about the book
Is today a good day to die?
I ask myself this question frequently, but so far something has always gotten in the way… Right now, I’m standing on a narrow ledge six stories above the ground: the high school bell tower.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to welcome you to my death!” I shout.
Someone below looks up as if he heard me, then looks away— I’m just Theodore “Freak” Finch after all—and points at a spot near me. Then I see what he sees: a girl a few feet away from me on the ledge.
Violet. Popular cheerleader. Dead sister. Also come here to die.
Apparently today is not the day to die. Before she panics, I need to calm her down and get her back on the ground. People will think she talked me out of jumping, not the other way around. That’s okay. I’m just the school Freak anyway.
Maybe I’ll even sign her up to be my partner for that “Wander the State” project we have…
about the author
When Jennifer Niven was growing up, she and her mother would have writing time. Her mother, also an author, would write at her big desk while Jennifer wrote at her little one. By the time she was ten, Jennifer had already written numerous songs, two autobiographies, a Christmas story, several picture books, a play, a series of prison mysteries, and a collection of short stories.
Apparently “writing time” developed not only stories, but a writer.
Since Jennifer started writing full-time in 2000, she’s published a series of WWII novels, a memoir, and an account of a 1913 Arctic expedition. All the Bright Places is her first young adult novel.
All the Bright Places was inspired by a boy who Jennifer knew and loved. She always wanted to write something about that experience, but it was so personal that she didn’t know if she would be able to. Even with this self-doubt, her passion won out and she said, “Let me see if I can do this.”
Thank goodness she persevered! The book is even being made into a movie starring Elle Fanning! While waiting for the movie, readers can visit Eleanor and Violet’s website to get to know these two characters even more.
Jennifer loves popcorn, crumbling ruins (the spookier the better), prisons, Japanese food, and cats. She lives in Los Angeles with three cats.
Sources:
Author website
Author interview: Simon & Schuster
Author interview: The Guardian
Author interview: Publishers Weekly
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