Summary
The book that inspired the hit film! Sundance U.S. Dramatic Audience Award Sundance Grand Jury Prizer. This is the funniest book you'll ever read about death. It is a universally acknowledged truth that high school sucks. But on the first day of his senior year, Greg Gaines thinks he's figured it out. The answer to the basic existential question: How is it possible to exist in a place that sucks so bad? His strategy: remain at the periphery at all times. Keep an insanely low profile. Make mediocre films with the one person who is even sort of his friend, Earl. This plan works for exactly eight hours. Then Greg's mom forces him to become friends with a girl who has cancer. This brings about the destruction of Greg's entire life. Praise for "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" STARRED REVIEW - "One need only look at the chapter titles ("Let's Just Get This Embarrassing Chapter Out of the Way") to know that this is one funny book. Booklist - STARRED REVIEW "A frequently hysterical confessional...Debut novelist Andrews succeeds brilliantly in painting a portrait of a kid whose responses to emotional duress are entirely believable and sympathetic, however fiercely he professes his essential crappiness as a human being. Though this novel begs inevitable thematic comparisons to John Green's The Fault in Our Stars (2011), it stands on its own in inventiveness, humor and heart." Kirkus Reviews - STARRED REVIEW "It is sure to be popular with many boys, including reluctant readers, and will not require much selling on the part of the librarian." VOYA - "Mr. Andrews'; often hilarious teen dialogue is utterly convincing, and his characters are compelling. Greg';s random sense of humor, terrible self-esteem and general lack of self-awareness all ring true. Like many YA authors, Mr. Andrews blends humor and pathos with true skill, but he steers clear of tricky resolutions and overt life lessons, favoring incremental understanding and growth." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette-Awards-Capitol Choices 2013 - Noteworthy Titles for Children and Teens Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) Choices 2013 list - Young Adult Fiction YALSA 2013 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers YALSA 2013 Best Fiction for Young Adults YALSA 2014 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults
Published Reviews
Booklist Review:
"*Starred Review* Greg Gaines, 17, would be the first to tell you that his constant dickhead behavior makes him the least likely person to befriend a classmate dying of leukemia. But he is pushed into it by his mother and, well, the result is this horrifyingly inane, unstoppable barf-fest of a book. Greg prefers to keep a low profile at school, instead collaborating with his almost-gangsta pal, Earl, on terrible remakes of classic films: Apocalypse Later with Super Soakers, The Manchurian Cat-idate with cats. But his knack for cracking jokes keeps the dying girl, Rachel, smiling, and pretty soon the whole school thinks he is some kind of hero. He is even pushed into making a final opus: Rachel the Film, aka the worst film ever made. One need only look at the chapter titles ( Let's Just Get This Embarrassing Chapter Out of the Way ) to know that this is one funny book, highlighted by screenplay excerpts and Earl's pissy wisdom. What's crazy is how moving it becomes in spite of itself. The characters are neither smart or precocious. Greg is not suitably moved by Rachel's struggle. His film sucks. He thinks bereavement means being attacked by beavers. But it's this honest lack of profundity, and the struggle to overcome it, that makes Andrews' debut actually kinda profound.--Kraus, Daniel Copyright 2010 Booklist"
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Publisher's Weekly Review:
"Senior Greg Gaines has drifted through high school trying to be friendly with everyone but is friends with no one, moving between cliques without committing. His only hobby is making awful movies with Earl, his foul-mouthed pal. Greg's carefully maintained routine is upset when his mother encourages him to spend time with Rachel, a classmate suffering from leukemia. Greg begrudgingly befriends Rachel, before being conned by another classmate into making a movie about her. The story employs a number narrative devices, including screenplay-style passages, bulleted lists, movie reviews, and fake newspaper headlines, which are expertly handled by a chorus of voice actors (Keith Szarabajka, Hillary Huber, Kirby Heyborne, Abigail Revasch, and Adenrele Ojo). The use of multiple voices textures the story and increases the entertainment value of the entire audiobook. Ages 14-up. An Abrams/Amulet paperback. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved."
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