All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

[TW] Suicide + mental illness

Whenever I am asked what my favorite book is, I will always answer All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. I read this book for the first time around 2016 and it instantly became my favorite. That being said, I was young when I read this, and it *is* YA romance.

Often, YA romance novels by under-recognized authors are more than what they seem to be. Niven's book contains no supernatural or sci-fi pull ins that many YA stories feature, but relies on the whimsical intricacies of real life love, happiness, and pain that is experienced in the developmental stages of our lives.

When I am asked what this book is about, I merely quote Niven herself in saying that it is the story of "a boy called finch and a girl named violet," and when the layers are peeled back, that's truly all it is. Violet, experiencing grief for her lost sister, and Finch, experiencing mental illness, meet, interact, and then part ways. This story means different things to each of the characters, and an even different impact is left on the audience.

For Violet, her story with Finch begins as quickly as it ends, but she comes away from the experience her outlook having been changed, and Finch burned into her memory forever. Violet was terrified of living her life after her sister lost that opportunity, but Finch showed her how to live again.

For Finch, his life built right up to the moment he jumped into the lake with Violet. He comes away from this story feeling as if he lived his life to the fullest, and did everything he wanted to do. Violet may not have been able to stop his pain, but Violet taught him how to love others, but most importantly, to love life.

For me as the reader, I cried. I came away from this story not having learned a lesson, but having experienced a shrapnel of the lives of two people experiencing something life changing. This story picks up after major events in all of these character's lives, and I was only left to imagine what had built up exactly to make them the person they were, and I was left daydreaming about what happened for the rest of their story.

Niven's ability to so perfectly and beautifully encapsulate the lives of two teenagers experiencing adult things shows so much that is hidden about the things that change us as people.

I felt deeply affected by the ending of this novel, as I grew attached to these characters.

I definitely recommend reading this book, however, for those who are less inclined to read, Niven worked to help create All the Bright Places (2020) which is available for streaming online.