All The Bright Places

Finch drives to Violet’s house and tries to awaken her by throwing rocks at her bedroom window. He returns home when this is unsuccessful. He spends the rest of the night creating a list about “staying up and staying here for the long haul” (116). He includes various techniques in the list, including running, writing, and doing “whatever it takes to remind myself that I’m still here and have a say” (117).

Violet finds Finch lying on her front lawn the following morning. He rides his bicycle beside her on the way to school, asking which destination she has chosen for the following day. She responds that she may be busy the following day. Later in the ride, Violet tells Finch that she will be unavailable for their trip the next day. She is horrified when a former friend, Suze, texts her asking why she is riding to school with “Theodore Freak” (120). 

Finch announces that, because he saved her life, Violet owes him an explanation about Eleanor’s fatal accident; in return, he will explain how his abdomen was scarred. He relates that he was assaulted by a guitar player whom he had replaced in a Chicago band.

A local reporter phones Violet to interview her about saving Finch. She asks Violet whether this had provided closure regarding the loss of her sister, and Violet ends the call. She agrees to attend a drive-in movie with Ryan, Amanda, and Roamer, and rejects all of Ryan’s romantic advances. She wonders about Finch’s whereabouts and determines that she owes him “a wander and, actually, a lot more than that” (122). She advises Ryan that she is going home in time for curfew. He insists upon walking back with her, but she does not allow him to kiss her goodnight. 

Finch arrives at Violet’s house quite early, and her parents invite him to join them for breakfast. He encourages them to describe Violet’s personality prior to her sister’s death, and they enjoy telling him anecdotes about both their daughters. The Markeys and Finch are all laughing when Violet joins them.

Upon leaving the house, Finch tells Violet that they must continue their wanderings by car, since they have seen everything reachable by bicycle. He swears to drive slowly if she will agree to ride in his car. She retorts that he can’t “keep pushing people to do things they don’t want to do” (125); he replies that she needs to “jump back on that camel” (126). She finally agrees, and Finch is very gentle with her as he drives quite slowly. He asks her about the accident in which her sister, Eleanor, died. Violet relates that Eleanor and Eli, who was her boyfriend, had argued that night at a party. Eleanor was upset and refused to let Violet drive the car. Violet directed her sister to take the A Street Bridge. She recalls seeing a sign reading, “Bridge ices before road,” and Eleanor saying, “I can’t hold on.” Essentially, she describes her late sister as her best friend and says, “She always had my back, even if we fought sometimes” (128). 

Finch’s destination is the Bookmobile Park, a group of seven old trailers, each filled with a different genre of texts. A local farm couple started the park when the county stopped financing the local bookmobile. Finch buys a used book and tries to convince Mrs. Carnes, the proprietor, to keep the change as a donation; however, she refuses. Finch sneaks cash back into the register when Mrs. Carnes is looking away. Violet wins a footrace with Finch back to the car, and the pair are very content. 

Finch and Violet continue to wander. He brings her to an abandoned factory building; it has a wall with graffitied responses to the prompt “Before I die I want to…” Finch writes that he wants to “[k]now what it’s like to have a best friend,” while Violet hopes to “[s]top being afraid” (135). The couple nearly kiss, and Finch teases Violet, saying, “I see the way you look at me” (136). Subsequently, they go to the Quarry and dance. 

While driving Violet home from the Quarry, Finch entertains her by composing epitaphs. He imagines the superficial Amanda Monk’s to read “I was as shallow as the dry creek bed that branches off the Whitewater River.” He explains that his will state “in search of the Great Manifesto” (138), indicating his desire to remain a significant memory. 

When Violet questions his absence from school the preceding Friday, Finch claims that he had a headache. In reality, he was experiencing what seems to be the impact of hyperstimulation upon a sensitive nervous system: his brain fires too fast; sounds are interpreted as light; light is blindingly bright. His sister Kate once noted that this may have resulted from his Dad “us[ing] your head as a punching bag” (139). 

Upon arrival home, Finch hears a voicemail from his school counselor reporting that he had missed his session. Mr. Embry implies that he is aware of Finch’s suicide attempt. Finch contemplates the mechanics of hanging himself. He ruminates upon what a mood disorder might entail: the difference between his being “Awake,” or verging on mania, versus that of being “Asleep,” or severely depressed. Years earlier, Finch had confided the specifics of these experiences to Gabe Romero, asking him if “the spaces around him ever grew or shrank” (141). Gabe relayed this question to his parents, who shared it with school authorities and the Finches, resulting in the nickname “Theodore Freak.” Finch blames himself for not pretending to be like everyone else.

Anticipating a change in his mental state, Finch believes he would prefer his bedroom to feel smaller. He moves all his furniture in order to cut the space in half and wonders why no one else in the family inquires about the noise he makes. He recalls that when suffered from the flu years earlier, it was his sister, Kate, “who took care of me” (142).

Finch has a counseling session with Mr. Embry and denies any suicidal ideation, making a mental note that “the best way is to say nothing about what you’re really thinking” (144). Embry says that he read the article about Finch on the bell tower in the school gossip rag; Finch tries to prove his zest for life by talking about a new relationship, although he does not use Violet’s name. The counselor warns Finch to “[j]ust be careful” (145), which upsets the young man because it implies an ending to the relationship. Embry ends the session by complimenting Finch on his high SAT scores and asking him to think about college.

Finch decides to spend more time with Violet by meeting her after each of her classes and escorting her to the next. When his constant presence embarrasses Violet with her more “popular” friends, he tells her that “you’re a lot friendlier when we’re by ourselves and no one’s around to see us together” (148). The baseball coach gives both of them detention due to loitering in the hallway. 

Violet is awakened at 2:00 am by Finch throwing rocks at her bedroom window. He persuades her to leave a note for her parents and accompany him to the bookstore where his mother works. They eat snacks from the small refrigerator, and Finch holds her hands as they alternate reading stanzas from a children’s book, Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss. Finch acts out some of the narrative, becoming somber when reciting the lines “about dark places and useless places and waiting places, where people don’t do anything but wait.” They pantomime and sing the last line together, “Your mountain is waiting, So…get on your way!” (154).

The pair climb the Purina Tower and admire the “lovely” stars, lights, and trees. Violet compliments Finch’s writing ability and use of language and is momentarily envious “of his brain.” She wonders aloud whether her time as a writer has passed; Finch comments, “There’s a built-in ending to everything in the world” (155). He suggests that she keep private notes should she decide to write again. Before climbing down from the tower, they leave behind a plastic container with a candle, a matchbook, and a bookmark “for the next person who comes here” (156). Subsequently, Finch stands near the edge of the tower and shouts out a list of things that he abhors and wants to change. Violet, frightened by his proximity to the edge, holds Finch’s shirt in a futile attempt to protect him from falling, but she is unable to shout out her own list of grievances. Violet wishes that she could berate Eleanor for having left her.