All the Bright Places by
Jennifer Niven
Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways
he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small,
stops him.
Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation,
when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her
sister’s recent death.
When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school,
it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the
“natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important
discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny,
live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch
that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as
Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.
I went into All the
Bright Places knowing nothing about it. I have discovered I like books
better this way. It’s more mysterious and surprising. I want us to look at this
book in three different views. A) The Writing B) A Christian's POV C) and of
course the reader.
The Writing
This won’t be a very long discussion because I
have nothing to critique. The writing was phenomenal. Perfect. Spectacular. It
flowed smoothly and painted the perfect picture of Indiana. I’ve never been
there but I could see it. Yet, it did have a certain cloud over it. Even in the
happy moments it was there. That aspect of it was the strongest thing about
Niven’s writing because it reflected the characters’ lives. They were trying to
be happy and appear normal but because of their circumstances they weren’t.
A Christian’s POV
As good
as this book was it had moral downfalls that couldn't be overlooked. I think a more detailed account of those downfalls is necessary, so here
we are. It had a lot of swearing. The F-word was said 12 times and though this
is a deplorable word no matter how it is said, I should note that it was
not used in the literal meaning of the word. It was used at its heaviest point,
in the middle of the book.
It also had a little more sexual content. There
is a kissing scene that is detailed but goes no further than kissing. The two
instances where they do go further are not detailed and are more of what might
be in a PG-13 movie, more implied than described.
The Reader
Now, don’t think I’ve skipped the
obvious. This section is dedicated solely to the suicide aspect. This may be a
direct turn-off for some of you and that’s okay. But, I believe it’s a topic that
should not be avoided. As a reader, I like to read fun, light books. But, I also
like to read books that further my understanding and knowledge about a subject.
All the Bright Places does so with suicide.
You are inside the head of a
depressed, suicidal, teenager half the book. I came to understand suicide so
much more. I don’t believe it’s right, but I don’t think it’s wrong to
understand something that affects so many people.
Sometimes we can see things like this and be too
quick to judge, condemn, or look away. But
those people are worth just as much as us and if we do anything other than try to help
them and love them, we’re just confirming the thoughts of worthlessness and
encouraging the depression to spread deeper. This book made me look at suicidal
people in a different light. Sadly, I wouldn't recommend this book because of the content.
Language: Severe
Alcohol/drugs: Drugs are mentioned and Finch overdoses once
Violence: 3
Sexual Content: Described above
Spiritual Content: Church and God are mentioned but that is about
it
Currently Reading: Crown of Midnight (Throne of glass series
#2) by Sarah J. Maas
Next Post: February Wrap-up
