All the Bright Places - Elements of a Young Adult Novel

 Hello. This is my first post of this type like a review. I am still figuring out how to not spoil the whole story yet at the same time try to give a hint of what may lie ahead if you turn the pages. Also it may sound more like a literature review than a simple blog post, I'll get the hang of it soon.

Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.

Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.

When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.

-       -Goodreads

This book left me out of breath and a certain chapter had my heart stop beating. There was this casual build-up of character basing on both sides of Violet and Theodore, with high school issues, family drama, and self-discovery and just when you thought you were understanding them, they leave you.

It has all the elements of a Young Adult Novel, yet throughout the book there was something off. It wasn’t necessarily off in a bad way, but rather there was something different from other YA novels. (More on that later)

Starting off with the most evident element of a YA novel, high school. The chaotic life of a high school student, the mixture of all stereotypical cliques, the clashes of the childish and mature beliefs, and wanting to be understood. All these were present with an additional spice of tackling mental health.  And for that reason, I was quickly reminded of a few novels that I have read in the previous years.

Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky and It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini also discusses about suicide, depression, anxiety, and the like. In addition, the way that the authors didn’t literally state the mental illness like a textbook but rather in a tale from a friend kind of way. I was tempted to add Jay Asher’s 13 Reasons Why into the list; however, it seems that although, they have a common theme, it is not seen in the same lens. Both Theodore and Violet were helping each other save each other in one way or another, just like how Hazel Grace and Augutus Waters, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, were leaning on to each other with their respective conditions.

Another aspect of a YA novel as of my observation, not an expert but I do see resemblances, a road trip. It is from these journeys that symbolisms are raised, and the connection and bonding of the characters are built. Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson is the perfect example of that, travelling the unusual route from state to state around the USA. Following, is An Abundance of Katherines by once again John Green and them wandering to unique locations, and The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith which the title states literally.

The last factor is how much an accident can change the outlook of the character and how overcoming it becomes one of the star points of the story. When an accident occurs one’s old life will not be the same exactly if it was traumatizing. But eventually through the connection of the character and third wheeling reader, they learn to step on their own feet, raise their chin, and walk back on track.

Violet Markey was the means of showing this, how a single person can change several times within the scope of two years. I think that’s one of the realities of the novel. On the other hand, Theodore Finch’s character did not take the same lane. But the more you read the book, the more you start to understand him as a person. From possibly rebel student, to freak, to normal high school student passing thru a phase, to depression, to mania, to what was not precisely stated but probably had bipolar II.

My favorite parts of the novel that helped reveal Theodore’s background and personality, was the time he voluntarily went to a support group out of town but ended up seeing someone he knew, which was the cheerleader, and there’s this mutual acceptance between the two that set aside the judgements. Speaking of judgements, Theodore’s family was obviously different from Violet’s that is where you can see the contrasting features between those who care too much and those who don’t. And when Violet’s family tried reaching out to Theodore’s family, but didn’t work out. I think these situations were the highlights of my reading.

And now that I have discussed all the elements and favorites, I can go back to the bothering tick that lingered on each page. As I was reading, I couldn’t help but think whether it was a high school student the author was creating. There were moments that it felt as if Finch and Markey were much well like adults. I tried to set it aside believing that they had much experiences in life to make them mature beyond their age, however, I found out upon finishing, that the author, Jennifer Niven is actually an adult fiction novelist and All the Bright Places was her very first novel under the Young Adult category. That sort of helped me ease it.

Nevertheless, it was a good read, and if you’d want to recall some stopper moments from the book, here are my top three favorite quotes:

True that

"It's my experience that people are a lot more sympathetic if they can see you hurting, and for the millionth time in my life I wish for measles or smallpox or some other easily understood disease just to make it easier on me and also on them."

How sweet

"She is oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus. The same elements that are inside the rest of us, but I can’t help thinking she’s more than that and she’s got other elements going on that no one’s ever heard of, ones that make her stand apart from everybody else. I feel this brief panic as I think, What would happen if one of those elements malfunctioned or just stopped working altogether? I make myself push this aside and concentrate on the feel of her skin until I no longer see molecules but Violet."

Very sweet

"Stars in the sky, stars on the ground. It’s hard to tell where the sky ends and the earth begins. I feel the need to say something grand and poetic, but the only thing I come up with is “It’s lovely."

Did you agree on anything, it's alright if you disagree, I'd love to hear a discussion of it and see different views on the book. 

That's it for now, anyway I was Just Saying.

Credits to the following:

Christopher Lewis Wheeler for the Bell Tower Art.

Mark Parisi for the Teenage Brain

Kurmyshov for the Road Trip Scenario

Jennifer Niven for the rest of the photos and of course the novel.

FYI the Germ Magazine exists in real life, check it out.