For All The Bright Places, I don't know how to describe how I felt about Violet and Finch's relationship. I think that their relationship had one common denominator of the saddness that you mentioned but I don't think that small thing in common could've kept a teenage relationship alive for long, especially ones with ups and downs and superficial problems as most teenage relationships are perceived. But, then again, I haven't read the book in a while. I hope you do a full, spoiler filled review of the book. I'd love to hear your in-depth opinions of the book.
While I did not believe All The Bright Places is an accurate representation of mental illness and depression I did fall in love with the book. I found it quite similar to John Green's writing style and found many beautiful quotes inside of this book which made it a pleasure to read. To many the book is not going to be appealing simple because it is not very realistic in its portrayal of certain topics and in places is rather unbelievable but I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the work of John Green
i'm currently reading Fried green tomatoes at the Whistlestop cafe. boy, what a brilliant book! can't recommend it enough. it's funny, and sweet and is just a very life-asserting kind of story that'll lift your spirits.
Personally, I really liked All The Bright Places. Especially at the beginning I was impressed by Finch's character because he seems really interesting and different. It's not as dark (or sad) as I imagined it to be, but I think that's what made the book popular. I can agree with you about what you said about the relationship being a bit one-sided. Throughout the book, it seems like Finch's character is the centre of the relationship and that the author concentrated more on his character rather than both of them.
Firstly I found the ending of all the bright places entirely predictable and hated it. I think it was also dealt with mental illness kinda badly. I think it is also the last YA book I fully read. It has put me off the genre. Secondly I must thank you for something. It must have been a while ago now but you were talking about your favourite books or something and you mentioned Ariel by Sylvia Plath. Since then it's been on my 'must buy' list and last week I bought it and am currently reading it. Oh my god. It is the best poetry I have ever read. I adore pretty much every poem I have read so far (I'm currently at the poem Ariel, so about halfway through) and it has actually really encouraged me. I write poetry and I write in a style similar to Plath and it really gave me confidence to see that the way I was writing WAS an actual style and I wasn't just writing rubbish. So thank you candice for bringing this masterpiece to my attention and subsequently helping me on my writing journey! X
I absolutely loved The Martian! As someone with a science-y background I really liked the technical side (as a lot of books don't have this to make them more accessible) but I can see how some may find it a little confusing. It's one of the best books I've read in ages. I'm yet to see the film but not sure whether to or not.
I received the same uncorrected proof copy of Nina is not Okay and I absolutely loved it. Very deep, but also a lot of humour. I devoured it in a day! I gave up on The Martian after the technical vocab was too much, but may need to give it another go! Also loved All the Bright Places, found it unique and easy to read :)
Personally I think All The Bright Places was kind of hard to 'rate', there are parts which felt a bit too over the top and other parts where it felt like I wasn't reading the same book anymore because of how amazing the writing was, I actually liked the ending, I found it to be realistic, which is what probably matters in books like these. Perhaps not the best romance I've read though (but then again YA), but it was interesting. :)
Those Macmillan editions are so beautiful! I personally didn't really enjoy All The Bright Places, I read it after Its Kind of a Funny Story which probably did not help because I felt like Its kind of a Funny Story portrayed mental illness better (in my opinion). I loved The Martian as well! It was such a quick enjoyable read for me, even if I didn't understand all of the science stuff!
Yeah, I believe It's Kind of a Funny Story was written by Ned Vizzini who battled mental illnesses and the book was inspired by his stay in a hospital. However, the author who wrote All The Bright Places experienced the same thing as the ending of the story (sorry this might sound confusing - I wanted to keep it spoiler free as possible, if you read the page after the story ends, the author elaborates about how her own life experiences shaped the book). Therefore, I think there is a justifiable reason why mental illnesses are portrayed differently in the two novels (although, like you, I preferred Vizinni's portrayal) :)
Personally I loved All the Bright Places and its currently one of my favorite books that iv read in the past year. While i do feel like the relationship aspect could have definitely been better. I think the way she wrote about Finch and his mental illness along with how he felt and dealt with his issues something that i was really able to relate with which is why i think this is one of my favorite books right now. But overall i just really love this book.
