Diy's Books List: [Review] All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

Title: All the Bright Places
Author: Jennifer Niven
Publisher: Knoph
Published: January 2015
ISBN: 9780385755887
Pages: 384

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.

Is today a good day to die?

Finch was always imagining how would he die one day. He made scenarios over scenarios about the way he die. And one gray winter, he made his way to the Bell Tower's ledge in his school. Again, he made the scenario how would it feel falling from a high place, how would it looked like when he finally landed, how would they all took it in in their minds.

"Ladies and gentlemen! I would like to welcome you to my death!”

But wheather he liked it or not, people didn't really care about him. "Freak" they called him, including his former bestfriend. But when he looked down, someone pointing up his finger at him, only he didn't, he pointed it to a girl beside him.

"You’re Violet, right?"

People called her a survivor. Violet didn't like the label. She might be a survivor, but she even barely lived after the accident. She felt empty after her sister's gone. But after some event on the Bell Tower's ledge, she somewhat became a hero. And Finch kept shoving himself into her life.

Finch was a strange boy with a strange mind. He thought differently than other people. Finch was unpredictable and they all knew it.

Some times, this book felt like a detour book, other times it felt like a diary of depresed teenagers. And the feels was reminding me of First Love by James Petterson even though all people are telling you that this is more like John Green's. And yes, it's a sad book.

Finch was what you call a moody person. He didn't like labels on him so let's just say that's the way he was, which I don't like either. He met this girl Violet, and for some reasons, he liked to intervere in her life. He felt like he needed to be there for her, to keep an eye on her. But he didn't do it like everybody else did. He didn't watched her very carefully like her parents had been doing, he pushed her around, shoved her, forced her to step forward. And she did.

However, to kept watching her he had to stay 'awake'. He couldn't let himself 'sleep' and let the days passed again.

This is a book of wander. They had this project that made them wandering around the state, and that brought them close. In each place, they learned, alongside us, something new and beautiful, something that matter. They learned that life is actually beautiful if only you bother to view it in different ways that you used to. But sometime, no matter how beautiful life could be, no matter how perfect it could be, there was always something that stuck in your head. Destructing your mind. Little by little.

Do you know that 'Words can be bullies.'?

That's why you need other people to care for you, to need you. You don't need reasons to live, you only need someone. Because that's what makes us cheerful in the end. Happiness isn't because of things you think fun, but because someone is there for you to share the fun. So you need to realize that you're not alone.