Review Detail

This is the book I wish received more attention than The Fault in Our Stars. Unlike the aforementioned novel, it doesn't glamorize a terminal illness and try in any way to make light of the situation. In case that offends anyone, keep in mind that I did enjoy TFIOS, but I just think Me, Earl and the Dying Girl had a more powerful message.

This isn't going to be a book for everyone. The protagonist is an anti-hero who will anger the reader and make you wish he were a real person just so you could slap some sense into him. He is flawed in every possible way, but he was so realistic, that I couldn't help but to kinda like him. Maybe. In a strange turn of events, Greg finds himself hanging out with Rachel, a girl in his class that was recently diagnosed with cancer. And he hates it. In the beginning he feels a sense of obligation to spend time with her because she's dying. He gets that she's dying, but he doesn't understand how to handle it, and as a result, says some pretty offensive stuff to her and is just a general jerk. But he keeps trying to do better, visits her in the hospital and tries very hard to make her laugh until her last day.

Greg showed a lot of growth in the end from going from a character who didn't seem like he gave a shit to one who became obsessed with helping a friend, who didn't realize how much her dying was affecting him.

What I loved the most was how Me, Earl and the Dying Girl showed a teen who didn't know how to deal with losing a friend, something I'm sure many teens don't understand. Death sucks. Seeing it happens just multiplies that times 1,000. There are no heroes in a story like that. I appreciate that Andrews showed that side.

Also, bonus points for completely getting Earl's character and family right! POC that actually sound and act like POC!