Me, Earl and the Dying Girl: Jesse Andrews

Greg Gaines has been purposely spending his life on the edges of high school, dipping in and out of each and every social group. When his mother declares that he must spend time with a dying girl, Rachel, Greg is highly unimpressed. But as their friendship grows, Greg and his best friend Earl try to make her days suck less with one of their (not so) famous films.

This is a great book. Simple, honest and not trying to be anything it’s not. Even though there is a young girl with cancer, the story isn’t overwhelmingly sad. You know what’s coming and Greg, Earl and Rachel respond like teenagers, not like some fictionalized characters where the focus becomes some grand life lesson.

The absolute best part of this book was Earl, Greg’s best friend and possibly the most random person ever. I found myself looking forward to every scene Earl was in. He was the perfect, straight forward contrast to Greg’s occasional moroseness. The writing style is clear cut, full of humor and had me laughing out loud, not something you’d generally expect from a book about teen cancer. The teenagers are teenagers, bad language, self-absorbed and all.

Books that stay true to their characters personalities are always the best. Highly recommend to those looking for something a little out of the ordinary or for something easy, funny and interesting to pick up.

L xoxo