Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

304 pages

English language

Published Feb. 11, 2012 by Amulet Books.

ISBN:
978-1-4197-0176-4
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4 stars (7 reviews)

Seventeen-year-old Greg has managed to become part of every social group at his Pittsburgh high school without having any friends, but his life changes when his mother forces him to befriend Rachel, a girl he once knew in Hebrew school who has leukemia.

6 editions

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

3 stars

Another book I am reading because it has been banned. The protagonist -- named Greg -- has writing that is direct and almost painfully self-conscious. Andrews writes in short, punchy chapters, and throws a variety of writing styles at the reader: film script, bulleted lists, film reviews, and so on. Greg is forced by his mother to befriend a girl in his high school class dying of leukemia (the "Dying Girl" of the title), and the book charts his attempt to navigate this as best he can. His descriptions of high school life, navigating the various cliques, uncomprehending adults, and making things worse when trying to make them better all ring true. Why is this banned? Well, there is definitely naughty language and reference to sex, although the banter struck me as a high school boy's desperate facade of bravado rather than anything actually that prurient. The language is a …

2022 #FReadom read 9/20

5 stars

In my 2022 #FReadom quest to read books banned or threatened in Texas libraries and schools, my 9th book was Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews. www.jesseandrews.com/me-and-earl-and-the-dying-girl

Besides being uproariously funny, Jesse Andrews dives into important truths: social anxiety and insecurity happen to every one of us, and so does grief. Everybody has to navigate them the best they can, there is no "right" way.

Review of 'Me and Earl and the Dying Girl' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

When it comes to the broader concept that is this book, it's everything that I wanted "The Fault in Our Stars" to be: an attempt to accurately portray what this kind of situation would be like with a high school mentality. Sensationalized cancer stories with an adult's sentimentalized idea of a teenager has been this decade's flavor of the decade, and it's nice to see Jesse Andrews' take a stab at it here.

The only problem is that it sometimes works very well, and sometimes it falls really flat. What falls flat? Some of the humor can be a bit cringe-worthy and Greg's constant meta "why are you reading this trash" comments get old really really quickly.

Unfortunately what ended up bothering me the most is how utterly and unabashedly stereotypical Earl and his family are, to the point of being shown more as caricatures than anything else. I think …

Review of 'Me and Earl and the Dying Girl' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars


Deutsche Rezi hier: buechertruhe.blogspot.com/2012/01/rezension-me-and-earl-and-dying-girl.html

What
is it about?

Greg’s a nerd. He has not many friends. At school, he manages to be invisible and to avoid being in the spotlight of the groups. Earl is Greg's best friend and the two share the love of movies. Together they turn some of their favorite films in new versions (of course no one is allowed to see!).

Rachel. A former friend and classmate diagnosed with leukemia. His mother asks Greg to be a friend to Rachel during her difficult time. But how to deal with her illness? And what should he say to her?


What I think:

This book is ironic, funny, nerdy, and differs from the bog-standard books. The author / Greg "talks" to the reader, there is no distance. At first it felt like it’s a prologue in which he describes the circumstances shortly. I waited for …

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rated it

3 stars
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rated it

5 stars
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rated it

3 stars

Subjects

  • Humorous stories
  • Jews
  • Leukemia
  • Family life
  • High schools
  • Schools
  • Fiction
  • Friendship

Places

  • Pennsylvania
  • United States
  • Pittsburgh (Pa.)

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