All the Bright Places

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven, published earlier this year (2015, for those of you who may be lost) is a realistic fiction, young adult novel. The story begins as told by Theodore Finch, who is standing at the top of the school's bell tower, debating jumping off a little, but mostly just feeling the rush of the idea of jumping off. Theodore has decided that the end of his life will be his own choice, meaning he is choosing to some day end his own life, but jumping off the bell tower isn't how he wants to go, he's deciding when Violet Markey appears up there with him. Violet, whose sister died the previous year in a car wreck that they were both in, is depressed and is actually planning to jump off the building until she gets to edge and panics, which is when Theodore talks Violet down and ultimately saves her life.Violet is more popular at school than Theodore, who is a bit of an outcast and is generally considered a "freak" and a bit crazy. Theodore convinces the rest of the school that Violet was actually up there to save his life, so Violet's reputation will not be tarnished. From there the story is told in a back and forth style by both Theodore and Violet. Theodore develops a crush on Violet from that day on, and when there is an opportunity to get to know her better in their Geography class, Theodore takes it (without Violet's consent), and they begin exploring different landmarks in their state, and eventually they start to fall for each other. Theodore forces Violet to live her life (not stay forever in mourning of her sister) and teaches her that it's okay to move on from her grief and be happy.

There are the common controversial makings of a good realistic fiction Young Adult novel in that the two main characters have sex, and both characters exhibit signs of depression at different points in the novel. However, Violet's depression is purely situational; she's grieving for her sister. Theodore on the other hand is most likely bipolar; he has extreme highs and terrible lows, and (SPOILER ALERT), the book ends with him going missing for a month, and Violet finding Theodore has killed himself .  Theodore had spent the last month leaving notes for Violet to help finish their project and presumably to say goodbye, which does in many ways help to give her some closure.

While this book was engaging and easy to read, I did have many problems with this book that had nothing to do with its controversial aspects. My biggest problem with this book was how Theodore coerces Violet to do the school project with him. He proclaims her as his project partner without asking her first in front of their classroom, and when after class they discuss her being his project online, he forces her to work with him by threatening that if she doesn't talk to him, he'll talk to her about it in class over the entire classroom, which would humiliate her (because this also would include discussing her almost suicide attempt most likely). Theodore's manipulation is all in the pursuit of "saving" Violet, which the fact that Violet is continually in need of being saved is questionable. On one hand, she did almost try to kill herself, and instilling the idea that one should take interest in their peers who might be troubled isn't a bad idea. On the other hand, there is the problem in the continual retelling of stories wherein men are saving women from all their "feelings" and "whims." Women being cast as damsels in distress over and over again, especially in this retelling where Violet's will has already been subverted, is a problematic trope, especially for books that are aimed overwhelmingly at young girls. Stories that convey that it is okay for young men to push girls outside their comfort zones and paint that as romantic are tiptoeing a fine line; what is and isn't okay to do to another person without her permission? When is it okay to go ahead with an idea, even if the other person is saying no?
Of course the book moves past this, and eventually Violet gets painted as an actual round character with a personality, interests, and a story line of her own, but it was slow moving to get there and see her as more than just a (slightly unwilling) love interest for Theodore. Positives in this book, in my opinion, include a positive portrayal of sex and losing ones virginity. Both characters care about each other, it is consensual, and nothing bad comes from it (unwanted pregnancy or STDs), which is a good thing in Young Adult literature in my opinion. Teenagers are overwhelmingly shamed for having sexual urges and relationships. This is probably a controversial opinion, but the only thing that could make this portrayal better is if a mention of protection.
The best thing about this book is its way of discussing suicide post-act. Having lost my best friend in high school to suicide when I was just 17, Violet's reaction to Theodore's suicide is spot on. She is sad and grieving while also angry at Theodore for giving up and angry at herself for not doing more or taking notice sooner. All of these emotions were emotions that I believe "survivors of suicide" can relate to and recognize in themselves. Though most "survivors" don't get the same sort of closure in forms of things left behind at landmarks or notes, seeing someone else deal with a similar loss could be a very good thing for young adults going through a similar experience (as long as they are old enough and emotionally intelligent enough to understand that they were still loved and thought of by that friend/loved one that they lost, even if they didn't leave them notes or anything behind for a form of closure). Following is a book trailer.

