adriagoetz 's review for:

Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler

5.0

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I loved the characters, the distinct voice, the plethora of commas, the gorgeous illustrations, but I'm still trying to internalize a few things about it. Without spoiling the plot, I'll just say that there were stereotypical characters that embodied their tropes and cliche plot points-- since the protagonist is obsessed with movies and stories, I've been racking my brain for what Handler was trying to do by putting her within a cliche plot. Yes, the protagonist is self-aware that her story is cliche, but I'm trying to decide whether it was enough. What is the purpose of allowing a character to embody a trope but not allowing them to stray from it? To me, it read as discouraging, like people can't change, like they're stuck making the decisions they're supposed to make. I know that since I'm wrestling with themes and ideas, that Handler was definitely trying to do something with it, but I'm still not sure what that is.