HOT CHOCOLATE AND BOOK TALKS

          All The Bright Places was published last year, in 2015, In January and has been breaking

hearts ever since.

        The book is the first YA book published by Jennifer Niven, very often being said that it

is very familiar with the oh-so-famous “The Fault In Our Stars” by John Green and “Eleanor

and Park” by Rainbow Rowell. This caught my attention, since I am a Young Adult and

Teen Fiction lover.

         To start with, I’l tell you a bit about the book itself and its main idea.

         The novel is clearly a love one, being written from two perspectives, belonging to two

average high-schoolers, Violet and Theodore. Since adventure and love go hand in hand,

of course the two youngsters can’t miss the opportunity to have one. Their adventure gets

more intense alongside the evolution of the characters, the action having its center around

our dear Theodore.

       The novel starts with perspectives from each point of view, showing us the contrast between Theodore and Violet. We are shown a very complex and intriguing character as Theodore, one who has a surprising obsession for death and obviously, the right time for it. What better way to stand out as a character than to start your perspective with “Is today a good day to die?”. Theodore knows what’s up. On the other hand, we have Violet. An average girl, thinking about her graduation and being preoccupied with her day to day activities. We are shown a dramatic past and an almost too ordinary way of living with it. We have the popular girl versus the weird kid and somehow, our dear Jennifer Niven makes it stand out from the typical cliché-ic story.

        The first contact the two protagonists have is on a roof. You heard me. If up until now you were not decided, I bet you really want to know what happens now. Their two parallel roads meet here, in the that very moment, both united by a bizarre attraction towards death. The two protagonists represent different sides of the same problem. One is the practical side, being almost on the edge of jumping. One is the theory of the act. We have the reckless side, overwhelmed with emotion against the calculated and analytical side who knows nothing more than timing until perfection.

We are shown the struggles of two young people who have seen too much, letting us see the contrast of a post traumatic disorder against a manic-depressive disorder with suicidal tendencies. And I bet you that you can’t guess which one has which.

        A slight downside is the fact that their mental stated are slightly exaggerated and you can’t actually learn about what mental illness can do to you. But again, if you wanted to study, you would read a psychology book. Also, from a future’s therapist point of view, I can agree with the fact that a lot of teens have a slight tendency to exaggerate their emotions, making the perspectives incredibly accurate.

Now that I spoke about the book and the main course of action, I can tell you more about the book. Also, beyond this point, there WILL be spoilers and I so recommend you to not read it because the magic is in the suspense and plot twist.

If you are a free spirit like me who dreams about travelling alongside an amazing partner, this book is for you. Their adventure of travelling from one place to another and just spending time together is heart-warming. Until it’s not.

         There is a moment in the book when I felt so surprised I actually had to stop and seriously think about it. I have heard a lot of stories about people with depression who start behaving weirdly, but never in my life I have heard about someone living in a closet, literally. I knew in that moment that Theo was long gone as the manic side took over his actions. The energy he had at the beginning of the novel turned into something else. He made his own little world covered in paper and words and lost touch with reality. My heart broke seeing him reach that point and surely, it will hurt you too.

          Also, even though I knew how the book was going to end after that point, I was still shocked that it was so explicit. I honestly expected Theodore to live through the book, alone. Or for him to have his happy ending. And maybe in a way he did because he planned the moment so well that I was honestly impressed. He died in his own way and broke everyone’s hearts on the way. A grand move for a great character.

I recommend this book to everyone, no matter the age, because even if you can’t relate to the characters, it is so incredibly fascinate to see the breaking point of a human being and how a mind can react to that. This book made me cry, it made me laugh, it made me want to go on an adventure and made me make sure my friends are okay. I have waited a lot to read it, but all that waiting paid off in the end.