Review: Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven

Firstly, thanks to Penguin Teen Australia for this review copy <3

Date Read: October 29 - 31 2016
Date Released: October 4 2016
Publisher: Penguin Australia
Source: Review copy via publisher
Genre: Contemporary
My Rating:

Synopsis:

"Everyone thinks they know Libby Strout, the girl once dubbed 'America's Fattest Teen'. But no one's taken the time to look past her weight to get to see who she really is. Since her mum's death, she's been picking up the pieces in the privacy of her home, dealing with her heartbroken father and her own grief. Now, Libby's ready: for high school, for new friends, for love, and for EVERY POSSIBILITY LIFE HAS TO OFFER. I know the part I want to play here at MVB High. I want to be the girl who can do anything.

Everyone thinks they know Jack Masselin too. Yes, he's got swagger, but he's also mastered the art of fitting in. What no one knows is that Jack has a secret: he can't recognize faces. Even his own brothers are strangers to him. He's the guy who can re-engineer and rebuild anything, but he can't understand what's going on with the inner workings of his own brain. So he tells himself to play it cool: Be charming. Be hilarious. Don't get too close to anyone.

Until he meets Libby. When the two get tangled up in a cruel high school game which lands them in group counseling, Libby and Jack are both angry, and then surprised. Because the more time they spend together, the less alone they feel. Because sometimes when you meet someone, it changes the world - theirs and yours."

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Jennifer Niven has such a knack for writing engaging contemporaries. All the Bright Places is one of the most memorable books I’ve ever read - it’s so impactful and really stuck with me. Niven’s HUtU also struck a chord in me.

I really loved Libby’s character. Previously known as “American’s fattest teen” she returns to high school in a much better mental and physical state than she was previously in. I really admired Libby’s strength - she tries not to let people get to her and puts on a good front. Like any human being, some of the hurtful comments get through and affect her but she retaliates with brave acts to promote body image. I loved how opinionated she was and she wasn’t afraid to voice those opinions. She’s smart, resilient and overall just a character I really enjoyed reading.

I’m not sure how I feel about Jack. I thought it was interesting how his prosopagnosia was portrayed. I didn’t always feel like he didn’t recognise the person, but as someone who has no idea how the condition works I can’t vouch for the accuracy of its portrayal. His character lacked a bit of dimension in my opinion. While he was always trying to please people or giving off a eat-shit-I-don’t-care attitude - which is understandable given his need to cover up his inability to recognise people - he came off as not really having an opinion or unwilling to defend his beliefs. To me that’s a weakness of character which meant I didn’t warm to Jack as much as I would have liked to.

The plot was kind of a typical contemporary where our two characters navigate their way through high school with challenges from each other and those around them. There’s cute dancing, family troubles, high school bullying (why do people need to be so horrible to others just so they can make themselves feel better? Ugh) and of course romance.

The romance was cute but I do not believe love is a cure for diseases. Love is a wonderful thing, it can make people happy, it can chemically release hormones to make one feel things. But I don’t think it’s a cure. And that’s where Holding Up the Universe fell flat for me. High school love was used as a cure and it made what could have been a lovely book about appreciating one’s self, into a story I scoffed at.

That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the book. Niven is a skilled writer; her style is engaging and I flew through the past-faced story. I liked the diversity and Libby’s strength in standing up to horrible people who have nothing better to do than pick on others to make themselves feel better.

I think books like this drive home how society degrades women and we can never just BE. We’re either too fat or too skinny or too tall or too short or too something (I think Niven mentions this through Libby in the book, I can’t remember). Believe it or not, I was bullied in high school for being too skinny. I was constantly being asked if I was bulimic or anorexic or just blatantly called “ano”. I’d have my mum write notes to excuse me from swimming carnivals because of the horrible stares and comments I’d get whenever I wore a swimming costume. Anyway, this isn’t about me looking for pity/sympathy. It’s my way of telling you that you’re perfect the way you are and screw society. I’ve learnt to accept myself.

Despite the books use of romance to make everything seem better (which it doesn’t), Holding Up the Universe is an important read reminding ourselves that no matter what society says, you are wanted and loved. You be you.

