Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Andrews, Jesse. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. 2012. 295 p. ISBN 978-1-4197-0176-4. FIC AND on the shelves of the library.

Greg Gaines has always been invisible at school and in life. That’s the way he has engineered his entire existence: he’s not a part of anything, but no one bullies him either, despite his being short and squat. His closest acquaintance is Earl, who’s shorter and angrier. Together they have discovered classic movies, and they now make their own in secret. Rachel, a girl Greg dated in middle school, is now dying of leukemia, and his mother makes him spend time with her. When Greg volunteers to show her his movies, it forces him to become visible at school, and his peers begin to notice him.

This book is hilariously written by Greg himself, with Greg stating right at the beginning that there will be no lesson that was learned at the end, no happy ending, nothing but his foibles during his senior year. Laced with profanities, anatomical descriptions, sexual and drug references, this book nonetheless conveys great truths about life as an unpopular high schooler. Greg’s stream of consciousness and the movie scripts he writes in his head about his current situations are the same fascinating, self-absorbed monologs many teens have. It is sure to be popular with many boys, including reluctant readers.

Fans of this book will appreciate Andrew Smith’s other books, Winger & Grasshopper Jungle; and Antony John’s Busted. For a hilarious look at one teenage boy's last two days before his (known) death, take a peek at Denton Little's Death Date. And for a close look at teen angst, rock and roll, sex, and a mystery rolled into one, check out King Dork.