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kcohrs19's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Car accident, Death, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Child death, and Violence
e_emmaa's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, Death, Cursing, Mental illness, Addiction, Drug use, Eating disorder, Car accident, Child abuse, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Physical abuse, Car accident, Eating disorder, Addiction, Suicide, Death, Alcohol, Homophobia, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Gaslighting, Drug use, and Mental illness
cschaepe84's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Humorous, deep, insightful all in one despite the dark subject matter. Haunting, yet devastatingly beautiful.
I am destroyed. The tears cannot stop falling once they come.
A beautiful, yet heart-wrenching tragic story about two broken people who fall in love, and then fall apart.
Violet and Theodore "Finch" knew of each other from school, but never really had a meaningful interaction until one day on the school bell tower when they were each thinking about suicide. This is nothing new for Finch, as he has been struggling from an unnamed mental affliction, more than likely bipolar, for years and has already been labeled as the school "freak" and "weirdo" and so nobody thinks much of his dramatic display. Violet, however, is more part of the popular crowd, a good girl of whom a bad thing happened to, losing her sister in a car accident nearly a year ago. Everyone's concerned for her, and watch with horror as the two of them interact up there. Now, nobody knows what is said between them, nobody sees what really transpires, which is why when Finch talks Violet down from the bell tower, they are instantly bound by secret. To save her reputation, Finch loudly declares Violet his savior, and lets everyone think that it was Violet that talked Finch out of suicide, nothing more. Life goes on, Violet's reputation intact, and Finch proving once again what a "freak" he is.
Violet thinks nothing of it, really. Ever since her sister died from a car accident that she survived, she has been struggling with grief, guilt, and depression. Life has become restrictive for her, and all her interests and everything that made her her fades into the woodwork, and she doesn't recognize the girl she has become. She has loving parents, good friends at school, including one of the most popular girls in the class. She has a supportive ex-boyfriend, a boy who everyone at school loves, and he waits patiently in the wings for her to come back to him. But Violet is a shell of the girl she was. Nobody expects anything of her because of her complicated grief, and she is more or less treated as a fragile china doll, and her grief becomes a free pass to avoid life.
She shares US Geography with Finch. They have a last semester project for the class in which you have to work in pairs, and Finch loudly declares for Violet to be his partner. Violet wants to get out of the project, but Mr. Black does not allow her to take a pass on it. Because the project is to get to know the state of Indiana, all the places to go and see, and report it toward the end of the year. And so, to Violet's dismay, her journey with Finch begins.
Honestly, I really love Finch. He's hard not to like and is very thoughtful and insightful, sharing his musings about death that are at times funny (even though death is not funny, but I have a dark and dry sense of humor, and sometimes I deal with my sad thoughts too this way, so I totally understand it). He is fascinated by death, not so much because he's incredibly depressed, but because he feels at times overwhelmed by his own existence and how he relates to the world around him (or at least that's how I interpret him). I love getting inside Finch's head, and as a psych nurse, I have an appreciation of how his mind works and what he experiences. But, his mind is a lonely place, a party of one, and although he has two great friends, he feels misunderstood and unwanted by those around him. Despite this, he still tries to reach out for love, and the moment Violet smiled at him, a real smile, not a fake smile, he becomes fascinated with her.
Violet and Finch's interactions are entertaining to read and adorable. He and he alone knows the secret pain Violet is in, and challenges her to get out a live again. By using their Geography project, the two spend time together, and slowly become enmeshed in each other's lives, eventually falling in love. Violet is able to finally really start living, to be present in the moment and fill each day with meaning, instead of simply counting down the days until graduation.
But little does she know, that while she's coming into full bloom, Finch is starting to wither away. His mental health deteriorates. He starts to live in his closet instead of his bedroom because the space overwhelms him. He pains his whole room blue to feel like he's surrounded by water. He struggles to stay, if even just for Violet, but as he worsens, even she is not enough, and he does take his own life.
But that's not the end of the story. Yes, it's very sad, and Finch's death left me crushed along with Violet. However, in small ways, Finch leaves Violet with something of a scavenger hunt on the map from their Wandering Indiana project. He knew she needed to get out into the world and broaden her horizons, and even in death, thinks about her. She finishes their map, and finds traces of him left behind, seeing the world through his eyes, and feeling all the more grateful for this.
