The Catastrophic History of You and Me

Feb 07, 2012 Maja rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: debut-author, 2012-favorites, favorites, i-see-dead-people, own-a-dtb, totally-saw-that-coming, ya, incredibly-stupid-choices, arc-2012, made-me-cry, reviewed-in-2012

Confession time: I was pretty sure I would love this book even before it showed up in my mailbox. I loved the title, I liked the cover, and the description sounded really interesting. What I didn’t know, however, was that I wasn’t just signing up for a fun read, I was signing up for heartbreak and some really huge, eye opening lessons. Don’t get me wrong: The Catastrophic History of You and Me is often laugh-out-loud funny, but that’s not nearly all it is.

Brie Eagan’s life was perfect: she had...more Confession time: I was pretty sure I would love this book even before it showed up in my mailbox. I loved the title, I liked the cover, and the description sounded really interesting. What I didn’t know, however, was that I wasn’t just signing up for a fun read, I was signing up for heartbreak and some really huge, eye opening lessons. Don’t get me wrong: The Catastrophic History of You and Me is often laugh-out-loud funny, but that’s not nearly all it is.

Brie Eagan’s life was perfect: she had a great family, her three best friends and the most wonderful boyfriend a girl could wish for. At least that’s what she thought. But days before her sweet sixteen, her boyfriend Jacob uttered four horrible words that killed Brie on the spot: I don’t love you. It would seem that a young and perfectly healthy person really can die of a broken heart. It didn’t matter that Brie’s father is a famous cardiologist. It didn’t matter that she had so many other things to be happy about. The shock and the hurt of Jacob’s words were too much for Brie’s heart to handle.

At the beginning of our story, Brie opens her eyes to discover that she’s indeed dead, and currently existing in her own version of afterlife, which just happens to be her family’s favorite pizza place. Her company is even more surprising, especially the boy dressed exactly like Tom Cruise in Top Gun. His name is Patrick and he immediately jumps at the chance to be Brie’s guide through afterlife, or at least this part of it. He is kind, thoughtful and the closest thing to an angel Brie is likely to meet. As the two of them go back to observe the aftermath of her death, Brie is forced to accept that her life wasn’t nearly as perfect as she thought it was and slowly fight her way through five stages of grief.
Here’s just a small taste of denial:
This is all just a bad dream, I told myself. I’m totally in bed, totally safe, totally snuggled. Hamloaf’s next to me. Jack’s down the hall. Everything is okay.
But still, why the crazy nightmare? I must have eaten something funky. Or maybe I have a history test coming up. Or I’d forgotten to floss.

In my experience, books that strike me the most are the ones that successfully mix humor and tragedy. One of the recent stellar examples is Looking for Alaska. Jess Rothenberg does this extraordinarily well. She knows when to lighten the mood with a joke, and when to stop with the humor entirely. She knows exactly how much tragedy her reader can take and when it’s time to water it down with one of Patrick’s nicknames for Brie or something similar. It is a valuable skill, and one that pretty much guarantees that I’ll read her next novel, and the one after that.

Here’s another thing I should mention, one I’m pretty sure some of my friends will appreciate. (I won’t be naming names, though.) Seeing as Patrick had died in the 80s and he’s dressed according to the fashion of 1983 or so, every chapter is titled after a song, a huge part of them from the 80s, and there is a four-page long playlist at the end of the book. I played most of them while reading this book and felt like a lost time traveler most of the time – but in a very good way.

An advanced copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher, Puffin/Razorbill UK for review purposes.

For this review and more, please visit The Nocturnal Library
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Mar 14, 2012 Ariana rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, sounds-like-fun, sweet-romance

“The trouble is, sometimes words are like arrows.
Once you shoot them, there's no going back.”

I love books that make me feel more than one emotion.. I love it when my chest feels tight and achey for a moment, and then it gets all sweet and giggly; when I want to cry and smile at the same time; when I feel like I can't get enough from the story and I would like to keep reading about the characters until the end of time.

This goes for this story, this goes for Brie and Patrick, for a heart which c...more

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Feb 04, 2013 Celine rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: for-review

Review originally posted in: http://forget8me8not.blogspot.com.au/...

Cover:
I love the girl's purple dress , the sky background and the upside down bridge. I can feel as if the girl is flying there in the sky and the cover gives off this heaven and calm feeling!

Story:

There's a girl called Brie. She died because of a broken heart. Her heart LITERALLY broke in half...

don't you (forget about me)

I don't think I'll even bother writing my own synopsis for this book. What I'll do instead is put some of...more

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Nov 30, 2011 Sasha rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-debut-author, ya-qc-4, young-adult

The Catastrophic History of You and Me is every girl’s worst nightmare. Brie is dating this awesome guy and they go out to dinner and – BAM – he tells her he doesn’t love her. Next thing she knows, she’s dead. That’s right, she literally DIED of a broken heart. And her dad is a cardiologist so he starts digging into this notion that one can die of a broken heart. But Brie has to go through the stages of grief before she can “move on” to a better place.

This book is definitely cute. It was lighthe...more

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Jul 08, 2012 Ayesha rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, tears-were-shed

When I picked The Catastrophic History of You and Me up off my shelf, I was expecting a lighthearted and sweet teenage romance novel. So, I think it's safe to say that my prior expectations of this book were completely 100% off. This is why:

This beautiful book tells the story of a teenage girl who (literally) dies of a broken heart. Sounds silly, right? That's definitely what I thought. However, as I delved further and further into this astounding read, I soon found that this story was a lot dee...more

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Aug 05, 2012 MizzSandie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: didnt-want-it-to-end, good-story, heartbreaking, put-life-in-perspective, romance, well-written, you-re-doing-it-right, hate-the-cover

So...
I'll admit it from the get-go:
this book started out sort of 'meh' for me. I was not really 'feeling it' and I sort of found the heroine a bit whiny, self-absorbed, and a little too vengeful and agressive for my taste. My main complaints would be along these lines, 'Don't blame the world for your problems honey', 'dont judge and jump to conclusions' and'don't take your anger out on others'.

