"The Fault in Our Stars meets Eleanor and Park in this exhilarating and heart-wrenching love story about a girl who learns to live from a boy who intends to die.Soon to be a major motion picture starring Elle Fanning! 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. This is an intense, gripping novel perfect for fans of Jay Asher, Rainbow Rowell, John Green, Gayle Forman, and Jenny Downham from a talented new voice in YA, Jennifer Niven."

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
Genres: Young Adult (YA)

The Young Adult (YA) genre contains books written for 12-20 year olds, so I wasn’t quite interested in reading any of these books. Until one day, when my daughter asked me to read this book, Jennifer Niven‘s debut novel in YA. I postponed it for about two years and I finally give it a try. Such an emotional and intense book! On one hand it’s about suicide, depression, bipolar disorder; and on the other hand it’s about love and friendship and “bright” places. For whatever reason it reminded me of a quote in a movie I watched a while ago, “The Last Kiss” (2006):

“-Stop talking about love. Every asshole in the world says he loves somebody. It means nothing.
– But it’s true!
– It still doesn’t mean anything. What you feel only matters to you. It’s what you do to the people you say you love, that’s what matters. It’s the only thing that counts.”