Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
by Jesse Andrews
Publisher: Abrams Books
Publication Date: March 1, 2012
Jesse Andrew’s much-revered debut novel, ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL, was the perfect sardonic counterbalance to what seemed like a wave of “fake-deep” books about illnesses that seemed to not only populate the 2012 bookshelves, but dominate them. It isn’t hard to describe the essential Early 2010’s Cancer Book; a main character has an illness, a romance ensues, a life lesson is learned, and none of them are over the age of 19. Allow me to tell you why ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL is different: it acknowledges that its characters are teenagers.
Greg Gaines, the protagonist, doesn’t speak like some third-rate philosopher; he’s funny, he’s selfish, he’s flawed; Greg is a real teenager. He doesn’t know how to deal with Rachel, his old childhood friend who he’s only talking to again because she has cancer. He doesn’t even know if he should be dealing with her at all. This imperfection is what makes him such a compelling character. (That, and the fact that he’s hil-ar-ious.)
This ability to tap into the real feelings of teens makes ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL a book that will make you cry tears of laughter, and just cry in general. While it’s familiar in the sense of subject matter, it’s nothing that you’ve ever read before. ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL is a book that everyone must read, and trust me, you’ll thank me for suggesting it once you have!
MUNMUN
by Jesse Andrews
Publisher: Amulet Books
Publication Date: April 3, 2018
Jesse Andrews’ latest novel, MUNMUN, delves into a dystopian world where a person’s height directly corresponds to their wealth, or “munmun.” The richest in the world stand at skyscraper height while the poorest are the size of mere rats. Warner and his sister, Prayer, are littlepoors, the very smallest of the citizens. After the accidental murder of their father, Warner and Prayer set off to try and find Prayer a wealthy husband who will share his wealth and “scale up” Warner’s family. And so begins an epic adventure of hope, humor, and important motifs that are far more serious than how they are presented.
Personally, I enjoyed MUNMUN. Andrews describes this made up world with such precision that I began to believe that it really existed. The roller-coaster ride of Warner and Prayer kept me on the edge of my seat--well, bed--and kept me happily turning the page. The syntax of this book is unique in that many words are pushed together, all acronyms are spelled out phonetically, and more. While it is hard to get used to at first, this style of writing perfectly encapsulates the narrator, Warner. Despite having an ending that left much to be desired, MUNMUN is a well-written, passionate book about the struggles of the poor that I recommend to any interested readers.
The Haters
by Jesse Andrews
Publisher: Abrams Books
Publication Date: April 5th, 2016
In THE HATERS, Wes,
Corey, and Ash are fugitives from band camp and the next big thing (according
to no one). Once realizing jazz camp is a total bore, they ditch and hit the
road, determined to make it big in their self-named “Haters Summer of Hate
Tour”. Follow Wes as he tries to get with Ash (or anyone), Ash as she tries to
keep her mysterious rich girl reputation, and Corey as he tries to figure out
what the heck is going on. With songs such as "Trees are Eating My Dad
Right Now Pt. 1" and a never-ending argument about the name of the band,
how long can their tour last before they are caught by the cops and sent home?
Andrews offers a fresh take on YA literature in a novel riddled with different
writing formats including Wikipedia articles, conversations in script, and a
stream of consciousness from the (often immature) perspective of Wes. This was
honestly one of the funniest books I've read in a long time and I would highly
recommend it!