BUT about a 3rd of my way into the book though, things started to change. The story got a hold of me,...more

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Jun 01, 2012 Lucille rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: debut-2012

“My heart didn't fail, someone failed my heart.”

Brie's boyfriend tells her he doesn't love her, and the news breaks her heart—literally.

If this happens in real life, I think 50% of the world's population would go down. Humans would go extinct. And Delirium comes in. There would be a cure for love to prevent heartbreak. Lol.

This was definitely a very great book. At first, I thought it was about angels and afterlife and heaven, that kind of stuff. But I was wrong. This book is about moving on, fo...more

“My heart didn't fail, someone failed my heart.”

Brie's boyfriend tells her he doesn't love her, and the news breaks her heart—literally.

If this happens in real life, I think 50% of the world's population would go down. Humans would go extinct. And Delirium comes in. There would be a cure for love to prevent heartbreak. Lol.

This was definitely a very great book. At first, I thought it was about angels and afterlife and heaven, that kind of stuff. But I was wrong. This book is about moving on, forgiving, accepting, and most importantly, loving again.

This book made me sad, teary, happy, laugh, smile, and of course, it left me awwww-ing at the end. Truly, love is the best part of any story (taken from Stephenie Meyer's dedication in her book, The Host).

I almost cried when Brie saw her family and how she reacted. It's so relateable, since I'm 15, too, and I would hate it if my bestfriend steals my boyfriend. I would cry and scream and be sad and angry.

I fell in love with the characters, especially sweet old Patrick Darling. I love his humor. Even though he's old, he's hilarious and super duper sweet.

Anyway, after thinking it through, I've decided to give this book 4 stars because: a) I didn't like how Brie acted towards sweet Patrick at the end, and b) Brie died because of a stupid reason, she should have heard Jacob out first before dying, c) Jacob said the crappiest break-up line ever, d) I don't buy the reincarnation stuff.

Notable quotes:

“No matter how much you think you know a person - no matter how pretty they act, or how popular they seem, you can never know what their lives are really like.”

“The problem is there's absolutely nothing 'fun' about falling in love. Nope. Mostly it just makes you feel sick and crazy and anxious and nervous that it's going to end miserably and ruin your whole life. And guess what: Then it does.”

“Time doesn't necessarily heal all wounds. Sometimes, it just makes the wound worse.”

“Hell is when the people you love the most reach right into your soul and rip it out of you. And they do it because they can.”

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Mar 30, 2012 Angel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-release, contemporary, paranormal, penguin-group, ya, arc-for-review, to-buy, 2012-dac, favorites

You can find this review and many more at Mermaid Vision Books!

Release Date:February 21, 2012
Publisher: Dial Books (Penguin)
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 400
Format: Hardcover
Source: ARC received from Penguin Canada

Tell Me More:Dying of a literally broken heart? It's the stuff Lifetime movies are made up of, and while I would normally avoid similar plots like it's my job, I had a hunch that TCHOYAM was going to be the exception to my rule. Jess Rothenberg has written one of the strongest and most...more

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Feb 13, 2012 Sarah (saz101) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-releases, contemporary, g-g-g-ghosts, paranormal, young-adult, favorites, wow-i-read-a-non-fantasy

Fifteen is altogether way too young to die. Especially to die of a broken heart. So when sweet, funny, charming Brie is cut down in the prime of her teenage years, what do we get? Angst? A heart-warming Disney movie? Well, perhaps not what you expect. It's more than either. The Catastrophic History of You and Me is brimming with humour and charm and tempered with a perfect balance of heartbreak.

Shortly before her sixteenth birthday, Brie Eagan’s boyfriend tells her he doesn’t love her... and sh...more

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Feb 27, 2012 Isamlq rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It’s not what I was expecting: funny mostly but not all of the time.

The Good

Those nifty chapter titles; I loved those because they touched little on what she loved and she loved a lot. She ~~has~~ had a passion for older music, a skill for diving, and a love for those close to her. And it was that last bit I appreciated the most: she’s close to them. I also liked her having these ideas about the people around her, feeling comforted when they lived up to her notions, then being so confused (shocked)...more

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Apr 12, 2013 Kasey rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: april-challenge-2013

Wow! I loved loved loved this book! I thought it was going to be a little more 'Before I Fall' but it wasn't like that at all. This book broke my heart and then knit it back together again. I loved Brie and at first I thought 'Eh, a little over the top reaction considering you're only 15. Dying of a broken heart? Pfffft please.' But then the book went on, and I wanted Jacob to break his leg and Sadie to get her face scratched off. (I have a bad history with a Sadie. I may have been projecting)....more

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Jul 13, 2012 Rebecca rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: out-in-2012, better-than-i-expected, best-of-2012, read-in-2012, tears-were-shed, wish-i-could-write-like-that

Wow, this was so much better than I thought it would be. I love it when that happens. I went to the library today to pick up some holds, and then I went to the teen section to browse for a second to see if there was anything there that would grab my attention. I noticed The Catastrophic History Of You and Me towards the bottom of the shelf, and I debated about getting it. Finally, I thought what the heck and started it in the library to see if I liked it. And it grabbed me and refused to let go....more

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Jul 15, 2012 Brittany rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, own

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book was just as good as my friends said it would be. Brie literally dies of a broken heart before her sixteenth birthday. Her boyfriend at the time tells her the truth that he doesn't love her and she is heart broken. On the other side she meets a witty guy named Patrick whose two years older than her when he died. But in reality if he was still alive he'd be 45. What Brie doesn't know is that Patrick has been waiting for her since the day he died. He helps Brie get revenge on Jacob the gu...more

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Jun 13, 2012 Gasp. H Penderton rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: blew-my-socks-off, characters-i-fell-for, expecting-harlots-and-shenanigans, something-so-beautiful, plot-fucking-holes

3.5 stars

Wow one of the best books i've read in a while.

"The Catastrophic History of You and Me" is SO not what i pictured.

I thought it would be just some whiny book about a girl who died of a "broken heart." Well, I would like clarification what is with that syndrome anyway? It is real? THATS WHAT I WANT TO KNOW.
I think this was the dodgiest bit of the plot i've come across in a while also. So dodgiest-plot-awards and best-book-in-a-while awards.
Oh man, and another thing that also annoyed me...more 3.5 stars

Wow one of the best books i've read in a while.

