All the Bright Places - Book Review

Coming from someone who isn’t a big fan of reading, this book was absolutely phenomenal in my opinion. All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven is a spectacular eye-opening novel about living life to its fullest. Reading this was utter enjoyment, as it made me feel like I was watching a movie, like the entire plot of the book was being shown in my mind. The anticipation that consumed me reading some parts of this book was inexplicable, with such a shocking ending it left me with a pit in my stomach, but I don’t want to spoil anything.

A boy named Theodore Finch strives to find something that fascinates him, that makes him want to stay alive every day. Death catches his interest, and he wants to die extravagantly. A girl named Violet Markey is scarred by the death of her older sister Eleanor, that occurred less than a year ago. She loves writing, and wants to go to NYU’s creative writing program when she graduates. They both find each other standing on the ledge of their high school’s bell tower, wanting to leave their troubles behind, not wanting to feel anymore.

Once they start a project together to explore their state's [Indiana’s] natural wonders, Violet realizes that Finch isn’t the ‘freak’ the entire school claims he is to be. They both fall in love, and Violet starts living everyday instead of just plainly ‘existing’. However, Finch is slowly falling apart until he loses it all.

Romance, comedy, and sadness all intertwine, creating an intriguing story. The book is around 385 pages long, and it switches perspectives each chapter from Violet to Finch, which definitely adds to the book’s uniqueness.

Throughout the novel, Violet kept referring back to her website with Eleanor that they had before Eleanor died, where they wrote articles about all different kinds of topics. It was called eleanorandviolet.com, and it’s an actual website based off the one described in the book! Later on in the story, Violet wants to start another web page, one where she doesn’t have to feel sadness because of her sister, she wanted a fresh start.

She then creates a new website called Germ Magazine, or germmagazine.com, which is an actual website as well and even better than her website with Eleanor! It offers articles under the categories of Lit, Love, and Life, of which anyone can contribute good, wholesome stories for viewers of the site. I go on the website when I’m bored, since almost every article there catches my interest. I always recommend people to check it out, because it’s really awesome, almost like Newsela but without the boring news articles, instead offering all articles directed towards teenagers.

Actually, a movie based off this book is supposedly being released next year, which I’m ecstatic for. The problem with the movie is that I envisioned the character Violet with brown hair and not blonde, so that is definitely going to irritate me. The movie is starring Elle Fanning, and it will be directed by Miguel Arteta. The production of the movie started in spring of this year. If you’re going to watch the movie, read the book first, because it will make you one hundred times more excited to see it!

This novel will probably be my most favorite book I have ever read and I know many people who have read the book who also highly suggest reading it, so give it a try!