Theodore Finch wants to take his own life… ‘I’m broken, and no one can fix it’.
Violet Markey is devastated by her sister’s death… ‘In that instant, we went plowing through the guardrail, my words died too.
They meet on the ledge of the school bell tower, and so their story begins. It’s only together they can be themselves…
But, as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink. How far will Violey go to save the boy she has come to love?
I recently read Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven and was hooked, I then realised that a little while ago I had bought All the Bright Places so I decided I was going to give it a whirl.
I have never cried so much at a book, it got so bad at one point I had to stop reading.
Theodore Finch (Finch) has had a tough upbringing. He’s been his fathers’ punching bag, he’s always getting in trouble at school for things he can’t control and he’s been living with a big secret. Finch has dark days where he falls asleep and doesn’t wake up for days or sometimes even weeks.
Ever since his dad left their family home Finch hasn’t known what to do, he’s now the man of the house, he has to look after his mum, who is still heartbroken that her husband left her and started a new family with someone else.
It all gets too much for Finch and he finds himself on top of the bell tower at school wondering what it would be like to be flying through the air plummeting to earth at that moment.
Violet Markey’s life was perfect, she had a sister who was her best friend, they were popular at school, she had parents who loved her and her online magazine was being read all over the state, that was until one night she got into a car accident and she lost her sister, her passion and was left with a massive hole in her life.
Violet blames herself for the whole thing, it was her suggestion that night to go to the party, it was her suggestion to take the bridge home, why had she lived but her sister not?
It all gets too much for Violet and she finds herself on top of the bell tower at school wondering what it would be like to be flying through the air plummeting to earth at that moment.
That’s when he sees her and their whole life changes, forever.
Jennifer Niven writes the novel in such a way that you are hooked from the first chapter, I’ve always been a fan – and always will be – of books that are written from two people and this one is much the same, I feel that you can delve into the story further if you can get to know both characters personally not just from one perspective.
The subject matter of the novel is dark, although at parts of it you manage to completely forget that it has a dark underlining storyline because you are so involved with the characters and their development throughout the story.
I would recommend this book, but I would recommend it with a trigger warning as the ending is tough, it’s tough to read and tough to forget.
And is heartbreakingly beautiful, so don’t forget the tissues…
Lucy xox
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Elle Hache 