Skip to main content

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.
Labels:

Comments

  1. Linda BDecember 28, 2011 at 2:40 PM

    Nice style of reviewing, Christy, & the book sounds great. I'll certainly keep it in mind. Here's one rec for you: Dash & Lily's Book of Dares. Your students might like it for the relationship angle too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Deb DayDecember 28, 2011 at 4:13 PM

    This sounds terrific. I can think of several hands to put it in! Thanks for this!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

TAKE WHAT YOU CAN CARRY by Kevin C. Pyle

copyright date: March 2012 primarily marketed for: young adults (12 and up) Despite the fact that the teacher in me sees so many lesson possibilities in Kevin C. Pyle’s graphic novel Take What You Can Carry , you should read it simply for the grace of its stories.   The artwork is as striking as the stories it tells.   Using artwork in two different colors and styles, Pyle tells the stories of two teenage boys living years and miles apart.   And yet, he communicates the universality in their experiences.   One boy is a Japanese American forced to move into an internment camp during WWII.   His family struggles to maintain their dignity and sense of peace under unbearable conditions. The other is a rebellious boy with an attitude whose reckless behavior causes him to wind up in trouble with the law.   To make amends, he finds himself completing community service hours in the most unlikely place.   I found my...
1 comment
Read more

ALL THESE THINGS I’VE DONE by Gabrielle Zevin

copyright date: September 2011 primarily marketed for: young adults (8 th grade and up) I wish I would’ve known this was the beginning of a series before I started this book.   Then again, I might never have picked it up if I thought I might be committing to multiple books… At any rate, this is not a story I will be sad to return to this fall when the sequel is released.   Anya’s story takes place in New York City, in the future.   Around the time you will be old enough to be grandparents. This is a sort of post-apocalyptic, dystopian kind of book in a mild way.   Basically, the United States has self-destructed, and yet life seems to go surprisingly similar to the way we live nowadays.   Except that water and paper are costly and hard to come by.   Chocolate is prohibited.   Caffeine is an illegal drug.   Which is all to say that the setting alone is intriguing. Add to that setting, the fact that Anya is the oldest daughter of the ...
3 comments
Read more

CROSSING STONES by Helen Frost

copyright date: 2009 primarily marketed for: middle school and up Helen Frost is one of my favorite authors.   I have adored every book I’ve read by her.   In fact, the copies of some of her books in our school library have disappeared because I am apparently not the only one who appreciates her work.   Her stories, told in poetic verse, are always moving and then I am always amazed to discover there is a specific format she follows when writing the poetry for each book.   You might remember her book Diamond Willow , which was a recent Caudill nominee.   Crossing Stones is the story of four teenagers during World War I (two sets of brothers and sisters who are neighbors).   The boys, Frank and Ollie, end up going off to fight in the war, while the girls, Muriel and Emma, each face their own struggles at home.   The voices of all four characters are threaded throughout the book with grace.   The poetry alternates viewpoints and includes...
2 comments
Read more