Jennifer Niven

This book hit me hard in the best and worst ways. It starts off dark, almost unexpectedly so, but still manages to mix in humor in a way that feels natural and real. The way suicide is handled in Finch’s perspective is both heavy and, strangely, sometimes funny, not because it makes light of it, but because it captures how complicated and unpredictable thoughts like that can be.

I really enjoyed the dual perspectives. Seeing the story through both Violet’s and Finch’s eyes made show more everything feel more layered and intimate. Their relationship develops so gently, it’s sweet, awkward, and beautiful, but always with a shadow hanging over it. Finch’s struggles are heartbreaking, especially because he hides so much behind his personality and charm.

Even though I had seen the film before and knew what would happen, the ending still completely broke me. The scene where Violet reflects on finding his body is especially devastating. That line about not recognizing him stuck with me. It was raw and real and painful.

What also made the book so powerful was how it handled the aftermath. Violet’s grief, her growth, and the way she slowly starts to live again feel honest and important. Finch helped her rediscover life, and now she carries that part of him with her.

Final Thoughts:
This book is far better than the movie. It made me laugh and cry. It left me devastated, but also hopeful. Violet gets to go on, to live, not just for herself, but also for Finch. That message was quiet but powerful.
He helped her find joy, so now she carries that forward for both of them. show less

4.50

There are so many things I love about this book. I loved it despite the often placed lovey dovey cliches you find in many of these YA contemporaries. That's says a lot for me as I'm usually quite unforgiving of convenient plot twists and lovers seeing stars. I still couldn't help loving this book because I loved Libby. I was Libby in my early college and high school years. Unfortunately my confidence and tenacity didn't come until many years later, and it's still a struggle not to be show more "trapped" within myself. I love that Niven created a 3 dimensional Libby instead of the typical pathetic fat girl character who is happy with tiny amounts of attention or scraps. I'm happy it isn't just a story of people learning to accept that fat girl, or the the fat girl gets a makeover and looses the weight and suddenly becomes usable and viable. Moreover, I'm glad the fat girl was actually fat and not a Bridget Jones 135 pounds. I wish this book was around when I was younger. I recommend this book for everyone who feels trapped and doesn't seem to fit. show less

All The Bright Places is just one of those bowl you over, knock you for six books. It is wonderful and heartbreaking and … just …. Arghhh!

It’s difficult to write a coherent review because it should be done with the least amount of spoilers as possible. But I want to write about all the amazing and awful things, I am in serious need of an All The Bright Places wordvomitfest (like my new word?). I will try to keep it limited though while still providing you with all the reason to read it show more – wow reviewing can be hard!

All The Bright Places is the story of Violet Markey, dealing with the death of her sister, and Theodore Finch, who has an obsession with suicide that traces back to an abusive and neglectful past but just hasn’t brought himself to do it yet. They meet in the bell tower where Finch talks Violet out of jumping. Two very broken souls come together and it could either be the start of something magical, or something heartbreaking.

This book covers some heavy topics – its characters are both dealing with depression of different kinds and when they fall in love they not only have to deal with their own problems but each other’s while never asking for or receiving the help they really need from parents or teachers or counsellors. All they have is what they have found in each other and I spent the majority of the book hoping it would be enough. I have never wanted a fictional couple – or any couple, really – to be together so much and not only that, to be able to stay together against all odds. I wished, unrealistically, for them to fight harder, to want to survive. I hate suicide stories but I read so many of them because I’m looking for not necessarily a happy ending, but an ending that will convince likeminded people to stay. I just want them to stay.

Both Violet and Finch were such real characters who felt so alive which I think is why it got to me. They felt as if they could have been people I knew or had once met or even just passed in the street. From their adventures through Indiana that brought out the wandering nature in me, to their poignant moments with each other, to their interactions with their families and peers, everything about them felt real to me. I could have read a neverending book about Finch and Violet. I loved them even when I was annoyed, and when I tried to understand what they were going through but felt like I must have just been missing it, and when I was begging them to stay, I loved Finch and Violet all throughout this book. Jennifer Niven has crafted some wonderful characters and a poignant, moving story I won’t forget in a hurry. There were moments when they frustrated me, especially Finch, as much as I tried to understand him I just wanted to shake him and yell at him to GET HELP.

So please, if you ever feel depressed, if you ever experience something like this, like Violet or Finch or even something different – there are places you can go and people you can go to for help. You are never alone.

If you only read one contemporary this year, make it this one. show less

First off, I gotta say I adore the period details in this. The glitzy, ritzy life of old Hollywood just comes to life in this 4th Velva Hart novel. Glamorous red carpet affairs, hoity-toity parties, and fan-tabulous mansions make the reader dive headfirst into the old studio era, where the lives of stars were controlled down to the relationship level and the studio moguls were God. The amount of research of the author put into this work is extremely evident, and I give all kudos to her for show more taking the time to really make this period shine.

The main character took a bit of time for me to like her. Except for one incident where she fought for her music in her contract, it seemed like Velva Jean was just going to be the "yes" girl: go where she was told, date whom she was told to, and learn whatever she was told to. I was having a very hard time picturing the girl that got a divorce, learned to fly, was a spy in Nazi-Occupied France, and rescued her brother and others from transport to the camps. Maybe it was because this was my introduction to Velva Jean, and I wasn't able to see her in those earlier years.

But boy does she prove me wrong once her friend gets murdered!! Out come the claws, in my mind. She's breaking into people's homes to investigate their connection to Mudge's murder, talking to witnesses once the case has been closed by a corrupt DA, and telling the studio to "Stick it!" (which I loved by the way!!!!) when they tried to tell her whom to marry. The girl who survived harsh Nazi prisons and had a mind of her own emerged and boy was I hooked! Here was my courageous, gritty, gutsy girl that I wanted to read about. It just took awhile to get her among all the period details in the first part of the book.

I think I especially enjoyed reading how Velva grew through her music. She went to MGM to mainly, to her mind anyway, be educated more in music. But it actually seemed to box her in more than it taught her more. Through her relationship with Butch and being exposed/re-exposed (not sure which since I haven't read the first 3 Velva Jean books yet) to the emotional side of music, Velva seems to grow as an individual and mature even more. If this is a pattern that comes from the first three books, I'm very impressed. Her characterization seems to go through three distinct phases in this book alone. If the author does that in the other books too, I'm dang impressed with her characterization skills.

With a fantastic story, characterization, and period details, this book won me over. It took a bit; the beginning of the novel seemed to almost drown in the period details with setting the scene and all. Characterization seemed to hide a bit during this. But once the story really got rolling, it was a fast-paced tale that never let up. I've already added the rest of the Velva Jean books to my "to-read" shelf, and I'm looking forward to the experience. Highly recommended author and novel!

Note: Book received for free via GoodReads FirstReads Program in exchange for honest review. show less