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3.39 AVERAGE
3.39 AVERAGE
This was a book a student insisted I read, bringing it to my room before school, and we English teachers have rules about things like that: if a student seeks you out and shoves a book at you, you have to read it. No questions asked.
I was immediately charmed by the frame of the story--going through a box of mementos from an old relationship, Min writes a letter to her ex about why they broke up, and in doing so, chronicles their entire relationship, treasure by treasure. The writing style took me a bit to get used to, but I eventually fell under the spell. It's a clever, sweet, aching book to which anyone--teen or former teen--can relate.
I was immediately charmed by the frame of the story--going through a box of mementos from an old relationship, Min writes a letter to her ex about why they broke up, and in doing so, chronicles their entire relationship, treasure by treasure. The writing style took me a bit to get used to, but I eventually fell under the spell. It's a clever, sweet, aching book to which anyone--teen or former teen--can relate.
Nope. Too damn depressing for me right now. (I'm counting it as "finished" since I read half and then skipped to the end. Just so you know.)
Dear Mr. Handler and Ms. Kalman,
Two days after I finished reading your book, I still can't stop thinking about it. That's why I gave it five stars. Because "It was amazing" is when you can't stop thinking about something. Sticks to your head like a 1990s bubblegum pop song. And I mean that in a happy happy way.
Mr. Handler, you described the feelings of teenagers so perfectly. I could imagine that perfect, imperfect high school boy everybody loves to love--handsome, athletic, with a heartbeat-skipping, eardrums-pounding smile, etcetera etcetera. I could imagine falling in love with him too, like Min Green did. I could imagine blaming myself, mentally chasing myself with a meat cleaver, should things go wrong between me and him--crying crying crying because he's so perfect and yet he's not. And between his perfection and assholey imperfection, I find myself wallowing in the muck of self-pity because perfect, imperfect as he is, I do not deserve him.
Having read this more than a decade past my teenagerhood, and at an age when I myself could be dealing with a teenager soon enough, I know that Min should have chosen the right guy, the kind guy, the guy who likes the same movies as she does, the same coffee, the same different stuff, who rides on the same arty waves as she does. But because you painted the characters so well, I actually felt for the "jerk" in the story. I felt that he really loved the heroine. But he couldn't help who he is, which is simply, of course, a teenager.
The title is a dead giveaway (duh) that unlike most teen romances/young adult books, Why We Broke Up does not (would not?) have the heroine and the boy ending up in each other's arms (or some other variation of a happy-ish ending). But the important thing is, your book dealt with Teenage Reality. I mean, come on, how many high school couples really end up with each other? Broken, bleeding hearts are really part of the teenage journey, and thank you for telling a deceptively simple, but exceptionally clever (and heartfelt!) story about that.
By the way, that self-loathing soliloquy near the end? Plain Brilliant.
Ms. Kalman, if only I could draw/paint my praises for your work, I would. And even if I could write them, I don't have the words. I'm a FAN.
If the two of you were a real-life couple, I would tell you to go on and have more more kids. Your superior genes deserve to spread.
Looking forward to your next collab.
Two days after I finished reading your book, I still can't stop thinking about it. That's why I gave it five stars. Because "It was amazing" is when you can't stop thinking about something. Sticks to your head like a 1990s bubblegum pop song. And I mean that in a happy happy way.
Mr. Handler, you described the feelings of teenagers so perfectly. I could imagine that perfect, imperfect high school boy everybody loves to love--handsome, athletic, with a heartbeat-skipping, eardrums-pounding smile, etcetera etcetera. I could imagine falling in love with him too, like Min Green did. I could imagine blaming myself, mentally chasing myself with a meat cleaver, should things go wrong between me and him--crying crying crying because he's so perfect and yet he's not. And between his perfection and assholey imperfection, I find myself wallowing in the muck of self-pity because perfect, imperfect as he is, I do not deserve him.
Having read this more than a decade past my teenagerhood, and at an age when I myself could be dealing with a teenager soon enough, I know that Min should have chosen the right guy, the kind guy, the guy who likes the same movies as she does, the same coffee, the same different stuff, who rides on the same arty waves as she does. But because you painted the characters so well, I actually felt for the "jerk" in the story. I felt that he really loved the heroine. But he couldn't help who he is, which is simply, of course, a teenager.
The title is a dead giveaway (duh) that unlike most teen romances/young adult books, Why We Broke Up does not (would not?) have the heroine and the boy ending up in each other's arms (or some other variation of a happy-ish ending). But the important thing is, your book dealt with Teenage Reality. I mean, come on, how many high school couples really end up with each other? Broken, bleeding hearts are really part of the teenage journey, and thank you for telling a deceptively simple, but exceptionally clever (and heartfelt!) story about that.
By the way, that self-loathing soliloquy near the end? Plain Brilliant.
Ms. Kalman, if only I could draw/paint my praises for your work, I would. And even if I could write them, I don't have the words. I'm a FAN.
If the two of you were a real-life couple, I would tell you to go on and have more more kids. Your superior genes deserve to spread.
Looking forward to your next collab.
Honestly, I did not enjoy this book. The only reason I finished was because I was more than halfway through by the time I realised how much I wasn't enjoying it. Nothing happens!! It's just a bit of a depressing reminder that teenage guys can be shit...
Meh. Also the way she said sec instead of second the whole way through was extremely annoying.
Meh. Also the way she said sec instead of second the whole way through was extremely annoying.
This book is beautifully written (and it's illustrated, too!). I loved the way this book made me feel like I was in high school again and in the midst of a new relationship. Min, the narrator, made me see why she fell in love with Ed, and dreading to learn what he did to make them break up.
This is one of the best teen books I've read in a long time. Handler (aka Lemony Snickett) + illustrator Maira Kalman (among her works the amazing children's book What Pete Ate from A to Z) = fantastic team.
I definitely had to take breaks in order to pull myself away from the emotional roller coaster I felt when reading. I loved this book, and I love Daniel Handler's writing. I don't know if I could read it again knowing what I know now, but it was beautiful. Handler's diction is exactly what I love in novels.
Oooh, what a big disappointment. Lovely drawings, but the writing and the story left me cold.
Different format was cool, with illustrations of the different objects and a more realistic style of writing. Realistic as in it was like when an everyday person writes a journal, a love letter, or in this case, a break up letter. There were some things that were a little ambiguous and you might have to read again after you finish to understand completely, but the concept was well delivered. A good book to read on a rainy day. Definitely worth a try.