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.
***
ReviewMe and Earl and the Dying Girl is a novel that will speak to all adolescents on a very personal level. What made it so profound, was in fact, its complete lack of sentiment and profundity.
This novel truly captures the essence of being a teenager and presented it with brutal honesty. The characters were extremely three dimensional and what make you really empathise with them is their very much human flaws.
The plot is extremely gritty and although this novel will make you cry in laughter, it can't exactly be classified as light-hearted literature.
Many young-adult authors create stories that give us unrealistic expectations of our own life. What I personally loved so much about Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (apart from its quirky cover) was the fact that Jesse Andrews was completely honest about the fact that high school, for the lack of a better term, sucked. There wasn't any question about it but it's okay, because it is only a passing phase in our lives.
This book was in the top ten for YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adult readers, and deservingly so. It has the ability to draw in any reader, to make them empathise with and sympathise for the characters. It portrayed important themes like loyalty, independence and honesty. One of the major aspect about this novel is humour. This is one of those novels where you can go from laughing to crying in a mere matter of seconds.
Although this book was not written with the intent of creating an important moral or based on a valuable theme, both character and plot development were evident.
In summary, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is an extremely well written book. This is a great young adult novel that I highly recommend for anyone who enjoys a good laugh, realistic fiction or perhaps both.
RATING | ★★★★★
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