"The Catastrophic History of You and Me" is SO not what i pictured.

I thought it would be just some whiny book about a girl who died of a "broken heart." Well, I would like clarification what is with that syndrome anyway? It is real? THATS WHAT I WANT TO KNOW.
I think this was the dodgiest bit of the plot i've come across in a while also. So dodgiest-plot-awards and best-book-in-a-while awards.
Oh man, and another thing that also annoyed me was the constant references to IM language or slang and the capitalisation of unnecessary words. I mean, not ALL of US teenagers SPEAK LIKE WE'RE CHALLENGED. When authors create stories they need to realise we may be thrill-seekers, hilariously funny and narcissistic, but we're not stupid.

But still if this is Rothenberg's first book, its pretty amazing.

She knew just when to lead you on and make you believe something, i for one was shocked at the relationship between Sadie, Brie and Jacob. Just about all the relationships. This was SO BEAUTIFUL. Its some of the best characterisation I've seen in a long time. Each character had their own problems and it related so well with Brie that i found myself falling in love with this story. It especially surprised me because i was so skeptical of this book.

And the romance, THE ROMANCE. OMG. There are no words except "omg" to describe how i felt about their relationship. I'll admit maybe most of the story and how they acted wasn't very original, but there was something so great about Rothenberg's execution of this novel. She did an amazing job. They didn't immediately fall into lust-ville and they circled each other, they actually got to know each other beyond "Bejeezuz he's hot!"

And the ending, oh Lord the ending exploded all my expectations. Sure the writing may be average, the story-line not that revolutionary but when Rothenberg wants to go out with a bang. SHE BANGS as Ricki Martin sang.

I think this book reduced me to almost-tears in about two scenes. This book explores such a complex topic with an insight that just blew me away. One of my favourite books for 2012 because of its sheer heart (hahaha irony i love it).

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Apr 16, 2012 Krista (NawandaFiles) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: light-read, original, addicting, arc, cute-romance

When I started The Catastrophic History of You and Me I thought it was going to be a really fun story with a predictable premise. What I got was a really funny story that shocked me on almost every page! It's hard even to categorize this book into a genre because it's about ghosts, but at the same time it feels like a contemporary novel. Rothenberg is able to make paranormal seem real, which is incredibly difficult

Brie dies at the very beginning of the book from a broken heart (literally) and th...more When I started The Catastrophic History of You and Me I thought it was going to be a really fun story with a predictable premise. What I got was a really funny story that shocked me on almost every page! It's hard even to categorize this book into a genre because it's about ghosts, but at the same time it feels like a contemporary novel. Rothenberg is able to make paranormal seem real, which is incredibly difficult

Brie dies at the very beginning of the book from a broken heart (literally) and through her journey to move on we find out some really shocking secrets of Brie's former life. The book has a lot of humor in it, but at times it was slightly cheesy. But nevertheless, it was a very original story that was light and fast paced. It's a quick read that I would recommend to anyone who just wants a breath of something fresh.

The male lead in the book was Patrick, the Lost Soul. He's Brie's guide in the afterlife and one of the best characters in the book. He's described as Tom Cruise from Top Gun, which sold me instantly. The other sub-characters are Brie's three best friends. I usually don't feel my age when I read YA, but every time her friends started talking I felt old (I'm only twenty-one by the way). But I don't really use the word totes or shorten words, which is a big turn off in my everyday life (yes, there are college students who talk like this). So it was just a personal preference, but I kind of felt like her friends were immature and a bit annoying. It didn't make me dislike the book though. I think it would be hard to not like this book!

Another plus - the book is filled with pop culture references! It's pretty awesome! Every chapter is also titled with a song lyric, which was so much fun. I kept singing the song out loud every time I came to another chapter. I don't know if that's what the author intended, but it made for a great reading experience :)

I would recommend this book to anyone who liked contemporary and paranormal and wish they were smashed together into epicness - this is your book!(less)

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Feb 25, 2012 Julianna Helms rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: received-via-trade-with-awesomers, 2012-debut-ya-author-challenge, own-arc, arcs-for-trade

Quick Reaction: This book made me feel so bipolar, it wasn't even funny. I don't think I've ever read a book that made me cry just as much as it made me want to rip it apart. The Catastrophic History of You and Me features a protagonist who felt shallow and like a 5-year-old with the way she treated everything, yet though I detested her during the "Anger" and "Bargaining" parts (this book is told in parts labeled as the stages of grief! And every chapter is a song title! So freakin' cool.), I cr...more Quick Reaction: This book made me feel so bipolar, it wasn't even funny. I don't think I've ever read a book that made me cry just as much as it made me want to rip it apart. The Catastrophic History of You and Me features a protagonist who felt shallow and like a 5-year-old with the way she treated everything, yet though I detested her during the "Anger" and "Bargaining" parts (this book is told in parts labeled as the stages of grief! And every chapter is a song title! So freakin' cool.), I cried bucketfuls in sadness and acceptance. In the end, I think it's the transformation of Brie that finally redeemed her in my eyes, as did the quite honestly well-thought twists. One thing, though. There's this giant big twist at the end that affects everything, and it involves a bargain, but... (and this is when I went from a 4-star to a 3-star) if it changed everything, does that mean everything Brie did during the book is just illegitimate? Non-existent? Gone? If so, there was no explaining nor backing on that aspect, and though it was a fantastic fairytale-esque ending, that plot hole cracked the ice.

Actual, full review: This review is also on my blog. (Note: due to copy-and-paste, formatting and links have been lost.)

Brie died of a broken heart, and she left me with one, too.

This book was definitely original and compassionate, but Brie has a voice that rivaled a five-year-old. Everything Was Capitalized and Of Course OMG Abbreviations! But this book--my goodness--made me feel so bipolar, it was like slowly inching up on a roller-coaster, only to have the ride be stuck at the highest point, staring down at a trail of steepness below. Brie frustrated me and made me cry. She made me want to throw the book against a wall and hug it so fiercely my ribs hurt. She makes immature decisions--and talks almost nothing like a teenager, if you ask me (a teenager. Yup. Hi there!)--but the things she goes through are so heartbreaking, I broke down into terrible sobs. I don't even know what to think.

