The book is about Violet, the typical popular girl that looks perfect on the outside but then, her sister dies and that's when trouble begins. There's also Finch, a boy that is depressed at a whole new level. He's the school's "weirdo", but seems happy with that reputations and makes the best out of it, even though he is really broken on the inside. "I smile so she can see what I mean. Everything where it should be, on the outside at least." (pg. 8)
The characters are great, but my favorite is Violet. Finch is great, don't get me wrong and basically every quote that I love in the book is from Finch's perspective, but I think that I can understand violet a little bit better. She just lost her sister and something about it made her look at everything in a different way, she's clearly not comfortable with the life she used to have anymore, but she's trying to fit in again and it's having a hard time with it until Finch saves her.
The whole story and friendship between them begins first when Finch stops her to jumping off the school tower when he was actually planning to do the same thing. Finch saves her and when he stays behind, standing on the ledge, Violet saves him. It all begins there, in that really odd way, but they really start to know each other when Finch asks to be with her for a school project. Little by little he talks to her trying to help her, he's helping himself, staying awake, staying alive. For someone as depressed as Finch, he says the most incredible things to her in an attempt to make Violet feel better. "That depends on who you ask. See, I don't necessarily think it's late. I think it's early. Early in our lives. Early in the night. Early in the new year. If you are counting, you'll notice the earlys outnumber the lates." (pg. 54) I believe that this quote is awesome and it really hit me because with all the school stress that we have been living this last week, the college, career choices or the choice not to make any choices is really stressing and sometimes I have come to think that there will never be enough time to do all that I plan to do; but then I read this quote and I realized that Finch is actually right, and it kind of makes me feel a lot better.
They are both in their last high school weeks, they are living exactly the same things we are and that also made me feel really identified with them. Of course without the depression factor in the equation. Everybody is trying to figure out what to do with their lives, where to go and thinking about all the choices they turned down and the places they will never go because they have other plans. Everybody is worried about if they are making the right choices or if they will end up on the right path or place, but then, I found this quote. "...but maybe even the smallest places mean something. And if not, maybe they can mean something to us." (pg. 41) It's not about worrying if you will end up where you're supposed to be, but to make the places you are the right ones. I liked this quote because it made me feel a little bit more confident about my university choices, and life choices in general. It can also apply to small things such as a park or a store. For me, it's blockbuster where I used to go with my family and rent movies, and it was great because that meant that it was going to be whole movie weekend or the park in León where we fed the ducks.
So far the book, or what Finch is trying to show Violet, is that life is worth living; it doesn't have to be incredible in a conventional way, or perfect but that there's something special in every day that keeps everyone going. He's trying to make her see that at the same time he found something to keep him awake.
VOCABULARY
1. Domain: an area owned and controlled by someone.
Everything in his sight was King's Arthur's Domains.
2. Ledge: the very narrow edge of something.
She stood on the ledge, trying not to look down because she knew that if she did she would fall.
3. Wisps: a small, thin o twisted bunch, piece or amount of something.
She held the cigarette in her delicate hand, wisps of smoke laced around her fingers, escaping thru them and danced into the cold winter air.
4. Swagger: walk and behave in a very confident or arrogant way.
Finch adjusted his jacket and swaggered along the school corridors, catching everyone's eye.
5. Humdrum: lacking excitement. Dull
She played the piano as an escape from the humdrum of her life.
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