Suicide is a very tough subject to touch in a novel without either fluffing it up, romanticizing it, or making the victim or the survivors out to be a villain, but I felt that this book covers it eloquently. This book does not shy away from acknowledging the tragedy that a suicide is, but it does not point a particular blame on anyone in particular either. I understand a lot of the negative reviewers felt that Finch's personality was defined by his mental illness, but I definitely did not feel that this was the case. As a person, he is thoughtful, imaginative, feels very deeply, and always thirsts for knowledge, which I could separate from his mental illness. I like how there wasn't the "he was too beautiful for this world" message either, which would have, yes, romanticized his death and sent a bad message about suicide. I felt that the portrayal was rather honest, albeit painful, which I how I felt Violet's experience was when she was dealing with his passing. Toward the end of the book, even with her sadness, Violet is able to become emotionally stronger and fully confront and deal with Eleanor's death and all the emotions she's kept hidden the whole time. I feel that the message here is to take life by making a series of wonderful moments to hold onto, along with the bad, and that life in and of itself is a journey, and that "it's not what you take, it's what you leave behind."
I am destroyed. The tears cannot stop falling once they come.
A beautiful, yet heart-wrenching tragic story about two broken people who fall in love, and then fall apart.
Violet and Theodore "Finch" knew of each other from school, but never really had a meaningful interaction until one day on the school bell tower when they were each thinking about suicide. This is nothing new for Finch, as he has been struggling from an unnamed mental affliction, more than likely bipolar, for years and has already been labeled as the school "freak" and "weirdo" and so nobody thinks much of his dramatic display. Violet, however, is more part of the popular crowd, a good girl of whom a bad thing happened to, losing her sister in a car accident nearly a year ago. Everyone's concerned for her, and watch with horror as the two of them interact up there. Now, nobody knows what is said between them, nobody sees what really transpires, which is why when Finch talks Violet down from the bell tower, they are instantly bound by secret. To save her reputation, Finch loudly declares Violet his savior, and lets everyone think that it was Violet that talked Finch out of suicide, nothing more. Life goes on, Violet's reputation intact, and Finch proving once again what a "freak" he is.
Violet thinks nothing of it, really. Ever since her sister died from a car accident that she survived, she has been struggling with grief, guilt, and depression. Life has become restrictive for her, and all her interests and everything that made her her fades into the woodwork, and she doesn't recognize the girl she has become. She has loving parents, good friends at school, including one of the most popular girls in the class. She has a supportive ex-boyfriend, a boy who everyone at school loves, and he waits patiently in the wings for her to come back to him. But Violet is a shell of the girl she was. Nobody expects anything of her because of her complicated grief, and she is more or less treated as a fragile china doll, and her grief becomes a free pass to avoid life.
She shares US Geography with Finch. They have a last semester project for the class in which you have to work in pairs, and Finch loudly declares for Violet to be his partner. Violet wants to get out of the project, but Mr. Black does not allow her to take a pass on it. Because the project is to get to know the state of Indiana, all the places to go and see, and report it toward the end of the year. And so, to Violet's dismay, her journey with Finch begins.
Honestly, I really love Finch. He's hard not to like and is very thoughtful and insightful, sharing his musings about death that are at times funny (even though death is not funny, but I have a dark and dry sense of humor, and sometimes I deal with my sad thoughts too this way, so I totally understand it). He is fascinated by death, not so much because he's incredibly depressed, but because he feels at times overwhelmed by his own existence and how he relates to the world around him (or at least that's how I interpret him). I love getting inside Finch's head, and as a psych nurse, I have an appreciation of how his mind works and what he experiences. But, his mind is a lonely place, a party of one, and although he has two great friends, he feels misunderstood and unwanted by those around him. Despite this, he still tries to reach out for love, and the moment Violet smiled at him, a real smile, not a fake smile, he becomes fascinated with her.
Violet and Finch's interactions are entertaining to read and adorable. He and he alone knows the secret pain Violet is in, and challenges her to get out a live again. By using their Geography project, the two spend time together, and slowly become enmeshed in each other's lives, eventually falling in love. Violet is able to finally really start living, to be present in the moment and fill each day with meaning, instead of simply counting down the days until graduation.
But little does she know, that while she's coming into full bloom, Finch is starting to wither away. His mental health deteriorates. He starts to live in his closet instead of his bedroom because the space overwhelms him. He pains his whole room blue to feel like he's surrounded by water. He struggles to stay, if even just for Violet, but as he worsens, even she is not enough, and he does take his own life.
