Seen at Bookish Antics! 
 Every once in a while there is a book that you read and it's all you can think about, All Bright Places is that book. Jennifer Niven has written a powerful book that has changed my view of the world and I don't think I'll view mental illness the same way ever again. This is a rare novel that has the power to spark something within us and ABP needs to be read. 
 Theodore Finch is the weird kid, the one that everyone knows of but no one actually knows a single thing about. Violet used to be an outgoing girl with a popular online magazine called Germ, but then her whole world was turned upside down when her sister died. Now Violet is "damaged" and everyone acts like she's a fragile vase that's on the edge and is one tremor away from shattering. When these two find each other on the roof of their school, both ready to die, the two decide to save each other. The two are paired upon a school trip to document "the natural wonders of Indiana" and nothing will ever be the same. 
 Jennifer Niven hasn't just written characters, she writes people. Finch and Violet are beyond realistic to the point where they are not just words on a page, they practically jump off the page. Finch and Violet aren't normal, their lives are messed up and a psychologist would probably have a field day labeling them with stigmas and mental disorders. Their lives are beyond complicated, they've had more hardships in their lives than anyone (let alone a teenager) should have to deal and yet they find beauty in the simple things in life. It doesn't matter whether it's just a pair of sneakers on a tree or a ball with paint on it, Theodore and Violet try to find the beauty in each and every moment of life. 
 Mental illness is one of the most misunderstood and stigmatized health issues there is because most people don't understand how severe mental illness is. Depression and other forms of mental illness aren't just things you "get over" and I think All Bright Places conveys that properly. In one scene in the novel, a character remarks how it's unfair that people with mental illness are treated much harsher than people with physical illnesses. There was just something so profound and moving about that scene that just stuck with me and it just seemed to capture the theme of this book so well. 
 The romance in All Bright Places is touching, beautiful and radiant, I love this couple oh so much. Readers will fall in love with Theodore and Finch a hundred times over, desperately hoping this couple will get a chance to be together. The relationship is natural, sweet and it gave me that exhilarating feel that only comes with first love. Separately each character is broken, but together they make each other feel more complete and less lonely. 
 All Bright Places will fill readers with hope, love, happiness and will ultimately make them cry. The ending for this one is such a tearjerker, making me bawl out my eyes and Niven really knew how to hit me with the feels. After finishing this book, I couldn't properly function and I just sat and thought about everything that went on. The ending is heartbreaking and painful to read, but it was so well-executed and necessary that Niven definitely deserves props for it. 
 Novels like this only come along once in a lifetime and All Bright Places is truly the real deal. This is one of the best contemporary novels I've ever read, as well as one of the best novels I've ever read period. One should expect great things from Jennifer Niven because she's extremely talented and this is an absolutely perfect YA debut. This is the book that everyone will be talking about and it's sure to be a popular book club pick.