All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I feel a little guilty giving this book only 2 stars. I think if I had read it BEFORE I read Holding Up the Universe, I would have rated it higher.

Theodore Finch is obsessed with death, although he has never officially tried to kill himself. Violet has recently lost her sister in an accident from which Violet survived. They meet up in the bell tower at school. Everyone knows that Finch has always been a little different, so even though Finch talks Violet off the ledge, everyone assumes she was the one that talked Finch off the ledge. So begins a friendship. Violet and Theodore work together on a project where they have to explore and get to know Indiana. During their excursions, they get to know each other and grow close.

I felt like the characters were too perfect visions of their mental issues. I'm not sure if that makes sense, but it almost seems like they are both textbook cases of what there issues are. While the story does deal with mental issues, I don't think the characters are believable. The dscriptions of the activites they do were great, but I don't feel like the story flowed.

If you want to read a 5 star Jennifer Niven book, read Holding Up the Universe.


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