In The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg, sixteen-year-old Brie Eagen is told by her boyfriend that he does not love her—and literally dies of a broken heart. Now in the afterlife, Brie must go through the five stages of grief with help from Patrick, another lost soul, before she can finally rest in peace.
This book is equally funny and heartbreaking. Along with Brie’s journey in the afterlife, you also follow the trials that her family is enduring now that she’s gone; her father, a cardiologist, can’t accept the fact that he wasn’t able to fix his daughter’s heart, and his obsession with finding out the reason why is putting a serious strain on his relationship with Brie’s mom and younger brother. In addition, Brie’s former boyfriend and her best friends are struggling to put the pieces back together now that she’s gone.
The things I really appreciated were these other storylines. Sometimes within this genre, the focus is completely on the deceased character, and little thought is given for those left behind. Not so in this one; both Brie and her loved ones are prominently followed, giving the reader many people to relate to and root for. The Catastrophic History of You and Me will make you laugh and possibly cry, but the journey it takes you on is most definitely worth it.
The things I really appreciated were these other storylines. Sometimes within this genre, the focus is completely on the deceased character, and little thought is given for those left behind. Not so in this one; both Brie and her loved ones are prominently followed, giving the reader many people to relate to and root for. The Catastrophic History of You and Me will make you laugh and possibly cry, but the journey it takes you on is most definitely worth it.
No comments:
Post a Comment
What can I post on your wall?
Commenting & Posting Guidelines
Welcome to your library on social media!
Pima County Public Library (PCPL) offers blogs and other social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter for educational, cultural, civic, customer service, and recreational purposes. They provide a limited (or designated) public forum to facilitate the sharing of ideas, opinions, and information about library-related subjects and issues.
By choosing to comment or post on our social media accounts, you agree with the following:
Comments and posts are moderated by library staff, and the library reserves the right to remove any that are unlawful or off topic. Posts containing the following may be deleted:
Copyright violations
Off-topic comments
Commercial material/spam/solicitation
Sexual content, or links to sexual content
Threatening or harassing postings
Libelous or other kinds of personal attacks
Conduct or encouragement of illegal activity
Content that reveals private, personal information without permission
Vulgar language or content
Comments in support of or in opposition to political campaigns or ballot measures
Content that degrades others on the basis of gender, race, class, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability or other classification
P.S. Protect your privacy. Don't post personally identifying information in these public spaces, including details like your library card number, phone number, or medical information, etc.
Young people under age 18, especially, should not post information such as your school, age, phone number, and address.