All the Bright Places in Around the World in 80 Books

Apr 09, 2015 alana rated it it was ok

Shelves: young-adult, teachers-and-pupils, romance, audiobook, depression, mental-health, addicted-to-ya-2015

Agh! Too many heavy reads all at the same time! I finished Hausfrau just before this *on the same day.* Yiiiikes. First up, All the Bright Places might be my first encounter with a manic pixie dream boy. True, you get some of the story from Finch’s perspective, but his role is really to pull Violet out of her unhappy funk and make her happy with all his whimsy, charm, vigor, and – of course – his crooked smile. *smalleyeroll*

I think YA lit does need books that raise awareness of mental illness Agh! Too many heavy reads all at the same time! I finished Hausfrau just before this *on the same day.* Yiiiikes. First up, All the Bright Places might be my first encounter with a manic pixie dream boy. True, you get some of the story from Finch’s perspective, but his role is really to pull Violet out of her unhappy funk and make her happy with all his whimsy, charm, vigor, and – of course – his crooked smile. *smalleyeroll*

I think YA lit does need books that raise awareness of mental illness and the challenges and feasibility of maintaining mental health. It’s a bit disconcerting then that All the Bright Places is more a cautionary tale than a success story. The book is a call to parents, friends, and teachers to be accountable for helping those who show warning signs of depression, self-harm, suicide, and violent tendencies….while at the same time showing the deception, shame, and denial that many go through in response to their suffering. (view spoiler)

I’m starting to understand why I love genre YA rather than realistic fiction. The real stuff is just so painful. I happily picked up A Thousand Pieces of You last night and sighed over time-travel amulets and shiny jackets with built-in keyboards.
...more

Like · see review