Lauren
All the Bright Places follows two seniors in high school. Finch (aka Theo or Theodore) seems to be a boy who is quite literally trying to outrun life and its problems. Violet is still recovering from losing her sister months prior in a car accident. Despite how different the two are, and despite how tragic their lives may seem, they connect through a school project to see their state. This book is funny and relatable and heartbreaking in equal measure.
If you do not want to know about this book’s ending or themes, stop here. Honestly, if you haven’t read it, stop, read it, then come back. Okay, actually, read the trigger warnings first if you need. Some of the big ones I’ve noted include: bullying, suicidal ideation, dictions of depression, car accident, death of a child (high school aged), grief, abuse (physical/neglect), and PTSD. . . . . . . . . . . This is my second time reading All the Bright Places. The first time I read it was in around this time (summer) of 2022. I was 25 at the time and was still finding my stride in getting back into reading. I’ve always been a primarily sci-fi and fantasy reader, so I can’t say what made me pick up this book. I remember feeling the growing, impending dread as I read. This time I read it for a YA lit course for my Masters Degree. When I started it again, I thought I likely overrated it the first time. Some of the thoughts and things said early on don’t feel like they aged well, but then I remembered the intended audience and as the story unfurled, everything said and done felt viscerally real.
During my first read, I wasn’t looking for the symbolism on Finch’s name. Even knowing something was coming, I had myself convinced I saw it wrong. This allowed me to ignore a lot of very difficult to read things. I knew the first time I read this that Finch’s family was not functional, but this time the neglect really stood out to me. You can’t blame Violet or Finch’s sisters for that happened, and you want to feel bad for the mom, but I do understand why Violet’s father is so angry with her. I am so angry with her. It’s complicated though, because while Finch’s bipolar is so clearly there from the start, we don’t spend much time with his mom. I don’t excuse her in anyway, but it’s hard realizing how abused she likely was from her ex, how checked out she was likely in part to that abuse and from likely being re-traumatized having to interact with her ex-husband. I would guess he has either threatened her or has a court order to see his children considering none of them seem eager to see him. She appears depressed, overwhelmed, and mentally/emotionally unavailable. She should have done better, that cannot be excused (especially not sending Violet to find her son when she clearly suspected he was dead), but I do feel for her in a way I didn’t during my first read. (His dad can go to hell - I have no empathy for him).
On the opposite side of things, I thought Violet’s parents seemed perfect on my first read. This time I can see how flawed they are. They’re doing their best, and they clearly love their daughter, but it was heartbreaking to see how desperately Violet was clinging onto her sister while they rarely (if ever) mentioned her. While I understand how protective her father felt, it was also hard seeing how he reacted to everything, particularly calling suicide selfish when, in reality, those who die by suicide tend to believe it is the opposite. I understand that this comes from a place of grief for him, but it doesn’t feel great having him take that grief out on a child. Additionally, when Violet started voicing her concerns about Finch, while her mother tried to do everything she could think of to help, her father was uninvolved. I understand he felt trauma from not hearing from Violet for a night, but it felt almost childish to be so angry at this boy as to not care. It bothers me a little that they didn’t even try to call the police. I’m a teacher, so maybe my perspective is skewed, but if I knew a kid had gone missing for weeks, only occasionally checking in with his family (clearly neglected since the mom said this was fine and didn’t think her child dealing with mental illness needed help) and had a bad relationship with his father (I’m not sure if they knew he was abusive), I would be calling CPS and the police to find this child.
Violet is a great character. She is complex and shows great growth. She starts scared and stuck, refusing to move forward from her sister’s death, surrounded by people who hardly understand her. With Finch’s help, she finds her footing again and learns how to navigate grief in the many forms it can take, and it takes many for her. I really like her and think she would be relatable to other teens dealing with such traumatic events. Her conversation with the counselor at the end is particularly impactful.
And Finch. Finch broke my heart on both reads. This time, however, I felt it deeper. On my first read there felt like he had hope. On this one, slowing down and taking my time, I could feel how hopeless he truly felt. How every time he said he wasn’t going to fall back into a depression, how he wasn’t going to run until the adrenaline kept him “awake”, how he wanted to put all his dreams into Violet, I could see it for what it was - fear. I’m not sure he ever really believed he could out run his darkness. I understand he was also manic, but it read to me like he was experiencing a mix of depression and mania (which can happen in those with bipolar). It was hard rooting for him when I knew the ending, yet I couldn’t help it.
I also feel compelled to say this is my first time reading the author’s note. I’ve only started taking time to read them this year, and it feels especially impactful. I did not realize this was Niven’s YA debut, nor that this book reflects pieces of her real life. It puts into context why this story feels so real (even if the wandering assignment may feel a little unlikely).
In short, this book hit me just as hard as it did the first time, if not harder. And yes, I did in fact ugly sob throughout the final 60 pages. Maybe I’ll come back in another 4-5 years and put myself through it again.
