Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Author: Jesse Andrews
Publisher: Allen and Unwin
Pages: 295 pages
“Also, the movie had the first breasts I had ever seen, although they were not what I had been led to believe that breasts looked like. They were like cow udders, and one of them was bigger than the other. (In retrospect, this may have been responsible for my complete lack of sexual development, which we've already talked about, I guess at least I wasn't going around saying things like, 'The best thing about your two boobs is that they are the same size.”
Author: Jesse Andrews
Publisher: Allen and Unwin
Pages: 295 pages
This is the funniest book you'll ever read about death.
It is a universally acknowledged truth that high school sucks. But on the first day of his senior year, Greg Gaines thinks he's figured it out. The answer to the basic existential question: How is it possible to exist in a place that sucks so bad? His strategy: Remain at the periphery at all times. Keep and insanely low profile. Make mediocre films with the one person who is even sort of his friend, Earl.
This plan works for exactly eight hours. Then Greg's mom forces him to become friends with a girl who has cancer. This brings about the destruction of Greg's entire life.
My Review
Thoughts on the book: Ok before you all go rushing out and think I have to buy this book because it sounds a lot like The Fault in our Stars and I loved that, well I suggest you don't buy it for that reason. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is really nothing like The Fault in Our Stars, yes there is a girl with cancer in the book, but Greg and Rachel don't fall in love, there is no big revealing moment and she doesn't miraculously beat cancer and survive to live a full life. This part in the book says it all:
“I'm not really putting this very well. My point is this: This book
contains precisely zero Important Life Lessons, or Little-Known Facts
About Love, or sappy tear-jerking Moments When We Knew We Had Left Our
Childhood Behind for Good, or whatever. And, unlike most books in which a
girl gets cancer, there are definitely no sugary paradoxical
single-sentence-paragraphs that you're supposed to think are deep
because they're in italics. Do you know what I'm talking about? I'm
talking about sentences like this:
The cancer had taken her eyeballs, yet she saw the world with more clarity than ever before.
Barf. Forget it. For me personally, things are in no way more meaningful because I got to know Rachel before she died. If anything, things are less meaningful. All right?”
The cancer had taken her eyeballs, yet she saw the world with more clarity than ever before.
Barf. Forget it. For me personally, things are in no way more meaningful because I got to know Rachel before she died. If anything, things are less meaningful. All right?”
However the book is very funny and has a lot of laugh out loud moments throughout so make sure you aren't reading this in public as you may get some weird looks.
The note from the main character, Greg Gaines at the start of the book had me drawn in really quickly, I mean with an opening line like: I have know idea how to write this stupid book, as if you wouldn't be drawn in and I actually had to put down the other book that I was reading because I wanted to read this one first. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to known the main character Greg throughout the book and see how everything affected him. He isn't your typical high-schooler that people write about, you know the ones- hot, captain of the football team, hottest girl in school on his arm. He is infact overweight, Jewish, his best friend is a black boy from the wrong side of the tracks and doesn't really know how to interact around people. But this is what makes him such a fantastic character and he is one that people will be able to identify with and relate to what he is saying about everyday occurrences. I personally would have loved to have seen a little bit more about Rachel. I just felt that she deserved a bit more of our time, considering she is in the title of the book, and is basically the whole reason that the book was written, and is the one suffering from cancer. I would have enjoyed getting to know her more.
This is truly a book that everyone would enjoy and I highly recommend that you go out and buy Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and also see the film that is out now based on the book.
Favourite quote/part:
“If after reading this book you come to my home and brutally murder me, I do not blame you.”
“If after reading this book you come to my home and brutally murder me, I do not blame you.”
“When you convert a good book to a film. stupid things happen” This one is very true. I believe there are many bad book to film adaptions.
“Also, the movie had the first breasts I had ever seen, although they were not what I had been led to believe that breasts looked like. They were like cow udders, and one of them was bigger than the other. (In retrospect, this may have been responsible for my complete lack of sexual development, which we've already talked about, I guess at least I wasn't going around saying things like, 'The best thing about your two boobs is that they are the same size.”
Rating: 4/5
Comments
Post a Comment