All the Bright Places

Spoiler alert: If it weren't for the people that make the world a little better and places a little brighter, we might not ever discover them ourselves.

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Beautifully written and heartfelt to the core, this was a read in one sitting kind of story. Finch and Violet are two unlikely lovers with similar demons. By being together, and finding the beauty in their un-extraordinary town, and eventually each other -- their worlds begin to change, however for Finch, some tragedies could never have been prevented. Seemingly a formulaic young adult novel, this story explores the darker side of mental illness and the love, life, and loss that comes along with is. The story is truthfully and at times painfully real. The main characters, although mature beyond their years, were beautifully written. Violet Markey is facing the backlash of her beloved sister's death and fears she will never be the same. At first glance the stereotypical "popular girl," Violet is also unique, introspective, observant, strong, and dealing with far to heavy a grief than she can carry. Theo Finch, a name no less than worthy of a teen heartthrob, is dealing with bullying, a loving - albeit self-involved family, an undiagnosed bipolar disorder, and an abusive father. To pass his time, Finch dreams of death and researches suicides. He wants to escape, but he is unsure of when and how. These two are the poster children of teenage angst, mental illness, and not knowing how to verbalize their feelings into getting serious help. When the two meet atop the bell tower at school with the same dark intentions, Finch becomes the pathway by which Violet will get better -- but as for Finch, not all endings are happy. In a heartbreaking tale of loss, love, and those too broken to see the other side of suffering. This book had me sobbing -- I truly felt effected as I know so may others were. The author, in addition to having a compassionate, eloquent, and memorable voice, also researched extensively and I feel represented mental illness, as well as coming of age, with grace. In the bittersweet conclusion Violet goes swimming in the Blue Hole, a place of some significance between her and Finch, and comes to a realization: In the end, we can’t control the people we encounter or how they impact us. There will be many who we love, some who we don’t, some we want to save, and some who save us. But the only thing we can control is how we impact them.

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Favorite quotes: “The thing I realize is, that it's not what you take, it's what you leave.” ~~ “The great thing about this life of ours is that you can be someone different to everybody.” ~~ “The problem with people is they forget that most of the time it's the small things that count.” ~~ “You make me lovely, and it’s so lovely to be lovely to the one I love.…” ~~ “You have been in every way all that anyone could be.… If anybody could have saved me it would have been you.” ~~ “sometimes there’s beauty in the tough words—it’s all in how you read them.” ~~ “No more winter at all. Finch, you brought me spring.”