REVIEW: Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler

Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler

My rating: 

I'm telliung you why we broke up, Ed. I'm writing this letter, the whole truth of why it happened. And the truth is that I goddamned loved you so much.

I was so excited for this one! And like Eleanor and Park, I was also extremely disappointed. But unlike Eleanor and Park, it wasn't the plot I had issues with, it was the writing itself.

I like reading about sad, breakup books. It's not because I feel happy that other people could be having the same problems, but mostly because I could relate to them better. When I've heard from June Henderson that this was a pretty good one, I immediately had the instinct to go and grab it. I'm glad she liked it, I however, didn't enjoy it too much.

THE STORY

The story starts with Min (short for Minerva) returning a bunch of Ed's stuff in a box with a letter on it, explaining why they broken up. We follow Min's letter as she tells the significance of the items inside the box is for her, and why she was returning them to Ed. We get a glimpse of how Ed and Min got together, and what happened that ended their relationship.

MEET THE CHARACTERS

Min

I could see myself in Min's character. When I experienced my first heartbreak, it was terrible. The pain was inexplicable. I just took everything in. I didn't talk to anyone about it, I gave everyone the impression that I was okay, even though I wasn't. Inside, I was screaming out loud how much it hurts. I'm not kidding you. I went crazy.

In schools, especially in highschool, there are status quos: popular hang out with popular people, the science people hang out with the science people, the musicians hang out together, You get what I mean right? When Ed, a part of the popular crowd, started to show interest in her, she caved. That was pretty realistic. I mean come on, I couldn't blame her for that, any teenage girl would. Not in the same way she did, but they will get excited, for sure.

Min never really thought she was different up until Ed said she was. He kept on mentioning how different she was from the other girls, which I believe him, because he tends to hang out with the popular crowd. The stereotype of the popular girls are usually that they are pretty and shallow, and Ed was right when he said that Min wasn't like them. But the thing is, Min took that too seriously. She hung on to his word. She believed Ed. She trusted him, and he in turn, broke her heart. I hate Ed. He is the type of guy, I'd like to feed to the wolves, and I will be smiling as he is being eaten. That's how much I hate Ed. But wait.. I'll get to him later.

Every girl will get their heartbroken at some point. And this story, was Min's first heartbreak, becase Ed was her first love. The first time is always the hardest they say, and Min definitely got it hard alright. I mean you wouldn't write a letter with 300+ pages if you aren't so hurt right? And I think it's a good thing, because she was able to release all of her pent up hurt on that letter. With that letter, she was able to let go of Ed... I think. I don't think that's a spoiler, it's on the title. So yeah. I admire Min actually, she was able to break up with the douchebag, I wasn't.

The Douchebag

I'm talking about Ed here okay? Because I think that's what he is. His name shouldn't be Ed, it should be Asshat Dickhead. That would be perfect for a guy like him. I have so much passionate hatred for Ed. He is not the most evil type of guy out there, I know that. The reason why I hate him so much, is because he reminded me of someone. He was exactly like the guy who broke my heart.

Ed was a generic character, just like Min (I think he made the characters this way so people could relate to them better.. I think). He was your typical popular jock, who knows that he can get what he wants. When he met Min, he knew he wanted her, he said because she was "different". FUCK YOU! That is the most lamest thing anybody has ever said in the entire fucking galaxy, universe, or whatever is bigger!

He cheated on her. Okay there. That's the reason why they broke up. She couldn't take that bullshit, and I don't blame her. But this son-of-a-figlyf's excuse was that they weren't exclusive!! YOU FUCKING DICKHEAD I REALLY WANNA MURDER YOUR SORRY ASS! He made a mistake, but he wasn't even sorry about it. He said, he loves her, but then this other girl, what's-her-name, makes him feel different too. He said it was like he was two people!! Holy crap, Ed is also suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder. No. I won't take that stupid excuse you lying-cheating-moron!!

At their age, I guess Ed was just like every boy his age, full of hormones, and just want to bang every woman that has a pussy. Okay, that was a very mean thing to say. I apologize. I take that back, not every boy his age, because some boys are responsible and sensitive to other people's feelings, plus they are not moronic like Ed. They think of the consequences of their actions.

