Title: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Author: Jesse Andrews
Publication: March 1, 2012
Publisher: Amulet Books
Rating: 5 out 5
Synopsis: Greg Gaines is the last master of high school espionage, able to disappear at will into any social environment. He has only one friend, Earl, and together they spend their time making movies, their own incomprehensible versions of Coppola and Herzog cult classics.
Until Greg’s mother forces him to rekindle his childhood friendship with Rachel.
Rachel has been diagnosed with leukemia—-cue extreme adolescent awkwardness—-but a parental mandate has been issued and must be obeyed. When Rachel stops treatment, Greg and Earl decide the thing to do is to make a film for her, which turns into the Worst Film Ever Made and becomes a turning point in each of their lives.
And all at once Greg must abandon invisibility and stand in the spotlight.
Review: This comedy starts by saying how awful the book is, and we should stop reading because it's uninteresting and completely stupid. Obviously the reader thinks "why would an author write that?". It's because the main character -- Greg -- is the one who's saying these things. He's writing a book to share the story of Rachel, the girl who had leukemia. His style of writing is definitely a high schooler talking. It's very real and personable. Greg doesn't tell his story purely in paragraphs. He also writes conversations like a movie script. He also does it like this:
Me: Yeah, but how am I supposed to know?
Rachel: I don't know, just do it.
Me: Why should I do it?
Earl: Because none of us wants to do it.
Me: Oh, I see. You guys don't want to so I'm the immediate candidate.
Earl and Rachel: Yes!
That's an example of Greg writing a conversation. So it doesn't say "Then I said, so she said, and he said". It's pretty much a story about Greg growing up and being a better and selfless person by hanging out with Rachel. He never opens up to people, and her leukemia brings different feelings out in the open. If you look at all the Amazon / Goodreads reviews, almost everyone says how much they laughed. It's a feel-good book, and one I recommend.
Originally posted on Wanted Readers
Originally posted on Wanted Readers
3 comments:
This book sounds really cute, thanks for sharing. <3
I have seen this at the library several times, and it definitely interests me. Now, after reading your review, I think that my mind is set to read it. It sounds like one of those that everyone should try!
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