Review: Me, and Earl, and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

Me, and Earl and the Dying Girl

By: Jesse Andrews

Pub. Date: March 1, 2012

Publisher: Hachette Book Group-Abrams Books

Pages: 304

Source: ARC

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. 

What is so interesting about this book is that you would think it would be a book about life, mistakes and changes. You might think, "young man finds himself while befriending a dying girl". Nope, not the case at all. This book will make you laugh. It will make you laugh hysterically.

The MC and narrator is Greg Gaines. He is 17 years old, and probably one of the most awkward kids you will ever meet. He doesn't know how to talk to girls, and when he does talk to them, he says the most stupid things ever. He also doesn't have any friends, unless you include Earl, the angry and violent kid with the crazy family. The two of them usually just hang around and make really bad films together.

When Greg's mom tells him that the girl he used to be friends with in Hebrew school, Rachel, has acute myelogenous leukemia and insists that he spends time with her, as much as he doesn't want to admit it, both his life and Earl's will change forever.

I enjoyed Me, and Earl and the Dying Girl. It definitely made me laugh. I love that it wasn't supposed to be a serious book, even though it dealt with some serious subjects. It was a completely different kind of book then what I am used to reading. There really isn't any character development, and no real plot, and that completely worked for this story. It made me love the story, instead of hate it.

My favorite character had to be Earl. I just loved him from his very first line. We really got to see a whole other side of him when he was dealing with Rachel. He was just a very interesting guy.

My only complaint was that sometimes the jokes went a little to far. I would laugh, but then the joke would go on and on, sometimes for a few pages. It was just too much sometimes. 

I would recommend Me, and Earl and the Dying Girl. It was a fun and quick read it and it was definitely entertaining!