This book is cool, though. It's broken into parts--each one being a stage of grief. Every chapter is a song title (I didn't even know until a friend pointed out that Total Eclipse of the Heart was, in fact, a song, and not a supremely cool original chapter title). And though Brie sometimes annoyed me so much, and I would have smoke steaming out from my ears if I was in a cartoon, she did make me laugh.

You know, I think I know how she managed to infuriate me and break me at the same time. Brie knows she's done wrong. She's so terrified of her own mistakes that her fears become my own, and she's so afraid that she won't ever be able to fix her own self that I am surrounded by these eternal walls of impossibility, suffocating and choking and horrifying.

Brie backed herself into a steel prison, and it's not only catastrophic, it's claustrophobic. (ha, get it? Get it?)

This book has surprises, turns, and zero explanations. And it's not even the most entertaining book of all time, considering Brie's childish voice. But here's what I'll tell you: The Catastrophic History of You and Me will find a part of you so deeply hidden--so scarce and afraid--and yank it out, fast, so that you won't even realize what happened until you feel this gigantic hole in your chest. It'll stitch you back together, one attempt at a time.

But no matter how many times it tries to save its own destruction, you won't be the same. (Whether that's meant in a good way or bad way, though, that's up for you to see.)(less)

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Dec 13, 2011 the golden witch. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, arc-galley, teenage-shennanigans, phantasmagoria, reviewed

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. 3.5/5 stars.

This is a very charming little book. However, I was kind of let down by (SPOILER ALERT) the cliched battle of good versus evil in the afterlife that hits you in the last 3/4ths of the novel, and was hoping that Rothenburg was going to avoid this topic altogether in order to further her story. The result? I had fun reading it, though not as much fun as I wanted to. I can't tell you guys how disappointed I am with that. However, because Rothenburg handled the other bits of the book by...more 3.5/5 stars.

This is a very charming little book. However, I was kind of let down by (SPOILER ALERT) the cliched battle of good versus evil in the afterlife that hits you in the last 3/4ths of the novel, and was hoping that Rothenburg was going to avoid this topic altogether in order to further her story. The result? I had fun reading it, though not as much fun as I wanted to. I can't tell you guys how disappointed I am with that. However, because Rothenburg handled the other bits of the book by using the five stages of grief (a very clever use of that list, by the way), I can't totally shoot down this book.

There were some cheesy bits to this book (literally - Brie's cheese-name thing, purgatory being her favorite pizza shop, "A Little Slice of Heaven"), but it was a fresh look at Broken Heart Syndrome (it's real, guys, as my mother had a small case of it after my grandfather died six years ago) - the heart literally split down the middle as if a knife had cut it. Making her father retreat entirely into science after her death to find a solution to what killed his daughter was a great way to keep up the tension in the human world. I thought that Rothenburg could have gone into this a little more than she did, as it was such an interesting look at such a misunderstood (or in a lot of cases, not even known) syndrome. That's the geek side of me giving her props right there.

However, I wasn't sure about the romance angle. Having Jacob dump Brie and then having her see her best friend turn to him with a seeming secret relationship seemed cliched, but it is realistic - when we're gone, our loved ones often will do things like this in order to cope. When Rothenburg brought up the possibility of suicide due to confused sexuality (I won't say who does this, you guys will have to read for yourselves) - well, I do appreciate the nod to the current American crisis of sexually confused/bullied youth suiciding, it felt like this was kind of thrown in at the last minute and while it made sense as to the entire main antagonist's arc as a whole, I wasn't sure if it was entirely needed. Or if it was, she could have gone about it in a less convoluted way. It felt a little like she was kind of trying to do too much, and touched on a very sensitive subject to me for no complete reason I could reckon.

The ending, however, was completely original, and saved the entire book as a whole. I really enjoyed it, and won't say anything further, other than it's awesome and I didn't see it coming. The rest of the book, whenever there was a Big Reveal, I could see hints of it coming. But the end? Never saw it coming. Not one bit.

It's tightly written, well paced, and the characters, while cliched at times in certain places, are well-rounded. I can't pick at anything there. I think that this will be very popular, and it was very well-written, but I guess, in the end, it wasn't entirely for me. Still, give "The Catastrophic History" a chance when it hits shelves next year. I think you'll enjoy what you'll find inside of it.

(posted to librarything, goodreads, shelfari, and witchoftheatregoing.worpdress.com)(less)

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Feb 26, 2012 Jana (The Book Goddess) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Also posted on my blog: http://jana-thebookgoddess.blogspot.com/

I went into reading this not knowing how emotional this will be! By the cover, you'd think that this will just be a cute, fluffy read? Oh noes. Get your tissues ready people, because this book, will literally break your heart into two. (See what I did there? :P)

Brie was so relatable! All her actions and reactions after she died (and before) was thorougly justified, and seems very reasonable for her age. I'm currently t66tytggvb he s...more

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Dec 20, 2011 Sarah (The Book Life) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arcs-i-own, 2012, contemporary, love-love-love, penguin, read-in-2011, reread-worthy, signed-books

This was one of my most wanted upcoming reads. I thought the story sounded beautiful and maybe a little mysterious. It was everything I wanted and nothing like I expected all at the same time. The story mostly shifts between present day Earth and a sort of inbetween, heaven-like place. I really liked Brie as the narrartor. She was angry and immature a lot of the time, but given her circumstances, that makes the story stronger. Regardless of how mean or childish she is behaving, she finds a frien...more

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Apr 02, 2012 Kai (Amaterasu Reads) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-tbr-pile, arc, for-review, teens

(Yep, insanely awesome!)

Review posted at Amaterasu Reads

Brie died on the very same day her boyfriend told her he doesn't love her and her heart just got broken into two, literally. Now Brie is stuck in a dingy pizza place and a replica of her town and she couldn't really quite get into the afterlife, not until she made sure her family and friends were okay. But as Brie tries to get through Death to be able to move on, she slowly realizes that not all is well in good in the life she'd left behin...more (Yep, insanely awesome!)

