Released in January 2015, All The Bright Places is Jennifer’s first Young Adult Novel and it is by far her best work. This book was said to be a resemblance of The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. It was New York Times bestseller and a Netflix original movie based on this internationally best-selling novel was released just last year.
This book tells about two teenagers, Theodore Finch and Violet Markey that are dealing with mental illness. These two met on school’s bell tower when both were contemplating ending their lives as Violet was still grieving over her sister’s death that was caused by a car accident where she survived while Finch was suffering from depression. They helped each other off the ledge and parted ways but later ended up being partners for their Geography project which required them to explore their town, Indiana.
As they were finishing their school project, these two characters evolve from being just classmates to two young adults in love. The ending is something different and was said to be the readers’ favorite part of this book. Although the ending is heart-wrenching, the author still managed to let the readers see inside the minds of damaged teenagers that try to save one another.
All The Bright Places focuses on the growth of both characters especially Violet that finally accepted her situations and live her dreams with the help from Finch. He was the one who came up with adventures and wandering ideas for Violet that made her sees all the bright places. The narrative of this book is from the perspective of Violet and Finch, and switches between the two of them. The author did a good job in making the readers understand the perspective of both sides that eventually explain the reasons behind the things they did.
Other than that, the mental health issues were expertly handled and this novel is an accurate portrayal of living with depression. The whole situation could raise awareness about mental health.
Not only that this novel has the best narrative and plot, but it is also approved by big names such as Zoe Sugg that said “This book is amazing – I couldn’t put it down” and Jennifer E. Smith that believes “It will break your heart and remind you what it means to be alive”.
Sources: The Uproar