DEAR ED,

I FUCKING HATE YOU.

Love lots,

Sandee

ROMANCE

It's stupid insta-love, on Min's part mainly. She fell in love the moment Ed spoke to her, which is stupid, but come on, we all been through that. I am not gonna judge Min for that. I was at some point, stupid and impulsive myself, when it came to love. But for me, I fell in love because I saw something with the person that made me want to be with him, but on Min's case, there was nothing to love about Ed. NOTHING. Unless, you love the concept of loving a jock, then that make sense.

Teenage love is weird come to think of it. Some first love, become the love that they stay with forever, but for most, it just ends up as a bitter memory, and with Min's case, it's the later.

MY RATING

WRITING: 10

PLOT: 17

CHARACTERS: 17

UNPREDICTABILITY: 15

PACING: 5

ENJOYABILITY: 4

WRITING: It was horrible. I didn't like how this book was written at all. Reading one sentence made me feel I was reading an entire paragraph. I'm not sure if it was intended to be that way, but it didn't work. Sorry Lemony Snicket, this didn't work for me. This book would have been better done if it's not just on Min's POV, just saying. It gets tiring hearing Min whine and whine about how hurt she was and all that, I get it, really, but who would write a 300 something pages long letter to someone? Who does that? When there were no internet, no cellpones, I doubt anybody wrote anybody a letter that long. Totally unrealistic.

PLOT: I loved the premise and the story, writing style fucked it up. I am not a writer, not am I a good critique, this is just on my opinion and personal preference. I think the theme, the plot and story was a genius idea though. A girl and a boy breaks up, then we find out what caused the break up. Doing this in a letter format was suicide. And it would have been nice to hear Ed's POV on this story. We only get to see Min's side of the story, so what happens is, you'll only sympathize for one person. Who knows? Min might be a crazy psychopath that just wrote stuff to Ed that didn't really happen right?

CHARACTERS: I liked them. I liked that I could relate to Min and that I detested Ed. I love that feeling. LOL. The supporting characters were okay too. I like Al in particular, because he didn't trust Ed. LOL.

UNPREDICTABILITY: It was a bit predictable towards the end. I knew he was going to cheat. The story behind the pictures were a mystery to me althroughout the book.

PACING: I was in the middle of hating the pace, and liking it. Just somewhere in between.

ENJOYABILITY: I didn't enjoy it too much until towards the end.

FINAL RAMBLING

I just don't get what the hype is with this book. I've read this and Eleanor and Park the same time, and both books really disappointed me. Everybody loves both of these books, I was actually looking for negative reviews, just to see how much other people could relate to my dilemma with this book. There were only quite a few.

This was not a bad book. Just as I've mentioned on my review of Eleanor and Park, I guess the reason why I didn't like this too was just because of preference. Some people are okay with that weird writing style, I just wasn't into it. I feel that it could have been better. It could have been more poignant than it already is. The story was good, but the writing part failed me.

There were illustrations on this book which I found really refreshing. I loved the drawings, but it wasn't enough for me to really liked this.

After reading this book, I still thought about it. It made me realize how much I've grown from that time I had my first heartbreak, just like Min. I don't see anything wrong with Min's character at all, it was portrayed as it should be. I'm not saying every girl was like her, but there are some like her. I am a very good example of that.

I loved the message this book send to its readers. It teaches us a lesson, without the book sounding like the bible. It teaches the readers to think twice before you give everything up. It teaches us to be mindful of other people's feelings. It teaches us to be sensitive enough not to hurt people. It teaches us to be responsible for our actions. It teaches us to let go when it's time to let go.

I wasn't particularly a fan of this book, but it did make some good points. This type of book doesn't need gimmicks for people to read it. It didn't need all extra long sentences, or those weird references to movies. Sometimes, simplicity is the key. And with a premise like this, people will read it anyways. I'm 100% sure.

Have any of you read this book, and if you did, did you like it? If you can, can you recommend me some books that sounds like this one. :)

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