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3.39 AVERAGE
3.39 AVERAGE
Originally posted here.
I was interested in Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler, I admit, largely because I wanted to see what the author of The Series of Unfortunate Events could do in the world of contemporary YA. And writing from the PoV of a heartbroken 16 year old girl. Then it went an earned itself a Printz Honor and I became even more interested.
This is a realistic and heart wrenching portrayal of a girl who has had her heart smashed to pieces, just as much by her own reckless wantings as by the boy who betrayed her trust. I loved that. I loved Min had a sarcastic and bitter tone through the book, but those things weren't directed at Ed (all the time), they were directed at herself. As she parses through all the moments in their relationship you can practically see her face-palming and hear her muttering, "Stupid, stupid, stupid." This book could be subtitled: What Happens When a Smart Girl Starts Thinking With Her Hormones, A Cautionary Tale. It is a dissertation on the importance of guarding your heart even when the boy who comes knocking on it is a hot basketball star who makes butterflies dance in your stomach. It is not an easy book to read. You know where it is going to end and, even if the title didn't give that away, it is obvious from the get go Ed is bad news for Min. The writing is on the wall, she is too bedazzled by lust to see it. This scenario plays out so often in real life that this book will most definitely find an audience who can relate. I really liked how in the end all Min really has is regrets. There is no "It is better to have loved.." sentimentality. There is no "at least I learned a valuable lesson". There is just "wow, how could I not see this for what it was".
My only complaint is that the narrative is almost stream of consciousness at points, which fits with the idea that this is a letter from Min to Ed, and it also helps us get to know Min better as a reader. It made the book really long though. If this was actually a letter it would have taken Min a couple weeks riding around in Al's truck to write it and Ed would never make it past page 30.
Note on Content: The book has quite a lot of strong language and some sex. Parents of younger YA readers might want to know this is there.
I was interested in Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler, I admit, largely because I wanted to see what the author of The Series of Unfortunate Events could do in the world of contemporary YA. And writing from the PoV of a heartbroken 16 year old girl. Then it went an earned itself a Printz Honor and I became even more interested.
This is a realistic and heart wrenching portrayal of a girl who has had her heart smashed to pieces, just as much by her own reckless wantings as by the boy who betrayed her trust. I loved that. I loved Min had a sarcastic and bitter tone through the book, but those things weren't directed at Ed (all the time), they were directed at herself. As she parses through all the moments in their relationship you can practically see her face-palming and hear her muttering, "Stupid, stupid, stupid." This book could be subtitled: What Happens When a Smart Girl Starts Thinking With Her Hormones, A Cautionary Tale. It is a dissertation on the importance of guarding your heart even when the boy who comes knocking on it is a hot basketball star who makes butterflies dance in your stomach. It is not an easy book to read. You know where it is going to end and, even if the title didn't give that away, it is obvious from the get go Ed is bad news for Min. The writing is on the wall, she is too bedazzled by lust to see it. This scenario plays out so often in real life that this book will most definitely find an audience who can relate. I really liked how in the end all Min really has is regrets. There is no "It is better to have loved.." sentimentality. There is no "at least I learned a valuable lesson". There is just "wow, how could I not see this for what it was".
My only complaint is that the narrative is almost stream of consciousness at points, which fits with the idea that this is a letter from Min to Ed, and it also helps us get to know Min better as a reader. It made the book really long though. If this was actually a letter it would have taken Min a couple weeks riding around in Al's truck to write it and Ed would never make it past page 30.
Note on Content: The book has quite a lot of strong language and some sex. Parents of younger YA readers might want to know this is there.
I enjoyed this book but I did have some issues with it. Not ones that had to do with the writing, only the fact that I couldn't relate to any of the characters. I have never gone through a break up so I didn't really understand why these items caused Min to break up with Ed. But still, it was a fun book to read.
It was like a trip down memory lane after a break up with the boyfriend. Not bad, but not great.
DNF at 38%. Bored out of my fucking skull.
She's pretentious. He's a douche. Could this be true love? Probably not, since the book is called "Why We Broke Up".
By 38%, I should give a shit. Do I give one? Nope.
Min carries on about old movies, which I suppose is meant to make her sound worldly and intelligent, while Ed is considerably more average (also vaguely misogynistic, unlikeable and dull in his own special way).
I have no idea how this book ends and I'll probably never know, but I'd like to think Ed doesn't even open the box because he has better things to do than read a 354 page letter about the relationship he just got out of.
She's pretentious. He's a douche. Could this be true love? Probably not, since the book is called "Why We Broke Up".
By 38%, I should give a shit. Do I give one? Nope.
Min carries on about old movies, which I suppose is meant to make her sound worldly and intelligent, while Ed is considerably more average (also vaguely misogynistic, unlikeable and dull in his own special way).
I have no idea how this book ends and I'll probably never know, but I'd like to think Ed doesn't even open the box because he has better things to do than read a 354 page letter about the relationship he just got out of.
I loved this book because I hated it so much. The main character is soooo manic pixie dream girl and an idiot and Ed has the emotional range of a teaspoon. I'm not sure if it's intended to be satire but I read it as such and found it hilarious. But also kind of sad cause what girl hasn't fallen for a jerk who we thought was more complex than we thought?
