All The Bright Places

Violet regrets having told her parents that she has been invited to a sleepover at the home of her former close friend, Amanda Monk. They cajole her into attending the party, although Violet wonders if she and her friend ever really shared much in common. Since Violet’s resignation from cheerleading, she has seen very little of Amanda. Her former friend’s popularity seem to stem from her father’s “chain of liquor stores” and the fact that “she puts out” (46). 

Upon her arrival, Violet realizes that this is a drinking party. “Roamer,” the popular boy who harasses Finch, is asking another boy about his romantic success on a recent date. He questions Violet carefully about why she had been present on the tower with Finch, and he is clearly skeptical of her explanation. Amanda acknowledges her friend’s need to honor her late sister but, looking at Eleanor’s oversized glasses, she says, “I get wanting to remember your sister, but didn’t she have, like, a cute sweater you could wear instead?” (46). She also asks Violet whether Finch likes her, leading to the supposition that perhaps Violet likes Finch, a social outcast, in return.

Violet feels nauseated due to the loud music and pervasive smell of beer, and she leaves the party. She runs into her former boyfriend, Ryan Cross, who tries to kiss her. She characterizes Ryan as “perfect,” while she is “messy” (49). She wonders how her friends would feel if they knew that Finch had saved her from suicide, rather than vice versa. Upon her arrival home, she explains to her parents that the party was a “let’s-get-wasted orgiastic free-for-all” and tells them that she just wants to go to bed (51).

Subsequently, Finch posts a video on his Facebook wall of himself singing a song about jumping off a tower. He asks Violet to meet in order to discuss the events on the tower and to plan their geography project. She reluctantly agrees to have him visit her at home.

Finch, still in a manic state, drives his mother’s minivan to Violet’s house at a speed of 100 mph. He reflects upon the suicide of the Italian poet Cesare Pavese and the note he left in which he forgave, and asked forgiveness of, everyone. 

Violet meets him outside the house and guides him away from Amanda’s party. She insists that she has no need to discuss the events on the tower, to which he responds that he knows “a cry for help when I see one” (58). Violet explains that her late sister, Eleanor, would have turned 19 on the preceding day. In response to her questioning, he explains that he has been labeled a “freak” since eighth grade due to his impulsive behavior. After a short walk, Violet states that she wants to go to sleep. Finch is still excessively energetic and starts his nightly run after returning home, during which he sprints on a bridge, “across the tops of its walls—the ones that act as guardrails” (63). While doing so, he sees the remnants of Eleanor Markey’s fatal car accident beneath the bridge, and he retrieves the broken license plate to prevent anyone from collecting it as a souvenir. 

Violet realizes that the domain name for her and Eleanor’s online magazine is due to expire. She considers maintaining the site and changing its focus to a forum for writers or a place to share pragmatic advice, such as “how to change a tire” (66). Ultimately, Violet deletes the site as well as the notes that she and her sister had made about the magazine’s next issue.