Me and Earl and the Dying Girl: A Book Review

Hi!

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

Summary: 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.

{kindly taken from Goodreads}

My Thoughts: I picked this up at my local library after falling in love with the cover. Although I LOVED the cover, I was not entirely impressed with the book. It was very humorous, and I think the author had a very interesting writing style, but the actual story didn’t fully connect with me.

Greg has not seen Rachel for years, when his mom suddenly tells him that she has cancer. Of course, Greg feels the need to reconnect with Rachel before she might die. This is a totally different direction than most cancer books out there, and its the main character helped it to stand out. Greg was such a strong protagonist. He had an original personality, and it will let the story stand out among the thousands of YA novels out there. His humor and wit really pushed the plot along. The way the book is set up is that Greg is “writing” it as if it is a journal. There are scripts and other formats throughout the book, which I really liked! It’s fun to switch it up a bit. Besides Greg, the other characters lacked the development I was hoping to find. Rachel had so much potential to be explored, but I could never feel any emotion for her.

The plot was solid. Nothing amazing, but thoroughly entertaining! There was not a huge focus on the cancer aspect. Instead, the story was mainly about Greg and his growth as a young adult. I liked that the author took a different approach to a usually depressing topic. For many reluctant readers, this should {and will!} appeal to them because you will laugh out load. I promise. There were a few unnecessary scenes that could have been cut out, but the main plot was there, and that is what matters.

This was a surprising “cancer” book. Although it has themes similar to the award-winning The Fault in Our Stars, do not go into reading it thinking you will cry. My final thoughts? Check it out when you need a good laugh, but skip it if you have better books on your TBR list.

Pros: Solid writing and strong protagonist.

Cons: The rest of the characters needed more development, and the story wasn’t easy to relate to.

Heads Up: Hmm. Lots of teenage boy humor and the language was a biggie.

Overall: I give it 3 stars {***} and I recommend it for ages 14 and up.

Have a terrific night!

Bella :)