Hello there guys!
Welcome to a new week, starting with a new Monday! And what better way to start the new week than with a new book review for Mark This Book Monday!
I was approved for this book via NetGalley and I have to give a big thanks to Penguin Random House UK for the approval! This is one book that I MUST recommend for everyone, even if I have to recommend that you stock up on tissues, comfort food and a strong cuppa tea!
This one is part of my 105 Challenge but not as part of my review shelf part of the challenge, but the one for Diversity, because there's still plenty of conspiracy of silence and stigma about mental health issues, and this book talks about them in a very raw and real and rather well done way.
All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I had read plenty of reviews from my fellow bloggers warning me about the crying with this book, but I was not prepared to spend the last 10% of the book bawling my eyes out, connecting so much with the characters and feeling so much for them... It took me a good half hour to stop sobbing and then I was still feeling pretty gutted for the rest of the night.
All The Bright Places is told in dual point of view for the most part, following both Theodore Finch and Violet Markey who meet at the top of their school's bell tower, both thinking about jumping and both saving each other in a way at the time.
I was both fascinated by Theodore as well as worried sick after the first few chapters. My mental health knowledge is pretty basic since that's not my work speciality, but with what little I know, I could see so very clearly what was going on and what was likely to happen in the end, but seeing it coming didn't prepare me well enough for the emotional punch that I'd be getting. Theodore helps Violet through her loss and her insecurities, but he never feels like he can get help or accept other people's help.
There's such a stigma on mental health illnesses that people are afraid to speak up, to search for help, to ask for help that they end up fighting entirely on their own, and that's not always a battle you can win without help. But society as a whole still tends to ridicule or hide or ignore or a combination of all three when it comes to mental health, and books like this one are so important for all of us, but even more for young adults that might be dealing with something similar and don't even know what it is that they are fighting, and only get the "freak" treatment.
Be ready to be changed somehow by this book, Theodore Finch won't pass through your life and leave you as you were. We can all learn a few things from this boy that burns like the brightest star.
A wonderful and poignant book that is both relevant and intimate. More than well deserved 4 to 4.5 stars. Read it now, but buy some tissues first.
View all my reviews
Welcome to a new week, starting with a new Monday! And what better way to start the new week than with a new book review for Mark This Book Monday!
I was approved for this book via NetGalley and I have to give a big thanks to Penguin Random House UK for the approval! This is one book that I MUST recommend for everyone, even if I have to recommend that you stock up on tissues, comfort food and a strong cuppa tea!
This one is part of my 105 Challenge but not as part of my review shelf part of the challenge, but the one for Diversity, because there's still plenty of conspiracy of silence and stigma about mental health issues, and this book talks about them in a very raw and real and rather well done way.
All the Bright Places by Jennifer NivenMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I had read plenty of reviews from my fellow bloggers warning me about the crying with this book, but I was not prepared to spend the last 10% of the book bawling my eyes out, connecting so much with the characters and feeling so much for them... It took me a good half hour to stop sobbing and then I was still feeling pretty gutted for the rest of the night.
All The Bright Places is told in dual point of view for the most part, following both Theodore Finch and Violet Markey who meet at the top of their school's bell tower, both thinking about jumping and both saving each other in a way at the time.
I was both fascinated by Theodore as well as worried sick after the first few chapters. My mental health knowledge is pretty basic since that's not my work speciality, but with what little I know, I could see so very clearly what was going on and what was likely to happen in the end, but seeing it coming didn't prepare me well enough for the emotional punch that I'd be getting. Theodore helps Violet through her loss and her insecurities, but he never feels like he can get help or accept other people's help.
There's such a stigma on mental health illnesses that people are afraid to speak up, to search for help, to ask for help that they end up fighting entirely on their own, and that's not always a battle you can win without help. But society as a whole still tends to ridicule or hide or ignore or a combination of all three when it comes to mental health, and books like this one are so important for all of us, but even more for young adults that might be dealing with something similar and don't even know what it is that they are fighting, and only get the "freak" treatment.
Be ready to be changed somehow by this book, Theodore Finch won't pass through your life and leave you as you were. We can all learn a few things from this boy that burns like the brightest star.
A wonderful and poignant book that is both relevant and intimate. More than well deserved 4 to 4.5 stars. Read it now, but buy some tissues first.
View all my reviews
