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butlerebecca's review against another edition
emotional
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Cancer, Death, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Sexual content and Violence
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
sprucewillow's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Child death, Cancer, and Death
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Physical abuse, Drug use, and Biphobia
andersonh92's review
dark
funny
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
5.0
WHY was this on the ALA’s 2022 most banned books in high school libraries? It was humorous, gritty, and had deep meaning and themes.
I can definitely empathize with Greg for being so hard on himself.
It was creative and witty and hilarious.
I can definitely empathize with Greg for being so hard on himself.
It was creative and witty and hilarious.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
Minor: Sexual content
A little gritty and hard language, but very age-appropriate for the YA readernisanre's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-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
4.25
This book was irreverent, ridiculous, and hilarious. The number of times I laughed out loud. More of a 4.25. Greg is an excellent narrator with a great, clear voice. A great filler book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death and Child death
ohanaaa's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Out of the majority of fiction stories I've read, this one felt the most raw, human, and relatable. No cheesiness, no sugarcoating, no nothing... just cutting the crap and being as straightforward and blunt as it can (with some wonderful humor sprinkled in). A really good story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Child death
Moderate: Cancer
Minor: Sexual content, Alcoholism, Drug use, Eating disorder, Death of parent, and Abandonment
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