[I received a copy of All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven from its Canadian publisher Random House Canada. This does not affect my opinion of the novel.]

When I heard that Jennifer Niven’s novel was being compared to John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars and Rainbow Rowell’s Eleanor and Park AND has already been optioned for film starring Elle Fanning, I knew I had to give it a shot. I went into it expecting it to be a cute young adult novel about two teens finding comfort in each other; what I didn’t expect was how emotionally affecting and important its message to its readers (teens or otherwise) would be.

The publisher’s synopsis: 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.

When Finch and Violet meet on the…