All the Bright Places follows two seniors in high school. Finch (aka Theo or Theodore) seems to be a boy who is quite literally trying to outrun life and its problems. Violet is still recovering from losing her sister months prior in a car accident. Despite how different the two are, and despite how tragic their lives may seem, they connect through a school project to see their state. This book is funny and relatable and heartbreaking in equal measure.
If you do not want to know about this book’s ending or themes, stop here. Honestly, if you haven’t read it, stop, read it, then come back. Okay, actually, read the trigger warnings first if you need. Some of the big ones I’ve noted include: bullying, suicidal ideation, dictions of depression, car accident, death of a child (high school aged), grief, abuse (physical/neglect), and PTSD. . . . . . . . . . . This is my second time reading All the Bright Places. The first time I read it was in around this time (summer) of 2022. I was 25 at the time and was still finding my stride in getting back into reading. I’ve always been a primarily sci-fi and fantasy reader, so I can’t say what made me pick up this book. I remember feeling the growing, impending dread as I read. This time I read it for a YA lit course for my Masters Degree. When I started it again, I thought I likely overrated it the first time. Some of the thoughts and things said early on don’t feel like they aged well, but then I remembered the intended audience and as the story unfurled, everything said and done felt viscerally real.
During my first read, I wasn’t looking for the symbolism on Finch’s name. Even knowing something was coming, I had myself convinced I saw it wrong. This allowed me to ignore a lot of very difficult to read things. I knew the first time I read this that Finch’s family was not functional, but this time the neglect really stood out to me. You can’t blame Violet or Finch’s sisters for that happened, and you want to feel bad for the mom, but I do understand why Violet’s father is so angry with her. I am so angry with her. It’s complicated though, because while Finch’s bipolar is so clearly there from the start, we don’t spend much time with his mom. I don’t excuse her in anyway, but it’s hard realizing how abused she likely was from her ex, how checked out she was likely in part to that abuse and from likely being re-traumatized having to interact with her ex-husband. I would guess he has either threatened her or has a court order to see his children considering none of them seem eager to see him. She appears depressed, overwhelmed, and mentally/emotionally unavailable. She should have done better, that cannot be excused (especially not sending Violet to find her son when she clearly suspected he was dead), but I do feel for her in a way I didn’t during my first read. (His dad can go to hell - I have no empathy for him).
On the opposite side of things, I thought Violet’s parents seemed perfect on my first read. This time I can see how flawed they are. They’re doing their best, and they clearly love their daughter, but it was heartbreaking to see how desperately Violet was clinging onto her sister while they rarely (if ever) mentioned her. While I understand how protective her father felt, it was also hard seeing how he reacted to everything, particularly calling suicide selfish when, in reality, those who die by suicide tend to believe it is the opposite. I understand that this comes from a place of grief for him, but it doesn’t feel great having him take that grief out on a child. Additionally, when Violet started voicing her concerns about Finch, while her mother tried to do everything she could think of to help, her father was uninvolved. I understand he felt trauma from not hearing from Violet for a night, but it felt almost childish to be so angry at this boy as to not care. It bothers me a little that they didn’t even try to call the police. I’m a teacher, so maybe my perspective is skewed, but if I knew a kid had gone missing for weeks, only occasionally checking in with his family (clearly neglected since the mom said this was fine and didn’t think her child dealing with mental illness needed help) and had a bad relationship with his father (I’m not sure if they knew he was abusive), I would be calling CPS and the police to find this child.
Violet is a great character. She is complex and shows great growth. She starts scared and stuck, refusing to move forward from her sister’s death, surrounded by people who hardly understand her. With Finch’s help, she finds her footing again and learns how to navigate grief in the many forms it can take, and it takes many for her. I really like her and think she would be relatable to other teens dealing with such traumatic events. Her conversation with the counselor at the end is particularly impactful.
And Finch. Finch broke my heart on both reads. This time, however, I felt it deeper. On my first read there felt like he had hope. On this one, slowing down and taking my time, I could feel how hopeless he truly felt. How every time he said he wasn’t going to fall back into a depression, how he wasn’t going to run until the adrenaline kept him “awake”, how he wanted to put all his dreams into Violet, I could see it for what it was - fear. I’m not sure he ever really believed he could out run his darkness. I understand he was also manic, but it read to me like he was experiencing a mix of depression and mania (which can happen in those with bipolar). It was hard rooting for him when I knew the ending, yet I couldn’t help it.
I also feel compelled to say this is my first time reading the author’s note. I’ve only started taking time to read them this year, and it feels especially impactful. I did not realize this was Niven’s YA debut, nor that this book reflects pieces of her real life. It puts into context why this story feels so real (even if the wandering assignment may feel a little unlikely).
In short, this book hit me just as hard as it did the first time, if not harder. And yes, I did in fact ugly sob throughout the final 60 pages. Maybe I’ll come back in another 4-5 years and put myself through it again.