More videos like your last one would be very welcome! Just finished To The Lighthouse which I appreciated, but can't say I liked (as I anticipated, no substantial plot). Would like to reread so I actually understand it. Now on to Goodbye to Berlin (Christopher Isherwood) which I'm really enjoying so far.
Purchased 3 books off the book depository and then found myself at a charity book sale where about 13 books were purchased.. Oops. In the last week or so I've read Room (amaze!) and Rosemary's Baby (awesome!)
Because a late reply is still a reply: I read All The Bright Places about a year ago and was pretty impressed by its theme. Sure - it's not the first book about teenage depression and teenage love - not at all. But it made me FEEL something I can't put into words. It kinda made me hate myself for liking it? Ahhhh, I don't know. I would never say that Violet's and Finch's lovestory is the ~cutest thing I've ever read~ but at some parts they really seem to be soulmates. Still (really trying not to spoil anything) I'm not sure if Violet actually fits into Finch's world. (As I remember it) She feels like she can finally be herself around him and doesn't have to live up to all the expectation of a ~popular~ girl. I'm still not sure if that's really her though. They are just so different - Violet and Finch - they don't fit together at all bit fit together perfectly at the same time. I hope my English wasn't too bad - as you can tell I'm not a native speaker. I still wanted to express my opinion on the book (long story short: I liked it. I'll absolutely have to re-read it soon!) And another huge sorry for this little ~rant~ full of my confusing thoughts and feelings.
If you want to read more short stories I recently read a collection called Barbara the Slut, despite the title (or because of it I'm not sure) the stories are quite interesting, they seem to mean nothing but I can imagine how much meaning could be extracted from them. It reminded me of a more Western Murakami in the style and the endings are similarly unexciting when you just read it as is.
I've heard a lot about A Manual For Cleaning Women and I'm really keen to give it a go soon :). I lenjoyed All The Bright Places and I'd love to know what you think
I've still not finished all the bright places and I've been struggling to get through it; I think it's because I've read so many 'teenage romance' novels, so they all just feel the same almost.
I have read All the Bright Places when I was travelling to and from Berlin recently. It is more or less a great book to travel with as you get through it quickly. I too have a similar issue to yourself in that I think it was a little bit one sided in parts but I don't want to go into too much detail for fear of spoilers, I think you know what I'm talking about though (the visits etc). All in all I did find this book enjoyable but I do think that some YA authors take the easy way out with the female characters. The damsel in distress thing is so outdated now!
Yeah for a lot of it it felt like he was calling the shots because he knew what was best for her. And sure, she snaps at one point and calls him out on it, but it still doesn't really reconcile it for me :/
I really didn't like All the Bright Places. I really hated the characters, they just seemed so flat to me and I didn't find it a great depiction of mental health issues at all. So many people raved about it and I was so disappointed I threw it out. I haven't read a YA novel since so maybe my dislike of it comes from not being the greatest fan of YA anymore.
I wouldn't recommend All the Bright Places Coming from a perspective as someone who has known several people who have committed suicide I found it very upsetting and not the uplifting read I thought I was in for due to the blurb and title :(
hey Candice are you coming to India with bry ,well is it bry or bri anyways please come to India and i introduced your videos to English department of Delhi university you got lots of fans here love you hope to see you in India.
Can you tell any book which discusses about different writing styles ? I am working on improving my writing skills. And if there are any articles on the same topic, please let me in the comment.
I liked the book, but it took a while for me to get over the whole...Tumblr-esque depiction of depression of the book. It's stereotypical. It's sensationalism. Furthermore, I worry the book is triggering for teenagers who will read it. I know that if this came out when I was, like, 12, I would've identified with Finch and finish the book feeling worse and like help is out of reach. Like others have said, however, there are the good parts that redeem it. And, in the end, I was able to reconcile with the book. :)
