WHY WE BROKE UP by Daniel Handler

copyright date: 2011

primarily marketed for: young adults (high school)

Every once in awhile a book this good finds its way into my hands.  Every once in awhile.  I hope it may find its way into yours. 

Everything about this book is appealing: 

·      The fact that it is by Daniel Handler, perhaps better known as Lemony Snicket. 

·      The fact that each chapter is illustrated with wondrously fun art by Maira Kalman (illustrator also of 13 Words and Fireboat- two of my picture book favorites). 

·      The fact that it begins: “Dear Ed,” and ends: “Love, Min”. 

·      The fact that the pages are a heavy glossy paper that makes the weight of the book as substantial as the story inside and just plain feels good to touch. 

·      The fact that it is written in the form of a list of objects that fill a box of mementos of a relationship that we start the book knowing has already ended, and yet we don’t give up hope that somehow the inevitable ending will be avoided. 

·      The fact that Daniel Handler has this way of writing—this way of writing that almost makes me think he is Australian, even though he’s not (proof of Handler’s almost Australian way of writing by making words work in unexpected ways that are dead-on: “But all I remember is the music fading, vengefully turned down so it no longer sound-tracked the day.”) 

·      The fact that reading this story made me feel exposed as the awkward human I am, and yet made me feel comforted that I am not alone—I am an awkward human amongst awkward humans who are experiencing similar feelings in painfully similar situations (the essence of them is similar anyway). 

·      The fact that even though it touches on really mature subjects and uses mature language and seems to just accept that all high school students are underage drinkers, it honestly communicates a life lesson about relationships that is soberingly true and necessary for us all to learn—and wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could all learn it vicariously through Daniel Handler’s fictitious relationship in this book instead of learning it the hard way?

·      The fact that the protagonist, whose voice is instantly endearing, has a passion for French movies and can’t help but reference applicable scenes from them—scenes from movies that, to the best of my knowledge, are entirely fabricated from Handler’s own imagination, making their obscurity that much more absurd.

·      The fact that this book has illustrated endpages—how many YA books have illustrated endpages?

·      The fact that this book has its own tumblr page.

Enough said.