All the Bright Places - Jennifer Niven | From a corner in the library

Book info

Title: All the Bright Places
Author: Jennifer Niven (http://www.jenniferniven.com/)
Date of publication: January 2015
Synopsis: Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.
Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her 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, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. 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. (from https://www.goodreads.com)

Ok. So when a book gets compared to my favorite book and one of my favorite books (The Fault in Our Stars and Eleanor & Park, respectively), the obvious reaction is to get the book and read it. High expectations were part of the process. Because I mean, TFiOS is TFiOS and John Green is John freaking Green... Now all of a sudden, here comes this book which was published just four months ago and it's getting made into a movie (excited about Elle Fanning...not so much about the guy who's playing Finch). Anyway, I was intrigued. I was curious. But mostly I was prepared to hate it.
I couldn't.
It's difficult to explain, because I didn't love the characters, I didn't feel like I connected with them, but I somehow enjoyed the book.
Obviously, you might be murdered if you say that you hated a book about teenage suicide. But oddly, that's not what bothered me. Actually that was the part that I liked. I feel like the author things right, though sometimes it was very difficult and confusing.
It's the characters, mainly and for me, what ruined the book. I just couldn't connect with them, I couldn't love Theodore. And the worst part was that I could feel the author trying to make me like him.
Violet. Well, I felt her pain. I know she suffered and that she was super brave, but I don't know...
The first part of the book reminded me of It's Kind of a Funny Story. The two teenage kids with mental problems and suicidal thoughts (been done before). And omg! Once he died, it just felt like I was reading a bad version of Paper Towns, you know? When Q starts looking for Margo and finding the clues.

So I didn't love them, I didn't love their love, I didn't love the book but I (in lack of a better word) like the story. I know that when you're depressed it all feels useless, like life is just a bunch of moments of waiting before you die. And nothing or no one can make you change your mind or the way you feel. Even though you want somebody to help you out, even though you're hiding what you're feeling. Confusing. Like Finch.

Something that made my blood boiled was the fact that his family didn't really care about him. Oh, but they were crying when he was gone:
Next to him is Decca, and then Kate, and then Mrs. Finch. Everyone is crying, even the dad.
Fuck! I know he was good at hiding things. Even Violet was kept in the dark. But his mom and Kate?! They lived in the same house! How could they think it's normal that he just disappear from time to time?! And the dad? Just don't get me started on the dad...

So, yeah... it was a pretty confusing book. No, actually, it wasn't confusing... but it caused confusing emotions. I hope what I wrote here makes sense. Because it was terribly difficult to make up my mind as for how many stars to rate it with.

Rating: ★★★

Favorite character: If I had to chose one, it would probably be Finch
Favorite part: The first part of the wandering.

Favorite quote: “And then I think, Yes, that's it. Theodore Finch always knows what to say, better than I do. He should be the writer, not me. I feel jealous, just for a second, of his brain. In this moment, mine feels so ordinary.”

Least favorite character: His family, all of them, except maybe Decca.
Least favorite part: These moments when you could feel Finch slipping away, but he kept fighting the Asleep. Terrifying.

Would I read it again? Probably not.

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All the Bright Places - Jennifer Niven

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