368 Pages of Heartbreak

Why We Broke Up written by Daniel Handler and art by Maira Kalaman
Publish Date: December 27, 2011
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Source: Publisher
Age Rec.: There are a couple of love scenes so I would recommend it for teens 15 and older.

Summary*:
Min Green and Ed Slaterton are breaking up, so Min is writing Ed a letter and giving him a box. Inside the box is why they broke up. Two bottle caps, a movie ticket, a folded note, a box of matches, a protractor, books, a toy truck, a pair of ugly earrings, a comb from a motel room, and every other item collected over the course of a giddy, intimate, heartbreaking relationship. Item after item is illustrated and accounted for, and then the box, like a girlfriend, will be dumped.

My Review: 


Why We Broke Up brought me back to the time when I was smaller, and I read those books with smooth pages and colorful pictures every other page. But this book was not about colorful caterpillars or fish with shiny fins, this book was about first love and that first heartbreak everyone experiences eventually.

Not only was the book in such a unique format, but the way it was written, so unique and detailed, it just kept me turning page after page until I had gotten to the last of it. 

While I enjoyed the millions of references, I felt a little out of the loop. I sometimes had NO idea what Min was talking about, but I was amused nevertheless by her quirky attitude and funny dialogue, so I didn't feel that clueless.

The development of this relationship is not like any I have read in other books. It wasn't rushed, and it had so many special moments that I mourned for their relationship as if it were mine.

To sum it up, I loved this relationship, their story and I felt Min's anger and tears as she wrote Ed the letter of why they broke up.

So if you get a chance, pick up Why We Broke Up, you won't regret it!



Rating:

*Summary from Goodreads.com