Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Title: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Author: Jesse Andrew
Page Count: 295 w/o author interview, 308 w/ interview
Rating: A
Keywords: Comedy, Cancer, High School, Film Making, Friendship
Genre: YA
Younger Readers: Language and content can be crude at times, drug use, parents should be aware

Synopsis from Goodreads:

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.  

Review:

   This is a YA book revolving around the tough topic of cancer. Many people will instantly think of John Green's The Fault in Our Stars. This is an understandable comparison and I certainly felt a similarity between the two books, but Me and Earl and the Dying Girl stands alone as a great book. I was in a reading slump for the past few weeks and this book pulled me out of it. It took less than a day to complete and I loved it. But be warned: this is not a book for everyone. You will either love it or hate it.
   Greg and his best friend Earl are certainly vulgar in both topics of discussion and language. As a 20 year old reader this did not bother me so much. Younger readers or more sensitive readers may be turned off by this. It just depends on your brand of humor.
   I really enjoyed the way that Andrews handled the topic of cancer. It was not a fairytale or some tragic drama. Greg was not a knight in shining armor that knew exactly how to fix everything. He was a kid, an odd one for sure, but not anything supernatural in its oddity. The situation was tough for him. He was selfish and dumb. There were moments where he messed up. Such moments were presented in a way that did not make the reader hate Greg. He was not a villain. He screwed up and hurt people, but he's a kid in high school. He doesn't know how to handle that the girl he's known most of his life is dying. This is so real. They weren't close before her diagnosis and guilt more than anything drives his actions. He knows how he should feel but he is closed off. He tries to do the right thing but messes up from time to time. The moment he feels anything is heartbreaking and beautiful. This touch of reality, that you don't really realize until you've completed the novel, made me love the book even more. It doesn't try too hard.
   There is not a happy ending. Not everyone lives happily ever after. But this furthers the feeling of reality. Not everyone gets the perfect life. Greg is growing up. He and Earl change their minds about what they want out of life. Greg experiences fears about his future success. It is not perfect. That's what makes it so great.
   Overall I would highly recommend this book..