Me, Earl and the dying girl, by Jesse Andrews -REVIEW-

Boy am I glad that this book turned out to be awesome!

Title : Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Author : Jesse Andrews
Publisher : Harry N. Abrams
Release date : March 1st 2012
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The thing is, I was scared I wouldn't enjoy this book as much as the movie. I had seen a lot of reviews of people saying they found Me and Earl and the Dying Girl boring and I was hesitating on reading it. Thankfully, a friend of mine had the book and she let me borrow it.

Me, Earl and the Dying Girl is not a book for everyone. For starters, the main character, Craig, is kind of an ass. The only reason he hangs out with Rachel (the dying girl) is because his mom forces him to. Personally, I liked the honesty behind Craig. I liked that he was a great representation of a real teenage boy, no John Green bullshit or anything. By that, I simply mean that John Green writes cute love stories that, while being full of "awww!" worthy moments, are not relatable at all. Jesse Andrews wrote a book about the real life and guess what? Real life isn't always exciting and it sure as hell isn't like the movies.

Another reason you might not like this book is because of the character development. It is different, I'm going to tell you that, but I found it extremely well done. There is no "typical character development" in this book. Craig and Rachel don't become best friends. They don't fall in love. Craig doesn't have this huge realization on the meaning of life. Instead, he grows in another, more subtle way. He comes to realize that the way he acts is selfish. He realizes that while he tries really hard to stay on the sidewalk to avoid getting hurt himself, he is hurting other people. And to me that is such a genius thing for the author to explore in her novel!

It's rare that people plan on hurting someone or making someone miserable; most of the time, people don't even realize the impact of their words or actions. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, maybe I'm completely besides the point of this book. For me though, that's what this book represents.

Finally, you might not enjoy this book because of its weirdness. Everyone is weird, one way or another. But this book contains a next level of oddness. For my part, it was right up my alley. I absolutely loved the humor of the characters and the writing style of Jesse Andrews, but I am obviously aware that some will not.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl felt like a book I could have written. I saw parts of myself in it and that's why I enjoyed it as much. This one is a "read at your own risks" kind of book and for me, it was so worth it!

Sophie