All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven is a heart-wrenching story of two perfectly messed-up high schoolers; AKA a must-read! This book is told from the perspective of Violet Markey and Theodore Finch. Violet counts down the days until graduation while Finch prefers to live life day-by-day. Violet and Finch met on top of the school bell tower both with the intent of killing themselves. Later, they are chosen to be partners for a school project where they have to “wander” their home state of Indiana. As the two continue to spend time together and learn more about each other, they realize that they actually have more in common than what they originally thought. Both Violet and Finch suffer from a form of depression, but these forms differ from each other. Violet is recovering from a loss, for her sister died in a tragic car crash. Finch’s dad left his family for his new girlfriend, totally leaving Finch in the dust. I really enjoyed reading this book; it may even be one of favorites! This story has a very powerful message to it. The author, Jennifer Niven, writes in a way that really lets the reader feel everything that the characters feel: sadness, joy, sorrow, hope, and many more emotions. I think that one of the reasons why readers can connect with the characters is because of the changing perspectives. This novel is told through Violet and Finch, so we get to see what both of them are thinking. With the changing perspectives, the tone is bound to change as well. Although the characters do have many similarities, they are definitely not exactly the same, so when the perspective changes, the tone shifts as well. I personally very much enjoy this style of writing because it allows us as readers to know more about the characters than we would if it was told through just one perspective. As I said before, this book is very powerful. There are so many different pieces of wisdom that you could pull from this book. For me, it opened my eyes to how beautiful life can be, but also how sorrowful life can be. It reminded me that not everything in life will always go as expected. This wonderful book also taught me to go out and experience life; to “wander.” Would you rather hear about something on the news or be the person they’re talking about on the news? Of all the numerous things I could have grasped from this book, the one thing that really stuck with me was a quote from Violet: “The thing I realize is that it’s not what you take, it’s what you leave” (Niven 376). This truly inspires me to make my mark on this world (hopefully in a good way). In the end, what you take doesn’t really matter because what you leave behind is so much greater. By Katherine B.
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AuthorSTenth grade students at Decorah High School share how they're reading outside of their own experiences and how it has changed them. Categories
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