Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Another great read for high school students - a different. Take than John Green offers.

It's been a loooong while since I've sat and read a book cover to cover in one sitting, throughout one day, and this was the book that got me to do it again. ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL is an interesting debut novel centered on a teenage boy and the girl he (re) befriends after finding out she's dying from leukemia. I say 'interesting' because it handles the seriousness of the topic with a kind of brute honesty and a side of humor (sometimes awkward teenage boy humor) which I wasn't sure I was expecting. All around, the story didn't follow any easily identifiable trope or plot, which was refreshing for some reason (and I've read a few other stories about teens dying from illnesses, so I wouldn't necessary call them contrived either, but maybe more emotionally moving?).

In this tale, we see everything through the eyes of the narrator Greg Gaines. He's funny, but awkward, shy, and wants nothing else but to live on the fringe in a kind of unnoticeable, unregistered citizen--a kind of high school drifter who doesn't want to make waves, but also doesn't want to be entirely ignored and thus, he sort of befriends everyone--without actually befriending anyone, really. If I sound confused, it's because this book so accurately describes the microcosm of high school and it's bizarre blurred hierarchy. Greg doesn't fit into any particularly easy labels though he's a Jewish kid with siblings he almost never speaks to, one weird friend he makes (seemingly bad/misunderstood) movies with, and is painfully inept when it comes to girls. He has a fairly self-deprecating sense of humor, though you do kind of want to tell him to not be so down on himself, but for the most part, he doesn't *feel* particularly lacking in confidence (though I would not describe him as especially 'confident' by any stretch of the imagination).

But anyway, straight away, you get hooked into the story by Greg's voice. It's fairly unique and you kind of feel like you're reading his diary (if boys kept diaries). The story itself evolves and Greg grows in small, but meaningful ways through his friendship with Rachel (the 'Dying Girl' referenced in the title). Interestingly, it seems his BFF Earl is actually a bit of Touchstone for Greg--which I found surprising but simultaneously really cool because he's kind of untypical with a bit of a rough family life/backstory.

I'm finding it kind of hard to really describe how I felt about this book aside from the voice was really engaging and kept me going throughout the entire story. The story itself, while not exactly a surprise, unfolds in what feels like a natural pace and whatever expectations you might have of a book about teenagers facing death, you might find it in this, or you might not. But you will probably laugh and be at least a little charmed... it's an inexplicable connection with the story, with the character of Greg, that I'm walking away with here. After all, there's something when an author's voice can carry you from start to finish while maintaining a sort of distance that is described right at the outset: "This book contains precisely zero Important Life Lessons, or Little-Known Facts About Love, or sappy tear-jerking Moments When We Knew We Had Left Our Childhood Behind for Good, or whatever. And, unlike most books in which a girl gets cancer, there are definitely no sugary paradoxical single-sentence paragraphs that you're supposed to think are deep because they're in italics." (All of that? Truth. Yet, still a really good, really refreshing, really honest read.)

At first, I was like, “What the crap am I reading?!” But as I got into the book, I couldn’t stop laughing. The wholly inappropriate boy humor and foul language reminded me of a time when I would watch Eddie Murphy Raw and laugh until my sides ached- it’s that kind of humor. Definitely not for the younger end of the YA spectrum.

This author really gets teenagers- the angst, the drama, the narcissistic self-absorption - all of it.

Earl is probably my favorite character because I’ve taught many “Earls” over the past 16 years. I can’t help it - I’m a fan!

Greg, the self-deprecating narrator has such a dry sense of humor that he can make the most mundane sentences hilariously funny.

Don’t be fooled though - there’s some sad and seriously deep parts as well (I mean, come on! It’s in the title!). So far, this is one of my favorite reads this year; thus, the 5-star rating.

Compared to the movie. The book was definitely better than the movie. It was disappointing to go watch it in theaters when i did and it wasn't like the book but then i thought about it... whats the point of reading a book if you can watch a movie on it.
So i guess it was good but anyway this isn't suppose to be about the movie but about the book.
It had great humor and wasn't sad at all because everything was so unexpected. Especially when she sent a certain book back to someone i don't want to spoil anything that is why i'm typing it this way.
For entertainment reasons i would definitely read it again. Its a day read so might as well read it peeps

Meh. Had its moments but overall it was just ok.