All the Bright Places

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven is a remarkable book that ATBPdeals with the issue of suicide and mental illness in a surprisingly funny and very relatable way . The main characters, Finch and Violet meet at the beginning of the book at the top of their school’s bell tower where they are both considering jumping.  Finch talks Violet down off the ledge and they begin a beautiful relationship.

Violet has recently suffered the death of her sister just the year before.  She is still having a hard time coping with the loss and adjusting to life without her sister.  Finch is a little odd and is often called “Freak” by his classmates. Finch suffers from a mental disorder and is a bit erratic.  He is constantly avoiding the “sleep” that sometimes takes over.  In this sweet story, Finch is the only person who can bring Violet back from the depression that his invaded her life.   This a compelling novel that would be a great read for fans of John Green.