3.25.2013

Staff Pick: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

From goodreads:

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.

Pick it: for the true-to-life narrative voice. I had trouble remembering that the book was not a memoir!

Skip it: if you're looking for a cry-fest. In fact, expect the opposite.This book had me in stitches. Seriously! I know a book about a girl dying of cancer doesn't sound like it would be hilarious, but it is. Trust me.

Pair with: It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini, another hybrid funny/sad book with a narrator so real you'll feel like he could walk through the door at any moment.

Reviewed by: Melissa

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