Review posted at Amaterasu Reads

Brie died on the very same day her boyfriend told her he doesn't love her and her heart just got broken into two, literally. Now Brie is stuck in a dingy pizza place and a replica of her town and she couldn't really quite get into the afterlife, not until she made sure her family and friends were okay. But as Brie tries to get through Death to be able to move on, she slowly realizes that not all is well in good in the life she'd left behind. Plus there's one Top Gun Tom Cruise look a like boy who's her only shot at making it through the after life and he makes her feel things about the afterlife she didn't quite expect to.

My heart broke for Brie for many, many times. To be able to see your family picking up the pieces of their life after you are gone, seeing them struggle and yet you couldn't do anything about it. Ironically, Brie's character felt more alive when she was dead than when she was living. You get this seemingly perfect girl at first and then you see her in her more fragile moments and you realize there's more to her than just having great friends and family. What made me love her is that spark in her personality, that spunkiness, even when she was betrayed and lied to when she was living. She didn't just accept it all sitting down, she got mad and got even. But even in her after life, Brie was determined to make life right, at least for those she had left behind.

Patrick is the most adorable Lost Soul in the whole world! I loved him from the very first moment he opened his mouth and started spewing out creative cheese nicknames for Brie to the very moment his character unraveled. I couldn't remember how many times I have laughed out loud with his cheesy, bad pick up lines. But most of all I loved how you'll feel like you're just skimming over the surface of his personality in most parts of the book, then you finally find out just how much he had sacrificed for the very same thing Brie hated, Love, you get this entirely different person and you'll just like him more. Plus he's good in Latin. Definitely a plus!

The Catastrophic History of You and Me is the first book in a long time that made me feel heartache, happiness, anger and sadness all at the same time. It's never easy reading about Death, let alone reading about someone going through it, so I was really surprised when I found myself being swept along with Brie's story, her emotions, her thoughts, her life. I felt like I went through the Five Stages of Grief myself. It's one thing to think that an author's writing is good, but to be completely enamored with it is an entirely different thing. It's a bit scary how much I responded to Brie's experiences as she went through all of it.

The Catastrophic History of You and Me surprised me in a lot of ways. It's about family, it's about friends, it's about love, it's about life. It's full of what ifs and what could have been. It's about trust and sacrifices, about sharing and listening. About being honest with yourself and thinking of not just yourself but all of those you love. Patrick and Brie's story made the afterlife seem so romantic!

Jess Rothenberg had this magical way with words and she'd make you evoke a swarm of complicated emotions that will sweep you off your feet while reading her book. I breezed through this book and I couldn't wait to read it again. It's THAT good! Fantastic debut, Jess!(less)

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Oct 26, 2011 M rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, my-library, young-adult, supernatural, romance, ghosts, afterlife

Whoever said that a broken heart wouldn't kill you, did not know Brie. When her boyfriend admitted on their date that he didn't love her anymore, Brie ceased to exist on this earth, and moved to a new one. Now Patrick, the resident lost soul, is supposed to guide her through her adjustment period. Can she learn to let go of the life she had and start a new one?

This book delves into the eternal question: is there life after death? Rothenburg does a great job of answering it while forcing us to lo...more

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Dec 08, 2011 Corrine Jackson added it · review of another edition

At the outset, the premise didn’t grab me. There, I said it. I know this book has a ton of buzz, but honestly, a girl dies of heartbreak? It didn’t snag me. But on a Sunday afternoon, I needed something different to read and I picked it up.

There is a lot to recommend about the book. First, the voice. Brie is fifteen and she dies at the start of the story when her boyfriend breaks up with her. We follow her on a journey through the five stages of grieving. She haunts her boyfriend, parents, littl...more At the outset, the premise didn’t grab me. There, I said it. I know this book has a ton of buzz, but honestly, a girl dies of heartbreak? It didn’t snag me. But on a Sunday afternoon, I needed something different to read and I picked it up.

There is a lot to recommend about the book. First, the voice. Brie is fifteen and she dies at the start of the story when her boyfriend breaks up with her. We follow her on a journey through the five stages of grieving. She haunts her boyfriend, parents, little brother, and best friends, watching them grieve for her. This could all feel very maudlin, but Jess Rothenberg manages to steer clear of that. The voice is so exactly that of a fifteen year old girl, full of sass and sadness and naiveté and the odd moment of wisdom. That voice hooked me right away.

I also loved how we are carried through the five stages of grieving. There’s a lot of meat there for anyone to relate to, whether you’ve broken up with someone or lost someone close. Brie’s emotions bounce all over the place, but they almost always feel real. She’s not always a nice character, but she’s a believable one. In fact, she’s probably more believable because of her faults.

There were some things – fairly big things for me – that bothered me about the story. A few scenes felt unnecessary or repetitive. Brie’s love of 80’s music didn’t ring true for a contemporary teen – I felt like it was author intrusion into the story every time they were mentioned. And, I hate to say it, but the love interest plotline fell flat for me, especially at the big dramatic moment at the end.

What saved the book for me, though, aside from the wonderful, engaging voice and interesting format, were the relationships Brie had with her friends and family and even her dog, Hamloaf. Before she dies, Brie has a kind of simplistic view of her world. After her death, when she gets peeks into the private lives of those she haunts, she learns that the world is not what she thought it would be. That people are more complex. That sometimes they are weak and fail you, but that doesn’t mean they don’t love you. I thought Rothenberg did a fantastic job illustrating this, and despite the problems I noted, I think a lot of readers will love this book.(less)

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Feb 21, 2013 Imani rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I saw the trailer and I didn't know what to think because it sounded good but cheesy because she died of a broken heart. But I did what I always do and look up everything and anything about the author. So I got it from the library and I started reading it in the car while my mom drove and I loved it. There WILL BE SPOILERS, a little bit. I cried. A lot. It's how Patrick died and that Brie is his girlfriend from like 17 years ago and I love reincarnation stories. They are the most books that I am...more

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Nov 10, 2012 Marsha rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: supernatural, young-adult, romance, advance-reading-copy-advance-uncorr, literature-fiction

Brie dies literally of a broken heart and that seems like a great premise for a story. But occasionally I found myself just a little bit impatient with her emotional journey. She seems like a whiny spoiled brat and her ghostly confidant like an obnoxious Lothario too bent on acting like he’s God’s gift to women. It’s hard to cotton to either of them once we read about them in the hereafter.

