face of mental illness. Ages 14 up.
Customer Reviews
Beautifully Tragic.
It’s easy to become wrapped up in Finch and Violet and everything they are and everything they can be together.
Although you know tragedy is impeding, you hope there’s even some way you can stop it for them. Freeze them in time and allow them to be together forever, even in your mind. Even in fiction.
Perfect
This book made me cry so much. It made me realize that life can be taken away in an instant. I’ve started looking at my life differently and I stopped taking the people in my life for granted. I fell in love with the characters and fell in love with the story. Definitely recommend it.
Incredible
This book was amazing. It made me feel so many emotions, both good and bad. The sadness I felt for these two teenagers struggling with very real problems was immense. This book was beautifully done and a great conversation starter. You’ll need a box of tissues for this one.