This is a story of two teenagers who meet when they are on the ledge of the school bell tower, contemplating jumping. Theodore Finch, the “freak” who everybody knows is weird because he doesn’t fit with how “normal” people behave. He is on that ledge just to see how close he can come to jumping and what it would feel like to be that close. Violet Markey, who was one of the popular girls until her older sister died in a car accident in which she survived, is up there because she can’t take the pain of being “the one who survived” anymore. Labels feature heavily in this book. How easily they turn us into who we are.

Essentially, this book is about love and pain. The two, unfortunately, go hand-in-hand. Finch suffers from Bipolar disorder, although he is never treated for it. He has periods of sleeping when he literally can’t get out of bed and his thoughts and motions go so slowly, he doesn’t even experience any of them. But when he is awake, he counts the time until his thoughts become so slow he goes back to sleep. In this particular awake period, he meets and falls in love with Violet Markey, and he saves her in every way possible while they are together. The question is: Can she save him?

The author does a fantastic job with showing Bipolar Disorder. The way Finch describes his thoughts, feelings, sensations is perfect. What really stood out was his description of being able to hear colours and to see thoughts. It made me angry how nobody (except Violet) ever tried to help him. His parents are way too self-absorbed, and while they should be the ones to notice he is very ill, they only think of themselves. Even his school counsellor doesn’t do all he can. He identifies the Bipolar Disorder but makes no real effort to contact his parents or to get him medical help. No one really bothers which is frustrating because, personally, I found it obvious from pretty much the first page what was going on.

I won’t give the ending away in case anyone wants to read this, but it is perfect. That’s all I’ll say. I really enjoyed reading this. It is a wonderful study in growing up, falling in love, and dealing with grief.

It is YA, and anybody who loves to read YA will love this. It is a story that takes you through the whole gambit of emotions. I found myself, in turns, happy, sad, angry, frustrated, afraid of what would happen next. It is just beautifully written.

The relationship between Finch and Violet. I love the way he saves her. This book really reminded me of 'The Fault In Our Stars' by John Green. The story is, essentially, the same story, but with slightly different scenarios.

I had to tell my hubby about it, even though I know he isn't interested in this kind of novel. But I just had to speak to someone, to go over it in my ow mind. I know that sound weird, but it is one of those books you can't keep inside.

I had to take some time to absorb everything I had just read. I was sad, so sad. But, there was hope, too. I definitely felt my emotions had been put through the wringer.

It is a great depiction of mental illness. You can learn a lot about it from this book. It is good for younger adults because it helps show how everybody is different, but it's not a bad thing. Your differences are what make you unique. And uniqueness is good. But, on top of all this, it is a great story with fantastic characters.

If you may be triggered by reading about mental illness, suicide, and grief, this book is not for you.

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Created Jan 04, 2021 at 4:03am • Submit your own review...