Published By: Knopf Random House
Release Date: January 6, 2015
Pages: 384
Genre: Contemporary, Realistic fiction, Mental Health
Source: ARC from publisher
The Fault in Our Stars meets Eleanor and Park in this compelling, exhilarating, and beautiful story about a girl who learns to live from a boy who intends to die.
Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.
Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister's recent death.
When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.
This is an intense, gripping novel perfect for fans of Jay Asher, Rainbow Rowell, John Green, Gayle Forman, and Jenny Downham from a talented new voice in YA, Jennifer Niven.
There have been so many people raving about this book that I was a little worried that it was going to be one of those books that I found overrated but surprisingly that did not turn out to be the case. By the time I realized this book might end up breaking my heart I was already so invested that I had to see what happened next, so a warning to you all; tears are almost unavoidable. This should come as no surprise to people though, seeing as the book is comped to The Fault in Our Stars, which is also a tear-jerker, and let me say if you didn't enjoy that book you probably won't enjoy this one. I say this because I can see a slight resemblance between the "teens who feel too old for teenagers" vibe coming from both of these books, and while some people hate this I found that it lead to some passages that were breathtakingly beautiful. Something that I think people will enjoy is that the manic-pixie-dream-girl stereotype that seems to come with these kind of books isn't there. In fact it's more of a manic-pixie-dream-boy kind of thing, which I found quite fascinating. The energy exerted by the main male character is one of the biggest reasons that I kept flipping pages, I almost felt like I HAD to see what happened next; what he would do next, what he would say next. There was a feverish pace that I couldn't break no matter how hard I tried. And I have to give props to the girl because so often in books like this they do everything wrong, but she did everything RIGHT. When you get to the point I'm referring to you'll know exactly what I mean, and I cannot stress enough how fantastic it was to see that in YA lit. It just filled me with joy that Niven decided to take her characters down that path instead of the one most traveled. Overall I was ridiculously pleased with age-group jump into YA and I can already tell this is going to be a big seller. I found this a fantastic way to bring in the new year and I wish Niven all the best in the sales of this book, they are deserved. I can't see what she comes up with next.
4.5/5 stars
It really DOES sound like a tear-jerker, but I'm glad you so enjoyed it :)
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