Brown Girl Dreaming

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson, published in 2014, is receiving many accolades this year, including the National Book Award for Young People's Literature, Newbery Honor, Sibert Honor, and the Coretta Scott King Award for Author. Woodson writes (autobiographically) about her young childhood, her memories of growing up in South Carolina and New York and memories of her family. The book is written entirely in narrative free verse. The free verse is beautiful enough to engage adult readers, yet simplistic enough for younger readers to understand just as easily as reading prose.
The story begins in Ohio, where Woodson tells us about the father her mother left behind. From there, Woodson and her two older siblings, an incredibly smart older sister and a silent, science-loving older brother, and mother move to South Carolina to live with her grandparents. She talks about being black in the sixties in the South and how it affected their family and even seemingly small decisions like to get lunch in town or where to sit on a bus. She tells about how the South became her home, her close relationship with "Daddy" (her grandfather), and then her mother moves her and her siblings to New York, where the kids eventually meet their new little brother. Woodson meets a lifelone friend, Maria, and she tells about the new experiences she has in New York. Throughout the book, the theme of having two homes and attempting to meld them within her runs throughout. Woodson also discusses growing up as a Jehova's witness and how the religion affected her as a young child. She tells about how she came to discover a love of writing, and how it being her own special thing gave her confidence.
I loved this book, both for being unique in its story- the story of a very young, naive "brown girl" growing up during the Civil Rights Movement, while also being of a religion that doesn't get as much play in popular culture- and for its being told entirely in verse. Woodson's verse is so simple; there aren't a lot of frilly words and superfluous poetic devices. It's simple narrative prose with enough imagery to make each poem beautiful without taking away from the overall story being told.
This was such an enjoyable book, and it was told so beautifully that I'd suggest it to anyone, not just young readers, but adults as well.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas was written by John Boyne and published in 2006. Boyne's title page describes this book as "a fable," with the best definition of fable as it applies to this book being Merriam-Webster's, "a narration intended to enforce a useful truth." However, most fables are associated with animals, so I feel that this story is better classified as Historical Fiction, written for older children/younger teens in my opinion.

This story, unlike the many others I've read for children and young adults, is written in the third person. Despite the third person perspective, it is mostly focused on the young German boy named Bruno, whose family has recently been forced to move to a place that Bruno calls "Out-With" being incapable of pronouncing it's actual name, which is never given in the book, but which I believe is probably Auschwitz as it sounds similar and is also located in Poland. The family moves because his father has been promoted to Commandant by "the Fury" (Hitler) in the German Army.  Bruno hates the move as the family is located in a house with no neighbors, which means no other children to play with. Outside Bruno's window, he can see a large wire fence with people beyond it walking around dressed in their pajamas, though he also sees soldiers over there. However, Bruno has been forbidden to go near the fence, which to him seems cruel because beyond the fence is the only place where there are other children Bruno could possibly play with. Throughout the book, Bruno learns things about the camp (it is meant to "keep in" the Jews), the staff at the camp (Pavel used to be a doctor, but he cannot talk about it and is now their waiter), and the people on the other side of the fence are frail and hungry and pale, but Bruno does not understand why these things are the way they are. Then Bruno gets tired of staying inside the house, and he decides to go exploring. Bruno walks along the fence until he finds a boy, Schmuel, sitting on the other side. He and Schmuel are the same age; they even share a birthday. They discover that they both have a lot in common, but Schmuel is hungry and small, and Bruno is well fed and strong, They form a friendship, and Bruno brings him food, and Schmuel teaches Bruno that Jews aren't really different from he and his family the way that Bruno has learned and maybe Germany and the soldiers aren't as "superior" as he's been told. The story ends on a sad note with Bruno sneaking over to the other side of the fence (after his head has been shaved due to lice and Schmuel smuggled him a "costume") to explore and help Schmuel find his father who has been "missing" for days. The boys are hurriedly pushed into a giant room, where Bruno and Schmuel tell each other that they are best friends, then are tragically gassed (this is blatant, but can be assumed), and are never seen again.

While this book is incredibly sweet at times, it ends tragically and surprisingly (it isn't often you find that the main focus of the story is killed off), but for these reasons, it is incredibly effective in explaining the horror and tragedy that was the Holocaust. I believe it is better for older children or younger teens because I think there is a necessary background in the history of WWII and the Holocaust to understand certain parts of the book. Also, I think being older might make it easier to stomach the ending, which made me ugly cry despite being an adult.


Furthermore, there is a very good movie adaptation of the book that I'd suggest as a good film even if you didn't read the book (I actually saw the movie before ever reading the book, and I still could barely stomach the ending).