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pacifickat's review
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I'm not sure how to write a review of this book yet, but I'll probably update this later with some thoughts. For now, suffice it to say that the audiobook read by Thomas Mann and RJ Cyler is brilliantly done. I laughed out loud quite a lot, and Mann perfectly captured the voice and intonation of an awkward teenage boy.
Not sure this book would be published now with certain language and stereotypes being present in the storytelling, but to me it came off as believably 'of a time' and true to what teenage boys might have said and thought circa 2012.
Also, concerning this book being a target for school and library bans, I recommend reading this article explaining the offending passages as well as a defense by the author regarding their inclusion in the story:
https://deadline.com/2023/07/jesse-andrews-me-and-earl-and-the-dying-girl-book-ban-florida-1235440379/
*UPDATE:* I finally have more to say about this book and why I liked it a lot more than I probably should have. This is a book about art and the human experience as told (messily) by a teenage boy with a foul mouth and a lot of (relatable) awkward internal monologuing. I was surprised how poignantly it capture the unbridgeable gap between artistic expression (human expression, really) and reality can be, and the frustration and existential pain this causes the main character as he attempts to understand and relate to his own interior landscape and the truth of what is happening to Rachel. The impossibility of it is profound in the end. Greg is also more vulnerable than he seems, and by paying attention to what he's NOT saying, between the jokes and meandering storytelling, one can learn a lot. In the end, art has limits as to what it can achieve, and is almost always more about the person who made it than anything else. It is, in essence, as narcissistic and self-involved as the teenager narrating this story. Does the story 'fridge' the girl to move the male character's story arc along? Yes. Does it know it's doing it and talk about how arrogant and stupid that is? Also, yes. I will end this horrifying long review with three quotes from the book:
1. "[We had made a film about a thing, death, that we knew nothing about. Maybe Earl sort of knew something, but I knew nothing about it. Plus we had made a film about a girl who we really hadn't gotten to know. Actually, we hadn't made the film about her at all. She was just dying, there, and we had gone and made a film about ourselves. We had taken this girl and used her really to make a film about ourselves, and it just seemed so stupid and wrong that I couldn't stop crying. Rachel the Film is not at all about Rachel. It's about how little we know about Rachel. We were so ridiculously arrogant to try to make a film about her."
2. "[...] I hated myself for this, I was realizing how to make the movie I should have made, that it had to be something that stored as much of Rachel as possible, that ideally we would have had a camera on her for her whole life, and one inside her head, and it made me so bitter and fucking angry that this was impossible, and she was just going to be lost."
3. "It's not a good film. OK? Actually, it sucks. Because [...] we had pretty good intentions, but that doesn't mean we made a good film. OK? Because it's not about her at all. It's just this embarrassing thing that shows that we don't eve understand anything about her. [...] Just because something is weird and hard to understand doesn't mean it's creative. That's - that's the whole problem. If you want to pretend like something is good, even when it's not, that's when you use stupid words like 'creative'. Our classmates hated it. [...] If it was good, they would have liked it. They would have understood it. And if it was good, maybe it would have helped."
Is this book perfect? No. Is it OK to not create clear meaning and purpose out of what looks and feels like chaotic nonsense? Yes. Grappling with nonbeing while being a living, breathing, conscious person can feel baffling. The actual experience can ultimately be impossible to express, to actually capture, hold, and share. The beauty of this book is that it admits to that truth, that in trying to say something meaningful, we end up saying nothing sensical at all. And, paradoxically (impossibly, frustratingly, unintentionally?) perhaps the very opposite is sometimes true as well.
Not sure this book would be published now with certain language and stereotypes being present in the storytelling, but to me it came off as believably 'of a time' and true to what teenage boys might have said and thought circa 2012.
Also, concerning this book being a target for school and library bans, I recommend reading this article explaining the offending passages as well as a defense by the author regarding their inclusion in the story:
https://deadline.com/2023/07/jesse-andrews-me-and-earl-and-the-dying-girl-book-ban-florida-1235440379/
*UPDATE:* I finally have more to say about this book and why I liked it a lot more than I probably should have. This is a book about art and the human experience as told (messily) by a teenage boy with a foul mouth and a lot of (relatable) awkward internal monologuing. I was surprised how poignantly it capture the unbridgeable gap between artistic expression (human expression, really) and reality can be, and the frustration and existential pain this causes the main character as he attempts to understand and relate to his own interior landscape and the truth of what is happening to Rachel. The impossibility of it is profound in the end. Greg is also more vulnerable than he seems, and by paying attention to what he's NOT saying, between the jokes and meandering storytelling, one can learn a lot. In the end, art has limits as to what it can achieve, and is almost always more about the person who made it than anything else. It is, in essence, as narcissistic and self-involved as the teenager narrating this story.
1. "[We had made a film about a thing, death, that we knew nothing about. Maybe Earl sort of knew something, but I knew nothing about it. Plus we had made a film about a girl who we really hadn't gotten to know. Actually, we hadn't made the film about her at all. She was just dying, there, and we had gone and made a film about ourselves. We had taken this girl and used her really to make a film about ourselves, and it just seemed so stupid and wrong that I couldn't stop crying. Rachel the Film is not at all about Rachel. It's about how little we know about Rachel. We were so ridiculously arrogant to try to make a film about her."
2. "[...] I hated myself for this, I was realizing how to make the movie I should have made, that it had to be something that stored as much of Rachel as possible, that ideally we would have had a camera on her for her whole life, and one inside her head, and it made me so bitter and fucking angry that this was impossible, and she was just going to be lost."
