Most people avoid talking about the harsh realities of suicide. Like the way it can control a person, can make them feel like every breath they take is worthless and poignant; as if they have no purpose but to be sucked into a vortex of a never-ending desperation.
The wonderful author, Jennifer Niven, mirrors her own experiences and emotional struggles through fictional characters, captivating occurrences, and an absolute beautiful writing style. The story uniquely relays a truth that ultimately uncovers the eyes of many who dare to crack open the book of All The Bright Places.
Not being a victim of suicide myself, I would not have normally thought to pick up a YA novel such as All The Bright Places, but I am forever grateful that I did.
It changed my life.
The story is about a girl who learns to live from a boy who intends to die, following two high school seniors- A popular, smart girl named Violet Markey- and the school “freak,” Theodore Finch. Violet loves to write and is emotionally struggling with the recent death of her older sister, while Finch is fascinated with the concept of dying and is facing many highs and lows with an undiagnosed bipolar disorder.
It is no typical young love story, as the two meet for the first time atop the school’s bell tower, then are later paired together for a school project, where they must “wander” many small but fascinating sites in their hometown of Indiana before graduating and possibly leaving forever.
I never understood what it truly meant to be suicidal, and how much of a devastating struggle suicide can have on a lover, family and community. Niven managed to realistically communicate that unspoken complication all while shattering the hearts of readers into a thousand pieces, only to mend it again and again throughout the duration of the story.
All The Bright Places is an adventure of love, overcoming loss, and even survival, in the ways that are not most often expected. Although the story can be dark and sorrowful at times, it sends the powerful message that if one has the willpower to look between the lines, the cracks of their own darkness, they will not fail in finding all the bright places.
In a quote from the book, it says, “May your eye go to the Sun, To the wind your soul…You are all the colors in one, at full brightness.”
This book taught me that its alright to be different, that its okay to be perfectly imperfect and that it’s the small and the odd and the broken places that are sometimes the most beautiful. The story teaches readers that at times we need to face loss before we can realize how amazing life really is, and sometimes we need to wander in order to find ourselves again.
The story brings tears, happiness, and heart-break, but through fascinating characters, it changes us. It tells readers that they are important, that they are wonderful, and that it’s the smallest moments that are entirely, truly, infinite.
This book takes our soul and gives us the sun over and over, but in the end, it reminds us that we are lovely, that we are remarkable, that we are all the colors in one, at full brightness.
