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Nov 28, 2011

Alexa added it

I read up to page 41 in Why We Broke Up, and I could not bring myself to read more. I felt like the story was going so fast, and I got irritated with Min's voice (the story is a letter Min wrote to her ex-boyfriend, some jock guy from her school called Ed). And Ed? Who? I couldn't even picture him in my head. Seriously, I just saw a blob. I even skimmed to see why they broke up, and it was very annoying. If I actually read the entire book, I'm pretty sure I would have gotten a headache.

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20 comments like (10 people liked it)

Feb 15, 2012

Amy rated it:

I have to begin of with saying that the book was different and that's what caught my attention in the first place. It was interesting, it kept me reading.

Each souvenir, I guess I could say that Min collected each time she spent with Ed or spent doing something for Ed has a story behind it, and that is this story. After they broke up Min sends back each of them back to him along with a letter and so the story unspools to the reader.

It speaks about how fragile a lust-driv More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 11, 2012

Eileend rated it:

Ehhh, this didn't do anything for me. I finished it only to find the predictable ending did actually happen. Maybe it's just too much like high school, which I didn't enjoy all that much in the first place. I could imagine my 15-18 year-old self liking it perhaps. Seemed just a bit too long...there's only so much self-involved teenage angst one can reasonably be expected to read. Handler does a good job with the voice though. The fake movies the main character cites get annoying after a short w More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Nov 11, 2011

Tatiana rated it:

This breakup story has a nice premise, but the narrator, as written by Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket), is too artsy/quirky/hormonal/annoying for my taste. Her penchant for run-on sentences and pages-long angst-filled paragraphs is hard to appreciate. The dialog is mostly annoying too.

It is worth mentioning though, that this book got starred reviews from pretty much every major professional review publication. So I am clearly going against the grain here. More...

16 comments like (19 people liked it)

Jan 28, 2012

Scott rated it:

Dear Lemony Snicket/Daniel Handler,
I was and still am a fan of your A Series of Unfortunate Events. I tried to like Why We Broke Up but it was like try to think that the Incredibly Deadly Viper was deadly.. You can't

This book was seriously a fail. This whole book was about these two annoying teens who like these really old movies that noone ever heard of. The girl puts all their memories in a box and explains why they broke up.. Each chapter is dedicated to some item like a compass More...

8 comments like (6 people liked it)

Feb 03, 2012

Paige rated it:

I need to start this review with a warning. It isn't a bad warning in particular. The warning simply is this: I didn't enjoy A Series of Unfortunate Events much when I was younger. I liked the macabre tones of the novels, but I always felt a bit disconnected as I read the entire series. Warning aside, I was eager to read a copy of Handler(aka Lemony Snicket)'s first YA novel, a collaboration with artist Mara Kalman.

Now onto the specifics. The novel easily could have become gimmicky, and people More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 17, 2011

Wandering rated it:

Min Green and Ed Slaterton broke up. Now Min is returning to Ed a box filled with things she collected over the course of their two months together. And she's writing him a letter explaining exactly why they broke up.

Before I started this, I thought it was an adult book, because the concept just seemed like it was. I was totally taken aback when I realized the characters were in high school. But it turned out I was right. It is an adult book, even though it revolves around teena More...

1 comment like (7 people liked it)

Feb 22, 2012

Jorie (maggie) rated it:

You either have the feeling or you don't. That is what it said on the box that Min Green dumped on Ed Slaterton's front door. She grabbed a pen and some paper and told this heartbreaking story that may remind you of your own.

The story starts when Al, Min's best friend in the entire world has a bitter sixteen birthday party. Ed and his friends show up and have some beer Min kept the 2 caps telling the story with this,it kept going Movie tickets from their first date More...

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Feb 21, 2012

Jan rated it:

Mr. Lemony Snicket, aka Daniel Handler, migrates to YA fiction with this Printz Honor winner. The book is illustrated by Maira Kalman and, as the title suggests, it's the story of a painful teen break-up. Min, though she despises the term "artsy," is a witty cinemaphile who is really rather...ahem, artsy. She finds herself perversely attracted to Ed, a handsome jock who appears, on the face of things, to be grossly unsuited for Min, who is not into sports and the high school jock cu More...

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Feb 20, 2012

Michal rated it:

Aside from issues which have been mentioned by other reviewers (Min's impossibly irritating voice, the unlikeliness of her writing a novel-length breakup letter to her ex-boyfriend) I couldn't help but notice an interesting hypocrisy on the part of the author, which echoes back to the days of A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS. (Some spoilers for that series follow.)

A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS concludes with the death of the repeatedly murderous, scheming and abusive Count Olaf... but n More...

