Hello Rad Readers!
Greg Gaines is in his final year of high school, and he has managed to make it by chilling on the metaphorical sidelines of life-- exactly his goal. He has one best friend Earl, though he rather calls him a co-worker as they spend their time together making absurd remakes of classic movies. Greg has only ever needed Earl, until his mother forced him to hang out with his classmate who has just been diagnosed with Leukemia. Thus, we follow Greg, and Earl, and the dying girl as they learn-- well... not so much actually. Rachel's illness becomes a subplot to an otherwise hilarious coming of age story, because sometimes, things just go wrong and life still demands to move forward.
I think the best way to give you an idea of what this book is like, is through this quote:
"So again, if this was a touching, romantic story we'd obviously fall in love and she'd say all the wise, beautiful things that can only be learned in life's twilight or whatever. And then she'd die in my arms. But again, that's not what happened."
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews is deceivingly hilarious for its rather morbid title. I can say with full confidence that this book is a masterpiece in every right. It is like an anti-The-Fault-in-Our-Stars, and that is not to say that TFIOS is anything but extraordinary, but where John Green is poetic, profound, and heavy, Jesse Andrews is comedic, wrong, bold, and COLORFUL. I think that is the best way to describe this read. It was colorful and real. It was absurd and not intent on leaving the reader with a beautiful message or to get across a metaphor on life.
Here, you get a taste of everything. Blunt slapstick hilarity, whimsical and clever sarcasm, and just brute, crass, and absurd boyish humor. There is certainly no strain for a life lesson hidden in between the lines. However, I would still say that there is a lot to learn from Greg. There is a lot to be said for never allowing life to be taken too seriously, and recognizing that there are so many uncontrollables that we must simply continue to carry on with them.
A fast paced, easy to read, hilarious novel! What more could you ask for? An easy 5/5 stars from me!
- C8 ;)