Cover image from Goodreads.com
I had to get this one up on the blog right away. I just finished it yesterday! What a powerful book. It is one of those YA books I walk away from dying to share with someone. Finch and Violet are two characters who meet during dark times in their lives. Together they wander the state of Indiana as part of a project for school, and they form a relationship that is so rare in people so young. The issue of teen suicide is a sensitive and tough one to handle, but Niven does that beautifully (if you read her author notes and dedication in the back, you see why). Though the book deals with such a tough topic, and you do see profanity and some sexual content, I feel like they are all handled well. The book just works better for more mature readers, like the upper classmen into college age. This book was Niven's first voyage into YA, but I do hope it will not be her last!