Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

Summary: Greg Gaines is the last master of high school espionage, able to disappear at will into any social environment. He has only one friend, Earl, and together they spend their time making movies, their own incomprehensible versions of Coppola and Herzog cult classics.

Until Greg’s mother forces him to rekindle his childhood friendship with Rachel.

Rachel has been diagnosed with leukemia—-cue extreme adolescent awkwardness—-but a parental mandate has been issued and must be obeyed. When Rachel stops treatment, Greg and Earl decide the thing to do is to make a film for her, which turns into the Worst Film Ever Made and becomes a turning point in each of their lives.

And all at once Greg must abandon invisibility and stand in the spotlight. (Via Goodreads.com)

Pages: 295

Release Date: March 1st, 2012

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Review:

I have wanted to read Me and Earl and the Dying Girl since I first discovered the book a few years ago; however, I never got around to it until recently. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl was an enjoyable read that featured a very humorous and truthful narrator. Lately, I have began using sticky notes in my books to mark funny scenes, favorite quotes, etc. For Me and Earl and Dying Girl, I used a lot of blue for funny scenes, and purple for the truths about high school. Most Young Adult novels tend to either over- or under-dramatize high school. 
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl was a rare Young Adult novel that really embodied how high school actually is.  

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl was a quick read that features various methods of writing such as lists, scripts, etc. It is hard to put down and can easily be read in one sitting.

Even though Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is essentially a book about death, it really is not. This is going to sound grotesque, but I am glad Rachel died. I have nothing against Rachel's character, but her death was crucial to the story. I liked that after she dies, we did not learn about it until a few pages later because that's the thing about death, when you die, people do mourn for you, but it does not consume their every thought. Eventually you have to get over it and I feel that in Young Adult novels, the characters do not understand that. Death is a part of life and you have to accept that, you can't spend your whole life thinking about it.

Another point about Rachel that I want to bring up is that I loved how Greg kept telling himself and others that his friendship with Rachel was forced. Even though it seemed to everyone that he was doing a good deed befriending the dying girl, he really had no choice. If Rachel had not been dying, Greg's mom would not have forced him to befriend Rachel and we both know that Greg would not have befriended her on his own. I like that Greg did not take credit for his friendship with Rachel and was honest that their friendship would never have happened if she would have a been healthy. I also liked that Greg did not claim to know everything about Rachel because he really knew nothing about her. When death is featured in many Young Adult novels, the characters tend to act as though they have known each other forever, when they really have not.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl was a really unique novel that stepped outside of the typically Young Adult norms. The story and its' characters were hysterical and are hard to forget. Although I really enjoyed the novel, I do not think I will ever re-read it; however, I am really excited to see how the movie compares. I do have one question though, am I the only one who did not cry at all throughout the entire book?