Monday, February 9, 2015

ARC Review: All The Bright Places ♥ by Jennifer Niven |

Monday, February 09, 2015

All The Bright Places
Jennifer Niven

  • Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (January 6, 2015)
  • Genre: Young Adult, Teen
  • Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Nobles
  • Source: Review Copy was sent free of charge courtesy of Knopf Books.

Image and video hosting by TinyPicSynopsis: 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. 


  • All The Bright Places reminded me of a bit of The Fault in Our Stars which unfortunately, is a novel I happen to dislike. This novel also reminds me of an Indian movie called Anjaana Anjaani. They're two depressed teenagers, apparently they're "broken" who learn to love and live in all the bright places. Theo(Finch) and Violet "save" each other in many ways than possible, the issues they both had were real though. They had depression and they're suicidal, they had different reasons for considering suicide though.

  • Violet is in grief after her sister's death, and Theo(I like using his real name) feels alone and frustrated with his life. Violet's character is more quite and withdrawn, while Theo is loud and if you did not knew he was suicidal .. you would think he looks happy. Well, he's a good actor atleast. At times, it was quite hard to believe he's depressed. I believe, he wears a mask that hides his emotions whereas with Violet they show. Despite his issues, Theo likes adventure and I liked how blunt he is. His character is honest and rawTheo is victimized a lot as "The Freak," the stigma that is there leads to bullying as well. The great thing about All The Bright Places is that it opens the reader's mind to mental disorders. 
  •  I liked Theo's character more than Violet, he's caring, blunt, kind, and a gentleman. his character is quite misunderstood a lot though. Theo is the loner, and Violet is the popular girl - as cliche as that sounds, their paths crossed. I like the typical cliche concepts sometimes, popular girl with the loner guy, we all need love - understood. I liked the character development and the buildup of the romance between them.. At times it felt too romantic though. I liked that Theo did not stand by the labels people placed on him. Violet annoyed me sometimes because she was still a jerk to Theo even though he saved her life, she is so ungrateful. The author should have gave Theo to me instead.
  •  All The Bright Places is an emotional journey - Violet at some parts bothered me though. I didn't find her that much interesting as Finch. I did feel the resemblance to The Fault In Our Stars was too much at times, these are two ordinary teenagers yet they're super-talented and intelligent kids who know the names of dead poets.. I find that a bit unrealistic, most teenagers cannot recall the name of dead poets.  I'm an adult, and I sure can't. I didn't like how it's emphasized that "love" is the cure to depression and suicide. It doesn't work out like that..  It has to be a person's own will to change.. I liked the romance, but the concept of suicide wasn't executed as well as I would have liked it to be, I would rate this novel 2.5 butterflies.
Recommended for fans of The Fault In Our Stars, and My Heart and Other Black Holes.


Shukran for reading this! Leave your blog links in the comments & I'll be sure to check them out & follow :) Stay in tuned pretty creatures..


"Be the change that you wish to see in the world."— Mahatma Gandhi
femmmefatalee@gmail.com

18 comments:

  1. thanks for sharing this review..i'm curious to read it
    kisses

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have this book out from the library right now, so I was really interested to see what you thought. I've read amazing things about this book, but it's good to see someone who didn't absolutely adore it and see what you thought the drawbacks were!

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for your comment Nicole! I agree, I hope this book doesn't become too over hyped, it's a nice read though.

      Delete
  3. This sounds so so good....but maybe a bit too much like Fault In Our Stars. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts.
    the-creationofbeauty.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am so excited to read this one, I am a bit sad that it resembles Fault in Our Stars a bit, but I guess that happens
    Missie @ A Flurry of Ponderings

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, The Fault in Our Stars is quite overrated - I happened to like this one much better.

      Delete
  5. glad to see that you enjoyed this book :) Lovely review

    ReplyDelete
  6. I read a review of this novel on another blog, and now my curiosity is piqued! It does sound a bit like "The Fault In Our Stars", which, like you, I totally dislike. Not that I've read it; I absolutely do NOT want to, as it's much too depressing for me. I don't know why this book is so popular! As for "All The Bright Places", it does sound MUCH more optimistic, so I'm definitely interested. And I LOVE that both protagonists are literature geeks!

    Thanks for your thoughts!! : )

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree, The Fault in Our Stars is too overrated, it reminds me a bit of The Notebook. This book was much better though Maria. Hope to read your thoughts on it soon :) Best x

      Delete
  7. Like you, I am someone who didn't like TFiOS too much, but I am very much anticipating this book and when I can read it! I like the sound of the unique conditions the two characters each have and how they are both in quite different situations but still both suffering. It really is an eye opener from the sound of it, and I like the promise of the two personalities I will get to see about.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Olivia for your comment - This is a bit similar, but the concept is much better in my opinion. I did love Theo the most in this novel :)

      Delete
  8. This sounds like a great read. The emotional books really touch me! Fantastic review.

    Naomi @ Nomi’s Paranormal Palace

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Naomi, it's a beautiful read overall - I did enjoy reading it.

      Delete
  9. very sad to see you weren't wowed by this book, I happened to be completely consumed.

    I do however agree that too much emphasis was put on love being the thing to help people through depression. If you have ever been depressed yourself you know that it doesn't always work like that. (and well.. this book proves that).

    Great review :) (I really, really, really like the layout to your reviews haha)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aw, thank you so much Stacie ♥ I'm glad you liked it for the most part :)

      Delete

Powered by Blogger.