All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

Title: All the Bright Places
Author: Jennifer Niven
Format I Read: Hardcover
Pages: 384
Genres: Romance, Contemporary
Release Date: January 6, 2015
Stars: 5
Goodreads Link

So here's the scoop: I finished this book less than an hour ago. It made me sob like a baby, so much so that I had to hide away in the shower so that no one would hear me. I'm still on the brink, so I'm going to try to make this review quick so that I don't break down again.

I'm not sure that I've ever read a book that had as much of an impact on me as All the Bright Places did. The writing was absolutely flawless. I felt the characters in my bones. Even the littlest things, like the labels under the chapters as Finch counted the days he'd been Awake and Violet counted the days until graduation, enhanced their personalities. The little quirks of those labels (like how Violet eventually stopped counting down and began living in the moment) added more to the story than I thought possible.

Ms. Niven said she wanted to write something edgy, something contemporary. It is safe to say that she went above and beyond; she more than succeeded. She made an impact. She showed how there is so much more to mental disorders and suicide and teenagers. She showed how many different ways there are to deal with death, but how it is survivable. She showed how everyone is deeper than they appear, even the popular people. She showed how one person can change everything, how one person can change a life, and how one person can save a life.

And now I have to stop before I start crying. I wish I could give this book 10 stars, but my scale only goes up to 5. This is a story that will stick with me forever, that I'll think about at random moments, that will never leave me.

I cannot give a higher recommendation for All the Bright Places. Congratulations, Ms. Niven, for making me fall in love with Finch and Violet, for changing my life, for changing the way I look at the world. Oh, and for making me sob like a baby.