However, the story grew on me little by little although some parts made me a bit queasy. Learning that she’...more

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Nov 09, 2012 Lara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

L’amore non è un gioco. Le persone ci si tagliano le orecchie. Ci si buttano dalla Torre Eiffel, oppure vendono tutto quello che hanno per trasferirsi tipo in Alaska e vivere con gli orsi grizzly, e poi finiscono sbranate e nessuno le sente urlare aiuto. Ecco com’è: innamorarsi è più o meno come essere divorati da un grizzly.
Cosa succede quando il ragazzo che ti fa provare questo tipo di amore ti dice “Non ti amo”?
Bè ti si spezza il cuore!
Questo è esattamente quello che è successo a Aubrie Ea...more L’amore non è un gioco. Le persone ci si tagliano le orecchie. Ci si buttano dalla Torre Eiffel, oppure vendono tutto quello che hanno per trasferirsi tipo in Alaska e vivere con gli orsi grizzly, e poi finiscono sbranate e nessuno le sente urlare aiuto. Ecco com’è: innamorarsi è più o meno come essere divorati da un grizzly.
Cosa succede quando il ragazzo che ti fa provare questo tipo di amore ti dice “Non ti amo”?
Bè ti si spezza il cuore!
Questo è esattamente quello che è successo a Aubrie Eagan, detta Brie, ma non metaforicamente, realmente. La storia comincia con la morte di Brie a causa di una “Cardiomiopatia congestizia acuta”, diagnosi dei medici. In realtà il suo cuore si è letteralmente spaccato in due nel momento esatto in cui ha realizzato che il suo primo vero grande amore non l’amava più e, colmo della sfiga, invece di finire in un paradiso pieno di nuvolette bianche, angeli, cuccioli e zucchero filato con due belle alucce, ecco che si ritrova bloccata in una pizzeria alquanto squallida con una signore fissata con le parole crociate, un manipolo di giovincelli che variano dallo sportivo con la tenuta della squadra al fissato dei videogiochi, al punk, al ragazzo vestito come Tom Cruise in Top Gun che palesemente cerca di rimorchiarla. Allora perché non approfittare dell’opportunità di questo limbo e soddisfare i desideri del proprio cuore come anche quello di tornare indietro e vedere come se la cavano la sua famiglia ed i suoi amici senza di lei? Ed è qui che si scatena l’inferno personale di Brie. Jacob, lo spezza-cuori e la sua migliore amica sembrano condividere un oscuro segreto di cui l’hanno tenuta all’oscuro, suo padre si allontana dalla famiglia e sfoga il suo dolore cercando la vera ragione della sua morte e tradendo sua madre, suo fratello non accetta la sua scomparsa.
Avevo capito una cosa: l’inferno non è un luogo di dolore e sofferenza in cui si brucia vivi. E’ molto, molto peggio. L’inferno è quando le persone che ami di più ti prendono l’anima e te la strappano. E lo fanno perché possono.
Nel cercare di riportare un po’ di giustizia, Brie rischia di far precipitare le persone che ama e sé stessa in un baratro senza più ritorno.
Questa storia sembra la classica storia di fantasmi. Lei muore, poi torna sulla terra come uno spiritello dispettoso che solo il suo amato cane Polpetta può vedere, cerca di stare vicino alle persone che ha amato, combina pasticci, scopre verità inconfessabili ma poi alla fine tutto si sistema. Però oltre a questo schema trito e ritrito c’è molto di più. C’è una storia d’amore che trascende il tempo e lo spazio, l’incontro di due anime gemelle destinate a rimanere insieme per l’eternità e non importa se il ricongiungimento passa attraverso la morte, perché come a volte ci viene insegnato, la morte non è la fine ma solo il principio di un’altra avventura.
E’ bello pensarla in questo modo e questa storia sembra infondere questa speranza a coloro che purtroppo hanno perso qualcuno di molto amato.
Brie è un personaggio esuberante, incontrollabile, vero nei suoi mille difetti, irresistibile, un’adolescente che vive la sua morte e la sua personale vendetta con l’incoscienza della gioventù come è giusto che sia, ma tornare indietro e osservare più attentamente le persone intorno a lei, imparare a conoscerle, anche quelle che sembrano perdute, le permette di crescere e maturare ed in questo modo di andare avanti. Ho amato molto questo personaggio, proprio per la crescita che compie nell’intero romanzo da ragazzina innamorata della vita perfetta che aveva, si scopre giovane donna capace di accettare il suo destino e comprendere che la realtà può essere molto meglio di una dolce illusione.
Bellissime le prime pagine in cui viene descritto l’amore; è esattamente come mi sono sentita io con il mio primo amore, quando il cuore ha iniziato a palpitare per la prima volta e soprattutto quando per la prima volta è stato ricambiato.
Invece non mi ha convinto Patrick, alias Tom Cruise, forse mi è sembrato troppo perfetto, preciso, sembrava non avere un difetto o una debolezza, e il suo continuo chiamare Brie con nomignoli di formaggi non riuscivo a sentirlo spontaneo, sembrava forzati come molti dei suoi atteggiamenti. Mi è parso un personaggio molto stereotipato nell’emblema del bello e dannato, più che Tom Cruise l’avrei visto molto meglio associato a James Dean.
In realtà ho amato molto di più l’altro protagonista maschile, Jacob, così dannatamente umano nella sua ricerca di perfezione e approvazione, nel voler accontentare tutti fino a perdere sè stesso e la sua vera identità, a rinnegarla pur di rientrare nei canoni che la società impone.
Un libro molto coinvolgente, soprattutto per la scelta di citare all’inizio di ogni capitolo una canzone che rispecchiasse quello che succedeva al suo interno, così da permettere al lettore di costruire quasi delle sequenze cinematografiche con tanto di colonna sonora. Ammetto di non conoscere tutti i brani citati ma mi riprometto di concedermi una rilettura una volta reperiti tutti.
Mi è piaciuta molto la scelta del titolo che, ringraziando il cielo, einaudi a deciso di riprendere nella traduzione italiana perché effettivamente l’amore che viene descritto è catastrofico ma in fin dei conti non lo è sempre?
Love is a piano dropped from a fourth story window and you were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Ani di franco.
Per quanto riguarda la copertina amo molto di più quella italiana che quella originale. Infatti quella americana, è vero che riprende magistralmente tutti gli elementi di questo limbo in cui Brie si ritrova a vagare, però proprio perché così esplicita manca di profondità, sembra quasi un fumetto, mentre il dolce cadere della ragazza in quella italiana richiama molto di più la drammaticità e l’atmosfera della vicenda e, secondo il mio parere, è anche una buona metafora dell’innamorarsi, perché cos’è se non un lasciarsi andare?(less)