3. "It's not a good film. OK? Actually, it sucks. Because [...] we had pretty good intentions, but that doesn't mean we made a good film. OK? Because it's not about her at all. It's just this embarrassing thing that shows that we don't eve understand anything about her. [...] Just because something is weird and hard to understand doesn't mean it's creative. That's - that's the whole problem. If you want to pretend like something is good, even when it's not, that's when you use stupid words like 'creative'. Our classmates hated it. [...] If it was good, they would have liked it. They would have understood it. And if it was good, maybe it would have helped."
Is this book perfect? No. Is it OK to not create clear meaning and purpose out of what looks and feels like chaotic nonsense? Yes. Grappling with nonbeing while being a living, breathing, conscious person can feel baffling. The actual experience can ultimately be impossible to express, to actually capture, hold, and share. The beauty of this book is that it admits to that truth, that in trying to say something meaningful, we end up saying nothing sensical at all. And, paradoxically (impossibly, frustratingly, unintentionally?) perhaps the very opposite is sometimes true as well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Cancer, Child death, Cursing, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Sexual content, Drug use, and Racial slurs
Minor: Misogyny, Homophobia, and Fatphobia
koplomps's review against another edition
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.5
What a douche of a main character and a fucked up best friend. The way they talked about their fellow female students was disgusting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Sexism, Biphobia, Child death, Cursing, Violence, Racism, Bullying, and Sexual content
Moderate: Drug use, Abandonment, Body shaming, Body horror, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Racial slurs
Minor: Fatphobia and Toxic friendship
rhiannon814r's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
If you loved Holden Caulfield, you’ll love Greg Gaines and this is the book for you. I do not love Holden Caulfield.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Racial slurs, Cancer, and Terminal illness
tea_kettle's review against another edition
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
some weird vibes. it’s written from a teenager’s perspective, and it made me uncomfortable at times. the ways earl’s family is portrayed feels vaguely problematic, as well as others parts that feel like micro-agressions (namely when they try pho for the second time). the protagonist constantly shits on himself, and it’s a little annoying.
all that aside, it was an okay book; i liked the story, it was just a weird read. i suppose that makes it more accurate to the high school experience, makes it more “sincere”. i was not a fan, but i don’t regret reading it. the formatting was fun, and it was easy to get through. i do regret rereading it; it’s been a few years, and it was worse than i remembered.. this will be getting donated.
all that aside, it was an okay book; i liked the story, it was just a weird read. i suppose that makes it more accurate to the high school experience, makes it more “sincere”. i was not a fan, but i don’t regret reading it. the formatting was fun, and it was easy to get through. i do regret rereading it; it’s been a few years, and it was worse than i remembered.. this will be getting donated.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Violence, Cancer, and Drug use
Moderate: Abandonment, Biphobia, Drug abuse, Racial slurs, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
Minor: Alcohol, Blood, War, Cannibalism, Eating disorder, and Suicidal thoughts
bek_p87's review
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I kind of liked this book. It felt like an authentic portrayal of how a 17 year old boy would deal with the serious illness and death of an acquaintance. There was way too much talk of boners, and definitely some racist caricatures. It didn't make me feel anything, but I don't think it was supposed to.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer and Death
Moderate: Sexism and Racial slurs
nicnacsmom's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Felt like the writing was all over the place. I get the premise, and it wasn't difficult to follow, but it was distracting & a bit boring. I never found myself getting sucked into the story or attached to any of the characters. It felt like it was all surface & not enough depth. There were some amusing excerpts, but otherwise this novel just didn't do anything for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Racial slurs, and Sexism
Moderate: Cancer, Death, and Toxic friendship
griffinsaurus's review
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
really not gonna lie, the ending of the book really got me -- got me in my feels...
me and earl and the dying girl is fast-paced and easy to read; the language is very simple and can be enjoyed by many :) however, it does touch on sensitive issues quite casually and [i would say] coarsely. in the beginning, i was just reading for the sake of it but towards the end, i found myself immersed in the characters' emotions. there wasn't much character development for the main character and somehow, this made the book hit much harder than expected. it was almost realistic - how he was thinking and acting.
this book was written in a different generation, and does mention racial slurs so idk how to feel about that
me and earl and the dying girl is fast-paced and easy to read; the language is very simple and can be enjoyed by many :) however, it does touch on sensitive issues quite casually and [i would say] coarsely. in the beginning, i was just reading for the sake of it but towards the end, i found myself immersed in the characters' emotions. there wasn't much character development for the main character and somehow, this made the book hit much harder than expected. it was almost realistic - how he was thinking and acting.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs
arionthemoon's review
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I didn't find it enjoyable. ¾ of the book was quite boring and the style of writing is not for me.
The amount of stereotypes, racism and homophobic comments made it hard to enjoy.
I wish it went more in depth with Rachels story, the end was disappointing "she died" and that was it? It could've beed done better.
I wouldn't reread it. As for recommending it, I would say no but you may find it more enjoyable read than I did.
The amount of stereotypes, racism and homophobic comments made it hard to enjoy.
I wouldn't reread it. As for recommending it, I would say no but you may find it more enjoyable read than I did.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Racial slurs, Toxic friendship, and Cancer
Minor: Homophobia
juliannawhite's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer and Death
Minor: Racial slurs
flordemaga's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Child death, Death, Terminal illness, Grief, Medical content, and Cursing
Moderate: Bullying, Alcoholism, and Drug use
Minor: Racial slurs and Biphobia