But that's not the end of the story. Yes, it's very sad, and Finch's death left me crushed along with Violet. However, in small ways, Finch leaves Violet with something of a scavenger hunt on the map from their Wandering Indiana project. He knew she needed to get out into the world and broaden her horizons, and even in death, thinks about her. She finishes their map, and finds traces of him left behind, seeing the world through his eyes, and feeling all the more grateful for this.
Suicide is a very tough subject to touch in a novel without either fluffing it up, romanticizing it, or making the victim or the survivors out to be a villain, but I felt that this book covers it eloquently. This book does not shy away from acknowledging the tragedy that a suicide is, but it does not point a particular blame on anyone in particular either. I understand a lot of the negative reviewers felt that Finch's personality was defined by his mental illness, but I definitely did not feel that this was the case. As a person, he is thoughtful, imaginative, feels very deeply, and always thirsts for knowledge, which I could separate from his mental illness. I like how there wasn't the "he was too beautiful for this world" message either, which would have, yes, romanticized his death and sent a bad message about suicide. I felt that the portrayal was rather honest, albeit painful, which I how I felt Violet's experience was when she was dealing with his passing. Toward the end of the book, even with her sadness, Violet is able to become emotionally stronger and fully confront and deal with Eleanor's death and all the emotions she's kept hidden the whole time. I feel that the message here is to take life by making a series of wonderful moments to hold onto, along with the bad, and that life in and of itself is a journey, and that "it's not what you take, it's what you leave behind."
Reading Progress
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Bullying, Mental illness, Suicide, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Child death, Violence, and Car accident
purplee_rain89's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It was so beautifully written and you could totally immense yourself in the story, almost feeling like you're the one living through it. The topics it talks about are difficult but important nonetheless and it's done in a way that portrays the seriousness of mental illness and suicide/suicidal ideation really well but even despite this, the end of the book leaves you with some sort of hope that healing is possible and you can in fact find your own way. It was heart wrenching and devastating but has its own beauty after all and I'll definitely read it again.
Sending lots of love to anyone struggling right now, you matter and you're so so strong. You will find your way through this eventually; I believe in you, truly <3
Sending lots of love to anyone struggling right now, you matter and you're so so strong. You will find your way through this eventually; I believe in you, truly <3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Bullying, and Car accident
Moderate: Cursing, Child abuse, Abandonment, Self harm, Addiction, Physical abuse, Vomit, and Violence
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Eating disorder, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship
harley_dean's review against another edition
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I think this was my third re-read. I thought I remembered it too well to cry this time, but I still ended up bawling (which is a good thing).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Car accident, Death, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Violence, Bullying, Vomit, and Cursing
_georgiasmith's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Minor: Violence
parasihir's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book eats me up from the inside. Reading Theodore's point of view can kill me. Poor my baby blue.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Suicide, Alcohol, Bullying, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Death, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Grief, Self harm, Physical abuse, and Mental illness
Moderate: Vomit
wet_towlette's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Here is a list of thoughts I had while reading this book, as it might be the only way to articulate the experience of reading this:
The dad is a Canadian hockey player 😭😭
The dad is a Canadian hockey player 😭😭
Bro you're quoting Virginia Wolf keep it in your pants
I just know this author is one pretentious fucker
he won’t play baseball because he doesn’t want to be a black stereotype are you serious right now who does this white ass author think she is
“Did you hit that yet or what” 🧍♀️
Is he smoking in gym class
Why didn’t they just get the other voice actor to do the dialogue for their character. Like why is this man pretending to be a teenage girl crying when you have a woman actress
“She is different from all other girls” bro shut up
“Vampire Diaries is life” this is so real and based
“Clothes off, m*dget” 🧍♀️🧍♀️
Stop talking about space I'm scared
Am I supposed to feel sad now
This is a sad ass authors note I feel a little bit bad now but kinda not really
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Car accident, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Violence, Mental illness, Grief, Self harm, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
professoremdash's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Violence, and Child abuse
neko_reads's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
this book was mean to me and i feel sad.
Update: I have sat with this book for a while and have had time to work out my feelings. I have to bump my rating to five stars. This book has quite literally changed my life and I don’t think there will ever be a moment when I’m not thinking about finch.
Update: I have sat with this book for a while and have had time to work out my feelings. I have to bump my rating to five stars. This book has quite literally changed my life and I don’t think there will ever be a moment when I’m not thinking about finch.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
Moderate: Car accident