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Feb 19, 2012

Liza added it

This book totally blew me away! So creative, so powerful, so heartbreaking. I just could not put WHY WE BROKE UP down! I was riveted from page one to find out where this book was going, and . . .

MINOR SPOILER SO CONTINUE AT YOUR OWN RISK. :-D
. . . the truth is that even though the title clearly says that Min and Ed would break up, I was hoping that they'd figure out a way to work things out. What transpired between them totally blew me away. (Oh yeah, I said that!) Maybe I'm t More...

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Feb 17, 2012

Jennifer rated it:

Book Description

High schoolers Ed and Min have broken up. Min is giving Ed a box that contains all the detritus from their relationship (e.g., a bottle cap, a cookbook, a film canister, a note)—along with a letter explaining the meaning of each item and a detailed explanation of why they broke up.

Written as a letter to Ed (a very very long letter, I might add), Why We Broke Up is a collaborative effort between Daniel Handler (who did the writing) and Maira Kalman (who did th More...

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Feb 17, 2012

Katie rated it:

Yep. Five stars. Said it and I meant it. I love Handler's writing, which I had (really embarrassingly) never read before, and I loved Kalman's art, and I loved how perfectly the two went together. I saw this pair in town a few weeks ago, and they had an HILARIOUS report going the entire night. Having that in mind made how sad and gorgeous this story a stark contrast. Stark, but not jarring, because the reader is swept into the world of Min Green and Ed Slaterton so quickly that everything else f More...

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Feb 13, 2012

Emily rated it:

The idea is brilliant. A letter, a box, and a big ol 'eff you, asshole'.

The entire novel is a letter main character, Min, is writing to her ex Ed detailing all the reasons their relationship was doomed and all the trinkets she collected during their relationship.

The book is broken up nicely by pretty painted photos, and this helped because the book can get a bit wordy. Min uses commas and run on sentences WAY too frequently. She also says Ed's name a lot in the letter. It's a More...

1 comment like

Feb 12, 2012

Johnpatrick rated it:

This is the bravest book Daniel Handler has ever written, and we're talking about an author that's no stranger to literary risk-taking. Handler became famous under the pseudonym of Lemony Snicket for a uniquely dour take on the children's serial, and recently wrote an opera cum novel about Kabbalah and incest under his given name. Why is his first entry into the world of young adult literature so exciting? It certainly isn't the premise; we've been reading coming-of-age stories ever since Margar More...

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Feb 05, 2012

Jenn rated it:

For a while now, I've been in a reading slump. I just haven't been able to really get into anything. However, I read this and Hark! A Vagrant! at the same time, and my reading mojo is restored. I would describe this book as a Manic Pixie Dreamgirl story from the point of view of the Manic Pixie Dreamgirl. Cinema-freak Min tells us the story of her relationship with uberjock Ed, using the items in a box she is returning to him after they break up. The artwork is fantastastic, and Handler writes t More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 02, 2012

Homewood Public Library rated it:

“This is the box, Ed. Inside is everything. This is it, Ed. The whole story of why we broke up.”

In Why We Broke Up, Min Green explains to her completely different ex-boyfriend the moments that led to their break up. As Min makes her way through a keepsake box, she reveals the start of the relationship, how they fell in love, and the heartbreak that was unavoidable. The mundane objects in Min’s box all represent a moment that made Min questioned the romance of such a dissimilar couple. More...

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Feb 02, 2012

Kat rated it:

I remember hearing about this book a while ago and assumed I wouldn't be into it, but when it snuck in with the recent Printz Honor books, I decided to give it a try. I'll admit that the first few chapters had me skeptical. What is this, "My Story: A Testimonial from a John Green-y Love Interest"? Yes, Min Green is weird and interesting and obsessive, but she's also a relatable teenage girl. She's angsty, confused, passionate, naive, etc. I found myself amazed at how a middle-aged man More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 29, 2012

Nancy rated it:

This is why we have real books as opposed to ebooks: because real books can be beautiful, with glossy pages and evocative artwork and a deliciously bookish weight in your hands. Ebooks have many pluses, but real books make them look tatty.

Oh, right, the story. Well. 16-year-old Min writes a series of letter to now ex-boyfriend Ed, to accompany the box of relationship artifacts which will soon land with a heavy thump on his doorstep. Each little relic - his protractor, a matchbook, t More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 28, 2012

Katie rated it:

Ed and Min have broken up. Min is returning a box of mementos from their relationship along with a very long letter explaining why they broke up. Each memento is explained (because Ed is too much of an ass to know why most of them would be special) in the letter. The letter and drawings of the objects make up the entirety of this epistolary novel.