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Oct 21, 2012 Heidi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Four Stars: A bittersweet ghost story that reminds you to hug your loved ones every day!

You can't really die from a broken heart, right? For Brie, the harsh reality is that you can and she does. Brie was expecting a magical date with her boyfriend Jacob. Instead what she gets is a shocking and painful truth: Jacob isn't in love with her. Brie literally dies from a broken heart. She wakes to find herself stranded in the Slice. A pizza place that she frequented with her family. Except that she see...more

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Sep 05, 2012 Clary rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Non vedevo l'ora di parlarvi di questo libro, di poter condividere con voi le numerose emozioni che Storia Catastrofica di Te e di Me è riuscito a farmi provare.
Devo essere sincera, questo libro all'inizio non aveva minimamente attirato la mia attenzione. Né la cover né il titolo erano riusciti a convincermi, senza parlare del fatto che non ha ricevuto uno straccio di pubblicità. Se non fosse stato per i blog che abitualmente seguo, non ne avrei nemmeno sospettato l'esistenza. Poi ho cominciato...more Non vedevo l'ora di parlarvi di questo libro, di poter condividere con voi le numerose emozioni che Storia Catastrofica di Te e di Me è riuscito a farmi provare.
Devo essere sincera, questo libro all'inizio non aveva minimamente attirato la mia attenzione. Né la cover né il titolo erano riusciti a convincermi, senza parlare del fatto che non ha ricevuto uno straccio di pubblicità. Se non fosse stato per i blog che abitualmente seguo, non ne avrei nemmeno sospettato l'esistenza. Poi ho cominciato a vedere recensioni qua e là, tutte positive (estremamente positive) e la curiosità ha cominciato a nascere. Non ne ero ancora del tutto convinta quando l'ho iniziato, ma volevo vedere se tutto l'entusiasmo attribuitogli fosse, effettivamente, meritato.
Altroché se lo era.

La trama, diciamocelo, non è né originale né particolarmente accattivante. Brie, una ragazza di quindici anni ha tre migliori amiche perfette, una famiglia perfetta, un ragazzo perfetto e una vita perfetta.
Poi, un giorno, ecco che accade qualcosa di inaspettato: il suo ragazzo, Jacob, le fa una rivelazione. Lui non la ama. Bastano queste quattro semplici parole "Io non ti amo" a mettere fine alla vita di Brie, a spezzare il suo fragile cuore a metà. Ma la morte di Brie sarà solo l'inizio ad un viaggio travolgente nella vita e nel cuore della protagonista, nella sua morte, nel suo passato e soprattutto nel suo futuro. Che futuro potrà mai avere una persona morta?, vi starete chiedendo. Ebbene l'autrice con questo libro ha sconvolto le idee tradizionali di "vita dopo la morte", dando una sua interpretazione, ironica e strappalacrime, ad una storia che pagina dopo pagina vi travolgerà completamente.

Ho amato tutto di questo romanzo.
Brie, la ragazzina testarda e innamorata, incapace di accettare la sua morte e quello che ne deriva, decisa a vendicarsi di Jacob e di chi sulla terra le ha fatto un torto. Essendo la voce narrante del romanzo, al lettore basteranno poche righe per entrare in sintonia con lei, riuscendo senza sforzo a immedesimarsi nella sua mente e a restare al suo fianco fino alla fine del libro. Poi c'è Patrick. Patrick è un angelo, un ragazzo morto negli anni Ottanta che guiderà Brie nella sua vita dopo la morte, aiutandola a superare le cinque tappe fondamentali: negazione, rabbia, patteggiamento, tristezza e accettazione.
Patrick è un personaggio che colpisce subito il lettore, l'elemento chiave di questo romanzo già di per sé fantastico. Con la sua ironia onnipresente e il suo fascino irresistibile, Patrick accompagnerà Brie nell'aldilà senza mai abbandonarla, aiutandola a comprendere e ad accettare ciò che le è accaduto. Ma soprattutto la aiuterà ad andare avanti, a lasciarsi alle spalle la sua vecchia vita e ad entrare in quella nuova.

Pagina dopo pagina vedremo Brie fare i conti con rivelazioni, sorprese e colpi di scena che più di tutto le faranno rimpiangere la sua morte ingiusta e prematura. Ci saranno decine di momenti dove l'autrice vi farà vivere in prima persona il dolore della protagonista, la sua voglia di vivere, di fare qualcosa, di non essere più un semplice ricordo nella mente di chi ancora vive. Vedremo Brie disperata e rassegnata, sconsolata e nostalgica, avvolta in un tornado di emozioni che ci colpiranno direttamente facendoci vivere in poche ore decine di emozioni travolgenti. Alternati a questi momenti di dolore e sofferenza, ci saranno fugaci istanti fatti di risate allegre e sorrisi speranzosi, tutti nati grazie alla presenza consolatoria di Patrick. E in mezzo a tutto questo, Brie imparerà che anche dopo la morte, il suo cuore può tornare a battere.

