All the Bright Places: 17. Violet: 145 days till liberation Summary & Analysis

Finch misses the turnoff, so he drives right over the median to fix his mistake. In a tiny town, Finch parks and leads Violet to an abandoned factory. When they get close, Violet sees that someone wrote “Before I die…” on the wall. After that, there are columns of “Before I die I want to ___” with people’s desires filled in. Finch and Violet read what people have written, and then Finch gives Violet a piece of chalk. He says that they’re going to fill a lot of lines so they can figure out why they’re here. He starts writing about wanting to “find the Great Manifesto,” “count for something,” and “matter.” Violet writes that she wants to drive, write, breathe, and stop being afraid.

Finch leans over Violet’s shoulder and writes that he’d like to kiss her. Violet kind of wants him to; she hasn’t kissed many boys. But Finch says he’s not going to kiss her here, and he doesn’t like her like that anyway. Once they’re back on the road, Violet’s mind races. She keeps thinking about kissing Finch and wonders if she does like him. Back in Bartlett, Finch drives to the Quarry, where the bouncer lets them in without checking their IDs. Finch leads Violet to the dance floor, and Violet shouts at him that she doesn’t like him, either. Finch laughs.