So, when I stuck it on the list for this week all I really knew was that it was a romance of some sort and that it was probably good.
Both of these things are true.
What I didn't know, though, is pretty important if you are handing it to a teen. This is the story of Violet and Finch who meet one day at school while they both independently consider throwing themselves off of the school's belltower. Violet is pretty normal for a kid who survived a car wreck that killed her older sister. She's pretty messed up, obviously. Finch is something else. Obviously he's got some problems, but it's not immediately clear why he's on that roof. However, he talks Violet down from the ledge and is immediately smitten. Violet not so much, however she is cured of her suicidal tendencies.
Finch pursues Violet and over the course of the novel it becomes clear that he's an undiagnosed bipolar.
The story is told from the point of view of both Violet and Finch. It's pretty raw in many places and it ends tragically. It's a tough read from an emotional point of view, but it's a good one.
This is valuable in my library because it explores bipolar disorder in a compassionate way. I don't know if it is actually like this, but it matches up with what I know. I have/have had bipolar students and much of this felt familiar. This is also valuable because it takes on the issue of suicide in a comprehensive way. Suicide is something that tends to generate some pretty binary and judgemental attitudes. While I would never be in a position of condoning suicide, I also know enough that I realize that it's never a simple choice and that the families left behind need more support even though the tendency is to stigmatise. This book does an excellent job of exploring that.
I will never read this book again.
Maybe you should go read it.
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