The book left me with mixed feelings. I too-frequently didn't appreciate Min's stream-of-consciousness rambling run-on sentences. Her c More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 24, 2012

Cornmaven rated it:

I loved this book. If ever there was an accurate portrayal of the drama of HS relationships, in all their facets, this is it. Handler's got the whole thing down well, and treats us to these amazing "lists" of teenage angst and experience throughout the story. The art by Maira Kalman is exquisite. I think my only complaint would be that the book is HEAVY, given the thick, lacquered paper. But I will endure weight for substance any time.

If I had owned the book I read, I w More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 24, 2012

Katrina rated it:

I was surprised to see that Daniel Handler had publish a book so recently and so far off my radar. Having loved A Series of Unfortunate Events, I was eager to see what he would have in store for an older young adult audience. Why We Broke Up is full of complex and interesting characters. Min, Ed, and Al were all quirky, multilayered, and lifelike in a way I have come to expect from Handler. Min was smart and over-the-top and entirely authentic. Ed was doomed by his good intentions, and even More...

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Jan 21, 2012

Shannon rated it:

Read Why We Broke Up if you've ever had your heart broken - or broken someone's heart.

Read this book if you want to remember - for the few hours it will take to read it - what young love felt like. How fast you fell. How hard you fell. How real and true it all felt for a very short while.

Read this book to remember high school and all of the good and bad that time brought into your life.

Read this book, knowing that it contains more foul language than most books I More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jan 21, 2012

Kessica rated it:

I like books that enable me to feel -- anger, irritation, happiness, love, confusion. This book did that for me -- I was angry at Ed, I was irritated at Min, I was happy at their relationship (it has its moments).

The good thing about this book: I like the illustrations and how they help the narration along. I like the run-on sentences, the monologues... overall the 'voice' in the story. I liked Min's weirdness and Ed's openness to a 'different' girlfriend, but in the end he wasn't a More...

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Jan 14, 2012

Bethany rated it:

Min Green and Ed Slateron have broken up. It was only five weeks, and they weren't friends before, don't have any friends in common, and now they've broken up, and here, in 350 pages and a box of stuff that Min's kept from the start, is why.

And that's all there is to it. That's the entire plot. It's a clever book, filled with references to obscure, art-house films that Min loves (all entirely made up by Mr. Handler). It's also filled with--well, JFC, this is exactly the letter th More...

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Jan 11, 2012

Alden rated it:

I've never really been in a big break-up. And, being happily married at 26, I hope I never will be.

But, having read Daniel Handler's Why We Broke Up, I know enough to eat least imagine I understand.

We all know Handler from his work as Lemony Snicket. You remember Snicket: detached, ironic, with an air of melancholy a string of esoteric definitions, a term which used here means "a term which used here means ___".

This is not that author. Handler has set asid More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 10, 2012

Katie rated it:

Book: Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler* (art by Maira Kalman)
Release Date: December 27, 2011
Source: Borrowed ARC post-publication from my school librarian (the awesome one) because it's been longlisted for the BFYA 2012 YALSA award.
Publisher: Little, Brown
Target Audience: YA
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Review:
I came out of this book with one main thought: What in the world did I just read? This book was really confusing and kind of awkward at times. I really More...

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Jan 09, 2012

Sandra rated it:

The plusses: I loved the concept of the book, going over each little thing about why Min and Ed Broke up. I liked that Min was essentially giving her stuff back to Ed along with the letter. I really liked the illustrations that went with the novel, as well. If Ed and Min can see the physical examples of why they're breaking up, I'm glad I was able to see them, too. Completely unrelated to the plot, I liked the way the book was printed on really nice shiny paper, which made the illustrations More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 04, 2012

Elena rated it:

3.5 stars!

This book wasn't really on top of my TBR read until I saw it in person and fell in love with its design. It's a really beautiful book, it has those high quality shiny pages and it's filled with lovely illustrations from Maira Kalman. The back cover of it reads "Min and Ed's story of heartbreak may remind you of your own" and has blurbs of first break-ups from people like Neil Gaiman and Sara Zarr. The whole marketing ploy for this book is summed up in that one line More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 03, 2012

Molly rated it:

I loved this. Those of you who read The Basic Eight will recognize Min and her crowd immediately, and that's OK with me, because I loved The Basic Eight too. I wouldn't change a thing about either. I was reminded of a Greek tragedy; you know from the start that something bad is going to happen, and the joy comes in watching it all unfold, knowing that ruin is coming. Also, the little details that foreshadow the ultimate tragedy are delicious.

To put my vote out there in the communi More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)