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Overall Explination
All the Bright Places is about love, loss, and friendship. Theodore Finch is the school troublemaker who everybody calls ‘Freak’, and he fascinates himself by thinking about death. Violet Markey is the popular girl in school, but she is also dealing with her sister’s death. They grow closer when their teacher assigns them a project and are forced to wander Indiana together. I read All the Bright Places because it was said to be similar to The Fault in Our Stars, which I absolutely loved. -
Event 1: Saving Each Other
Theodore Finch, the school joke, snuck onto the school bell tower because if he jumped, he would never be called “Freak” again. At the same time, Violet Markey was also on top of the bell tower because it was the anniversary of her sister’s death, and she wanted to pain to go away. They both ended up saving each other from actually jumping. Thinking: I felt sympathy for the characters, given that they were dealing with bullying and loss. I can relate to Finch because I’ve been bullied too. -
Event 2: Natural Wonders of Indiana
Finch and Violet’s teacher assigned a project that requires them to visit places in Indiana. In front of class, Finch asks Violet to be his partner because he likes her, and she reluctantly agrees. For the project, Violet refuses to ride in a car because her sister died in an accident last year. It is an important event because it begins and propels their relationship. Thinking: I noticed how Violet has a sheltered personality, and Finch has a positive personality. -
Event 3: Overcoming Grief and Guilt
About a year ago, Violet’s sister, Eleanor, died in a car crash when they were driving home from a party. Ever since, Violet has blamed herself because she suggested Eleanor should drive. Now, she refuses to ride in a car again. However, on the day of their second wandering, Finch convinced Violet to ride in a car with him, and she explained the accident and what happened. It was imporant because it revealed Violet's past. Thinking: I like this moment because Violet started to trust Finch. -
Event 4: Becoming Friends
In the beginning of the project, Violet was reluctant to work with Finch, resulting in her having a bad attitude. However, on their wandering to a lake called the Blue Hole, her feelings start to change. When Finch dove into the lake and didn't come up, Violet thought he drowned. Overall, she realized that she cared about Finch more than she thought. Thinking: This a memorable point in the book for me because Finch and Violet are finally acting friendly and comfortable with each other. -
Event 5: Facing Challenges
Late at night, Finch and Violet decide to wander to the Purina Tower. However, Violet arrives home long after her curfew, propelling the action forward because they suffer punishments. Violet's parents ban her from wandering with Finch or seeing him again. Still, Violet lies to her parents, so she can sneak around to do more wandering with Finch. Thinking: Violet changed during this event because she never would have broken a rule before she met Finch, and now she is taking risks. -
Event 6: Actions Have Concequences
After Finch attacks a kid for calling him a freak and gets expelled, he starts to think he has bipolar disorder. He starts to tell himself that he is broken. That night, Finch swallows sleeping pills, propelling the action, to see if the effects make him feel better. Sadly, he couldn’t make the pills come back up. Realizing he doesn’t want to die, Finch runs to the hospital to get help. Thinking: I expected this from Finch, but I was surprised about how much he ended up caring about his life. -
Event 7: Seeking Help
Finch decides go to a suicide support group, Life Is Life, because he thinks he needs help. Finch got to listen everyone list reasons to stay alive during the session. Half way through, a popular girl from Finch’s school, Amanda, comes in because she has attempted suicide too.The support group and Amanda made Finch realize that he isn’t alone in his thoughts. This revealed an insecure part of Finch's character. Thinking: I liked how Finch decided to take it upon himself to admit he needs help. -
Event 8: Deep Depression
Suddenly, Finch starts avoiding Violet and living in his closet full-time because he is in his Black Mood. Finch says his Black Mood is when he starts thinking about suicide the most, so he locks himself in his closet because he knows he can’t kill himself in there. This shows that Finch is breaking down. He compares the mood to a black hole because it is impossible to escape. Thinking: I thought that this was a irritating part of the book because it was hard to watch Finch in such a bad mood. -
Event 9: The Big Fight
When Violet finds out about Finch going to the support group, she gets angry because he is refusing her help. She wants to save Finch because she couldn’t save Eleanor. On the flip side, Finch is saying that he doesn’t need help because he thinks he is supposed to be a depressed person. Because of their actions, they get in a giant fight and break up. Thinking: If I had to pick sides, I would agree with Violet because I would also want to find as much help for a person with suicidal thoughts. -
Event 10: Finch's Disappearance
After their fight, Finch doesn’t reply to Violet’s text messages, so she goes to check on him. When she discovers he moved out of his room, she knows that Finch is gone for good. However, Violet finds a clue written in Post it notes in Finch's closet, and she knows exactly where he went. Finch is at one of the places where they wandered, and she knows what one. Thinking: I thought it was cool that Violet was the only one who was able to understand exactly what Finch meant in his random clues. -
Overall Reflections
All the Bright Places was a fantastic book to read. I really fell in love with Finch’s character the most because he was unpredictable and comedic but still had flaws. The movie adaptation for this book is coming out in 2017, and I am excited to see how it will be portrayed in film. My only problem was that Violet and Finch are basically clones of Hazel and Gus from The Fault in Our Stars. Still, I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a heart-wrenching and thoughtful novel to read.