Review: All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! What better way to start off the new year than with an upcoming release that absolutely blew me away?

Firstly, thanks to Penguin Teen Australia for this review copy <3




Release Date: January 7th 2015
Publisher: Penguin Australia
Source: Review copy via publisher
Genre: Contemporary
My rating: 

Synopsis:

"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."

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“This is our project. We started it together, and we end it together.”

I’m sort of speechless as I sit here in front of my computer, trying to figure out how to word this review with tear tracks on my cheeks. I didn’t know what to expect when I got sent this book from Penguin Teen Australia. It crept up on me and when I read the blurb and saw it compared to TFIOS I was sceptical. A lot of books have drawn comparisons to popular YA titles lately. It’s not the same. No two books are. But TFIOS and All the Bright Places are the same in the way they made me go on an epic feels trip. One that had me laughing, wondering, speculating, sobbing and then in the end, “forever changed”.

Suicide and mental illness are extremely touchy subjects and I try to stay away from these kinds of books because I’m a sensitive person and I get affected by things really easily. They’re also not often portrayed as much in YA. But I couldn’t resist the pull of All the Bright Places and I’m so glad I read it because I think Niven got everything right. I could tell she’d done her research in every aspect and oh how I could relate.

“I shut down. I went blank… Think a long, dark sleep where you don’t dream at all.”

We meet Violet Markey through the eyes of Theodore Finch as both are standing on the ledge of their school’s bell tower, both contemplating suicide but Finch somehow knows that Violet doesn’t really want to be up there. They meet again in US Geography and are paired together to find unique places in their state of Indiana. What ensues is a journey of discovering quaint places, seeing beauty in the world around us, and finding love.

“The thing, is there are good days and bad days.”

I don’t know how I feel about Violet for the majority of the book. I could definitely relate to her though. She had extricated herself from the world after her sister’s death and trying to cope with everything. I liked the way she came out of her shell as the book progressed but I felt she was very passive for most of it and didn’t really play a role until the end. That ending though. Everything she felt, everything she thought, I completely understood, and by the last page I loved how she’d grown and changed as a person.

“Just because they’re dead, they don’t have to be. And neither do we.”

For me this book was all about Finch. He’s the one with restless thoughts that will not cease, the kind that distract and will not give peace of mind. He’s constantly wandering, needing to be on the move, incessantly needing to do things; he’s filled with random facts and it’s people like him, who are the on the outside looking in who see the most – who manage to observe the important things in life and see that bigger picture. I could relate to Finch in so many ways. Thoughts like his I’ve harboured at some point (but on a smaller scale) and through Niven’s skill and finesse, I was able to feel everything else on Finch’s scale and it broke me. I love Theodore Finch.

“No more worrying about where we’re going or what’s to become of us or if we’ll ever disappoint another person again.”

One of the most realistic features of this story are the secondary characters. They’re secondary for a reason, adding substance, making the main characters shine brighter. I loved how nobody fit into one mould. So many American YA books set in high school have these stereotypes and that was NOT what it was like for me at school and I doubt it was like that for many others. High school for me was not like in the movies. In All the Bright Places, the popular girl isn’t a total bitch. Just because Violet isn’t hanging out with the popular group anymore, doesn’t make the popular group hate her or anything. The popular guy isn’t a dumb jock who cheats. I thought Ryan was actually a decent guy. All the characters were decent people, each with their own flaws but with their own good qualities too. That’s what high school was like for me.

At the end of the day All the Bright Places deals with issues of bullying, suicide, labelling, mental illness and coping with loss. Despite these sad themes Niven has artfully woven these ideas into a book that’s almost like a road-trip, filled with amazing real places in Indiana that are of significance to someone, somewhere. Her writing is eloquent and flows: hesitant for Violet, harried yet poetic for Finch. Niven has quoted bits of literature throughout that really accentuate the meaning of the story. All the Bright Places draws you into Violet and Finch’s world of discovery, marks you with their words and leaves you forever changed as you realise we all leave a piece of us wherever we go.

“I will always be here, in the offerings and people I left behind.”