All The Bright Places Book Review
Hello everyone!
I have decided to start a new series on my blog called ‘Book
Of The Month’ where I share one of my favourite books for the month.
For this month, it is going to be All The Bright Places by
Jennifer Niven which is my favourite book of all time (even though I just read it this month - it just goes to show how much I love it).
Note: This
review contains spoilers.
All The Bright Places is a book about a girl named Violet and
a boy named Finch who meet each other on the ledge of a bell tower in school.
Fast forward a little and they are being paired up for a school project to
discover the natural wonders of their state. During this time, they make
important discoveries, both about the world around them and each other. But as
Violet’s world begins to grow, Finch’s begins to shrink.
Let me be honest, when I first saw this book, I wasn’t very
impressed. I thought it was just a run of the mill love story about a boy and a
girl who lived happily ever after.
But after reading this book can I just please say that I was
wrong. Completely wrong.
All The Bright Places is not cliché in the slightest. Yes, it
can be similar to books like Fault In Our Stars and Eleanor And Park but I feel
like Niven put her own spin on things. The book was something she could relate
to and written from experience which I found to be very authentic, which some
books lack.
The characters were likeable and the story flowed smoothly, especially Finch who was my favourite character.
In school, I am doing a class called Creative Writing. We were learning about the concept 'show, don't tell' which is what Niven did very well for this book. The character traits are shown throughout the book instead of being written. She has wanted the readers to think of their own interpretations by giving little clues about them.
The thing I believe made it stand out from all the books I've read over the past month (and actually all the books I've ever read) is that there is more to it then just characters and a plot.
The book is about mental health. It’s mainly about suicide and depression and bi-polar disorder. I feel like this was one of the best things about the book. By writing and publishing a book about suicide, Niven has opened doors for people who may be in the same boat as Finch, who was suicidal.
Mental health can be hard to talk about, or explain to others. There are labels that come along with the word mental illness such as ‘crazy’ or ‘freak’ which is what one of the main characters experiences.
I feel like there is some openness after reading this book. I have a greater understanding now about mental health and how it is OKAY to be mentally ill and the worst thing to do is to ignore the symptoms.
I praise this book and Jennifer Niven so much and I highly recommend that you read it, especially as it is being made into a movie soon, starring the lovely Ellie Fanning. It is truly beautiful and very, very inspiring and I love it a lot!
In school, I am doing a class called Creative Writing. We were learning about the concept 'show, don't tell' which is what Niven did very well for this book. The character traits are shown throughout the book instead of being written. She has wanted the readers to think of their own interpretations by giving little clues about them.
The thing I believe made it stand out from all the books I've read over the past month (and actually all the books I've ever read) is that there is more to it then just characters and a plot.
The book is about mental health. It’s mainly about suicide and depression and bi-polar disorder. I feel like this was one of the best things about the book. By writing and publishing a book about suicide, Niven has opened doors for people who may be in the same boat as Finch, who was suicidal.
Mental health can be hard to talk about, or explain to others. There are labels that come along with the word mental illness such as ‘crazy’ or ‘freak’ which is what one of the main characters experiences.
I praise this book and Jennifer Niven so much and I highly recommend that you read it, especially as it is being made into a movie soon, starring the lovely Ellie Fanning. It is truly beautiful and very, very inspiring and I love it a lot!
0 happy thoughts