Having never read anything by Jennifer Niven before this book, I admit, I was expecting this book to meet the typical Young Adult plot line. Boy meets girl, they fall in love, cue the tragedy and then the happy-ever-after. It's a boy meets girl story but it's not like the ones you've read before. Finch meets Violet, and Violet meets Finch, they work together; grow in each others company, tragedy looms in the background, they grow some more, tragedy keeps looming in the background, reader falls for the characters, 'cue the tragedy' , then a small cliff-hanger with no happy-ever-after. The end. Yeah, I know.
A friend of mine described it as the new The Fault in Our Stars and I half-heartedly agree with her. See the thing is, I fell in love with the character of Finch. Niven wrote him to be so vulnerable and brash, hard-hearted yet broken and it was clear he wasn't meant to be exactly the most likeable character. But I did. Violet was meant to be the protagonist; the hero that saved Finch like it would have been in any other book. Yet from the start we could see that's not how it would turn out. Violet depended on Finch to become a better character. Finch didn't really need her in my opinion. Sure he was happier, but Niven made sure to convey how mental health issues aren't always as simple as 'just being happy'. Finch was so broken no one took time to notice it beyond the smiles he showcased for everyone. He was so wrapped up in not being forgotten, he forgot exactly who Theodore Finch was. Yet no one noticed. It will sit with you for days as to how no one could see Finch's pain, not even Violet who spent nearly every waking moment with him.
If there's anything Jennifer Niven did incredibly well with this book it was surprising me. All the same YA fiction ingredients were there as always, she just used different measurements.
But don't let that scare you away. Please do yourself a favour and open the first page of All the Bright Places and you won't regret it because Finch might just bring YOU spring.
• Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop.
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