Word Revel

Initial thoughts: I'm sure many readers have been thinking All the Bright Places reminds them a lot of a certain book. In some ways, it really does. But in other ways, I thought this book right here had a much better execution with characters I actually believed in and rooted for. Violet and Finch, Finch and Violet, oh, where do I begin? The overarching theme of All the Bright Places was that even though mental illnesses aren't visible to the naked eye, that doesn't mean people aren't suffering. That notion was evident from the very beginning and continuously anchored the story.

While I wasn't all that invested in either Finch or Violet for the majority of the book, I did like them. I think to me, the theme overshadowed everything else, which made it a little difficult for me to see them as people who were larger than their mental ailments and post-traumatic stress disorder. And yet there was a moment that Finch rejected labels, questioning why we let them define ourselves. That's why I thought All the Bright Places would make me think and reflect on life and death and everything in between. What I didn't expect was to spill a few tears. I think in the end, I was affected because I recognised the pain as something very real to me.