Oh, Daniel Handler. He has done it again: made me love him from a simple sad story. Now, I'm biased because Adverbs is my favorite book of all time, but I loved this book. I opened it up this morning and I read it straight through with only a few breaks.
What I've read a lot in the more negative reviews is that Min is not like a typical high schooler. She doesn't sound 17. She sounds like she's in her mid-to-late-20s. I don't necessarily agree. Min is, as read read so often in the book, "different." And maybe I can relate to her because I'm geeky about books the way she is about movies. I don't even know if the movies Min was mentioning were real because it didn't matter. Handler navigates through those things in a whimsical way. I can picture just enough of the movie to be interested in Min's reference to it but not care whether it exists or not. I mean, I'll look them up because if they are real, I want to see them because I'm guessing Handler himself has seen them, and I'll do pretty much anything the man tells me to.
I liked Ed in the beginning. I knew they were breaking up but even with their differences I thought, "Maybe this will end okay?" Of course it doesn't. But I think we're drawn to love stories, not break-up stories, so I still hoped.
The story wasn't too ~original~, but I don't think it was supposed to be. It was supposed to be THAT story, the one you already knew, but you were reading it anyway. It's high school love gone wrong, it's opposites attract and why that doesn't work, it's 18-year-old boys being 18-year-old boys and 17-year-old girls being 17-year-old girls and how sometimes that excuse doesn't work because you still hurt people in the process. And even though I knew exactly what was going to happen, down to the details with Annette, it worked, because Handler made it work. He gave Min a really distinct voice.
Maira Kalman's illustrations were so lovely. It added another element to the book. I can't decide whether to keep the book jacket on or off because it's beautiful but so is the white hardback cover with the rose petals.
What I've read a lot in the more negative reviews is that Min is not like a typical high schooler. She doesn't sound 17. She sounds like she's in her mid-to-late-20s. I don't necessarily agree. Min is, as read read so often in the book, "different." And maybe I can relate to her because I'm geeky about books the way she is about movies. I don't even know if the movies Min was mentioning were real because it didn't matter. Handler navigates through those things in a whimsical way. I can picture just enough of the movie to be interested in Min's reference to it but not care whether it exists or not. I mean, I'll look them up because if they are real, I want to see them because I'm guessing Handler himself has seen them, and I'll do pretty much anything the man tells me to.
I liked Ed in the beginning. I knew they were breaking up but even with their differences I thought, "Maybe this will end okay?" Of course it doesn't. But I think we're drawn to love stories, not break-up stories, so I still hoped.
The story wasn't too ~original~, but I don't think it was supposed to be. It was supposed to be THAT story, the one you already knew, but you were reading it anyway. It's high school love gone wrong, it's opposites attract and why that doesn't work, it's 18-year-old boys being 18-year-old boys and 17-year-old girls being 17-year-old girls and how sometimes that excuse doesn't work because you still hurt people in the process. And even though I knew exactly what was going to happen, down to the details with Annette, it worked, because Handler made it work. He gave Min a really distinct voice.
Maira Kalman's illustrations were so lovely. It added another element to the book. I can't decide whether to keep the book jacket on or off because it's beautiful but so is the white hardback cover with the rose petals.
Ok, so funny story... I already read this! I was 10 pages in and though 'Hmm, this seems really familiar.' I read 10 more pages, then skipped to the back. Yep, I recall now. I liked it though.
i didn't want to finish this because I didn't really care for the story at all.
I adored this book. At first I thought the female narrator would be a little too Juno-esque precious, but she actually grew on me and by the end I was totally moved by the break up story of high school outsider Min and her jock popular boyfriend. A genuinely touching and surprising YA love story.
So I really wanted to like this book. I really did.
But I couldn't.
The whole entire time I felt like I was reading a script for a remake of a John Hughes' movie with the whole "two opposites attract" thing as the story's centerpiece. However, unlike with John Hughes, where I can overlook some of the implausible situations/relationships to simply enjoy the movie, I couldn't overlook how contrived this whole plotline felt. I know what Daniel Handler was going for, he just didn't get it.
Additionally, there is really no one you sympathsize with in this story. While you are naturally inclined to feel sorry for Min, her constant complaining and whining, and her whole different for the sake of being different thing gets annoying quickly. And while I can read books without having to root for a character, when the book's whole premise is about a break-up, it makes much easier to get into if you can pick a side.
Just read a Rainbow Rowell novel, it'll be better way to spend your time.
But I couldn't.
The whole entire time I felt like I was reading a script for a remake of a John Hughes' movie with the whole "two opposites attract" thing as the story's centerpiece. However, unlike with John Hughes, where I can overlook some of the implausible situations/relationships to simply enjoy the movie, I couldn't overlook how contrived this whole plotline felt. I know what Daniel Handler was going for, he just didn't get it.
Additionally, there is really no one you sympathsize with in this story. While you are naturally inclined to feel sorry for Min, her constant complaining and whining, and her whole different for the sake of being different thing gets annoying quickly. And while I can read books without having to root for a character, when the book's whole premise is about a break-up, it makes much easier to get into if you can pick a side.
Just read a Rainbow Rowell novel, it'll be better way to spend your time.