Books: Fans of John Green will Love ‘All the Bright Places’

Unpopular Opinion: I wasn’t the biggest fan of John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars or Paper Towns. *shock* I was, however, completely charmed by Jennifer Niven’s coming of age novel All the Bright Places and guarantee it will charm the pants off you, too!

All the Bright Places tells the story of Theodore Finch and Violet Markey – two teens contemplating death and its meaning to the world around them.  Violet recently lost her best friend and sister in a horrible car crash, one she scarcely survived herself. Theodore’s fascination with death has him theorizing 101 ways to die, yet something stops him every time. They meet on a rooftop, and from there the story unfolds.

Of the same cloth as John Green’s super hits The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns – Jennifer Niven’s All the Bright Places managed to hang onto my attention much more. So if you liked his works, I think you will LOVE Jennifer’s. To me, Finch and Violet captured that whimsical innocence of adolescence that Green’s characters seemed too far beyond. In a nutshell: the story felt more real to me – and given that it takes place in the very quiet state of Indiana, which borders my home state of Ohio, I felt an immediate connection to these kids as they try to navigate life’s biggest questions and explore the world outside their window.

My favorite aspect of All the Bright Places was all the reminders about life and how much we have to embrace it while we can. Yes, I know – not exactly the most original of subjects – but if you ask me, it never hurts to have another nudge to remind us that life IS short and we have to take chances and make the most of it. Sometimes, I think we get caught up in the stresses of work, school, relationship drama, etc. – that we forget how precious life is and how it’s truly a treasure we should appreciate.

Of course, as a classic literature nerd…I also appreciated the references to classic works, including the amazing Virginia Woolf. Beyond her published works, Jennifer reference’s Woolf’s personal suicide note and its little gems of wisdom. For a young adult contemporary novel, it was an unexpected spark that added another level to the novel’s themes of life and loss.

If you’re suffering from a post-Paper Towns the movie depression, or just waiting for the next great thing to come along – I highly suggest picking up All the Right Places. It’s an easier read, but by no means a total breeze. The page count was 481 (on my iBook anyway) and there’s a lot of story to digest. It is a casual, friendly read for summer that’s perfect to tuck in your beach (or pool) bag or curl up with on a stormy afternoon.

Click here to learn more about All the Right Places!

What are you summer reading suggestions?

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