Storia Catastrofica di Te e di Me è un romanzo sconvolgente, uno di quei libri che impiegano un istante a conquistarvi, ma che non mollano la presa sul vostro cuore nemmeno una volta girata l'ultima pagina. E' stata una lettura sorprendente, dalla quale mi aspettavo poco ma che mi ha invece donato una grandissima quantità di emozioni. Lo consiglio a tutti, vi consiglio di non sottovalutarlo per la copertina, il titolo, la trama o altro, ma di buttarvi fiduciosi in questo viaggio incredibile dal quale non vi libererete facilmente. Vi risucchierà in un tornado di vita, morte e speranza, risate, lacrime e sorrisi, ma soprattutto vi risucchierà in una magnifica storia d'amore.
Lo amerete dall'inizio alla fine, pagina dopo pagina, parola dopo parola. L'autrice col suo stile diretto e semplice, vi colpirà dritti dritti al cuore, lasciandovi stupiti, speranzosi, felici e commossi.

http://clary-booktime.blogspot.it/201...(less)

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Aug 10, 2012 Ste80 rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Da www.sognipensieriparole.com

"Storia catastrofica di te e di me", primo romanzo della newyorchese Jess Rothenberg, è stato pubblicato lo scorso 30 aprile dalla Casa Editrice Einaudi ed è stato subito un successo anche in Italia.

Entrato a far parte immediatamente della mia lista dei desideri, ho aspettato pazientemente il giorno giusto da poter dedicare interamente alla sua lettura e, finalmente ieri, ho avuto a disposizione un giorno intero da dedicare a Brie ed al suo mondo. Un giorno trascors...more

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Aug 01, 2012 Anastasia (At Bookish) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Books about death - and the afterlife - are very interesting, but they are often hit-or-miss. This was definitely a hit.

First off was the voice. Rothenberg managed to create a character with a funny, enjoyable voice who had just the right measure of funniness that she seemed like a typical high school girl, but wasn't cliched, shallow, or just pathetic. Brie dying of a broken heart could have easily made her seem all three, but Rothenberg managed to have such a cause of death be believeable and...more Books about death - and the afterlife - are very interesting, but they are often hit-or-miss. This was definitely a hit.

First off was the voice. Rothenberg managed to create a character with a funny, enjoyable voice who had just the right measure of funniness that she seemed like a typical high school girl, but wasn't cliched, shallow, or just pathetic. Brie dying of a broken heart could have easily made her seem all three, but Rothenberg managed to have such a cause of death be believeable and stir our sympathies, instead of our disbelief. Adding Brie's preexisting heart condition and the fact that her father was a cardiologist, and Brie dying of a broken heart was absolutely perfect.

There were three subsets of supporting characters in this book, and each subset was beautifully realistic and relateable:

Brie's best girl friends added a layer of supporting characters that all girls will be able to relate to: the absolute best friends that know you better than yourself, those that always have your back no matter what. In her friends, I could see some similarites in my own best friends, lending to their believeablility.

Brie's family was wonderful as well: even if they're a little to-good-to-be-true at first, they are ultimately a believeable, well-written family.

And then, of course, we come to the boys. The characters that the book is really formed around. And of course, you can't mention the boys without mentioning the title. Both Patrick and Jacob seem like believeable boys - maybe too-good-to-be true, but each had one major fault that made them human and made them more believeable. The title also changes because of the boys. At first, you think the title is referring to one thing, one pair' history, but then at the end you realize that the title is referring to a different thing completely. I find that really clever and intelligent and I applaud the author for being able to think of such a thing.

An amazing, wonderful book. Put this one at the top of your 'to-read' list!(less)

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Jul 22, 2012 Gabry rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Jezus, I can't believe I forgot to mark this I am such a nuthead even though I read this and well, it was nice. The twist at the end that explained a lot of things was something I really didn't expect from this book when I first read it I was like JEEZUS WHAT JUST HAPPENED WHAT WHAT WHAT REALLY and I had it read it various times again to make sure I read it right and yep, I can still say to this day I never expected it to happen. I enjoyed it very much though, it was a very fun read. There was a...more Jezus, I can't believe I forgot to mark this I am such a nuthead even though I read this and well, it was nice. The twist at the end that explained a lot of things was something I really didn't expect from this book when I first read it I was like JEEZUS WHAT JUST HAPPENED WHAT WHAT WHAT REALLY and I had it read it various times again to make sure I read it right and yep, I can still say to this day I never expected it to happen. I enjoyed it very much though, it was a very fun read. There was a scene at the end of the book that touched my heart <3333

There's only one thing that made me raise my eyebrow to this book though. I know I'm not supposed to take it seriously because it's not something you're supposed to take, literally, but if you don't know, from the summary, the main character dies because her heart LITERALLY breaks into two pieces. So like, the doctors are like hrmmm, what made her die? And they go examine her body and they do some x-rays I believe, and guess what they find? Her heart in two pieces.

LOL. (I promise I am not a heartless beast! Ignore the pun. Read my explanation below as to why I found it weird.)

I, myself, AM a person with a heart problem. Heart defect. Whatever you call it. It was something that required surgery. It's not that big of a deal to me though SO DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT! (This is why I am reluctant to tell people because it draws a lot of sympathy and a lot of expectations of it being very sad and dramatic. I guess it is? I wasn't old enough to remember.) Mostly because I was like maybe one? Under a year old? So if I was older, I'd probably be more worried about it but since I was a baby I don't remember anything at all other than what people tell me that I was so pale and I never cried and I coughed a lot and I couldn't do a lot of things because I was a very weak child. I remember my dad patting my back on Christmas because I was so sick as a baby, if that counts. All I know is that it was a birth defect and I needed surgery or else I'd be, well, DEAD. I even have a scar on my body as a remember of my surgery! It's become really normal to me, now, though, so I don't remember that it really exists sometimes.
BUT ENOUGH OF THAT LIFE STORY I SHOULD TALK ABOUT THE BOOK.

Just in case if you don't understand, I'm not offended by the whole 'heart breaking into two thing literally', I just thought it was kind of weird as a person who had to have heart surgery on her heart to get it fixed.

Fun fact: the author has a playlist for the book that's printed on the back and while I haven't listened to it, I plan to eventually because it sounds interesting and as a 14-year old boring teenager, I figure that I should listen to some more music.

Ignore this incoherent review. Needless to say, a little tl;dr at the bottom.

This book was really nice and I think you should read it. (less)

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