Sunday 5 October 2014

Review: Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler and Art by Maira Kalman



Book: Why We Broke Up

Author: Daniel Handler

Art By: Maira Kelman

Pages: 354

Read On: Paperback

How Long It Took Me To Read: 2 days

Plot Summary: I'm telling you why we broke up, Ed. I'm writing it in this letter, the whole truth of why it happened.

Min Green and Ed Slaterton are breaking up, so Min is writing Ed a letter and giving him a box. Inside the box is why they broke up. Two bottle caps, a movie ticket, a folded note, a box of matches, a protractor, books, a toy truck, a pair of ugly earrings, a comb from a motel room, and every other item collected over the course of a giddy, intimate, heartbreaking relationship. Item after item is illustrated and accounted for, and then the box, like a girlfriend, will be dumped.
General Thoughts: I have wanted this book since forever. I won't lie the art was a big part of why I wanted to read this book. I am a sucker for books with pictures in them! :)

Things I Liked: 

1. The art was lovely. Each item that made up the course of this relationship was drawn and it was a great addition to the story. I spent a good amount of time staring at the illustrations and also Instagramming the crap out of it.

2. The writing was great too. I loved the tone and the style of the writing. I haven't read any other Daniel Handler book before but I really want to now. Especially the Lemony Snicket books.

3. I loved the conversations in this book, they felt genuine and real.

4. I loved that the teenagers in this book sound like teens. They don't sound overly evolved, smart and clever. Not like teenagers aren't these things but I am sick of books where teens sound like mature 30 year olds.

5. This book is full of references to old black and white movies. I want to look up several of these.

6. I liked Min and her friends. They are a bit hipster-ish and I loved their bond and how cool they all sounded.

Things I Didn't Like: 

1. I just didn't like Ed. Like not for a minute. I just could't abide him. He was offensive, mean and nothing special. A total jock. I didn't see why Min wanted to date him.

2. This relationship didn't make sense to me at all. Why Min and Ed got together in the first place was a mystery? They had nothing in common and Ed like I said was a rude jock.

Rating: 3.5/5


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