Daniel Handler, AKA Lemony Snicket,
has written a totally new kind of book in Why We Broke Up. Told in the form of a letter, this is the
story of brokenhearted intellectual Min (Minerva) who is divesting herself of
all the memories and associated treasures accumulated over a two-month love
affair with the co-captain of the school basketball team, Ed Slaterton. Min is not your typical “bleacher girlfriend.” She’s not the kind of girl that boys like
handsome, athletic, popular jock Ed Slaterton usually go for, but theirs is a
special connection a true against all odds kind of love and yet, ultimately the
odds beat them.
If you like teen romance books—Sarah
Dessen, Maureen Johnson and Susane Colasanti kind of books—you will like this book! Min is
a strong female character, very smart, quirky, “arty” as she often gets
referred to by Ed and his jock friends.
She is an independent spirit. She
is clever and thoughtful. She knows
herself and she’s confident in her self-knowledge. And yet, despite her own best interests, she
is faced with this unusual opportunity for love. It is a love that really tests what she knows
about herself and she finds she wants to challenge those high school identity
limitations. During her courtship with
Ed, she must find a way to remain true to herself while being invested in this
relationship—which is a difficult balance even for those twice her age. In their time together, they come to
understand each other’s world views while sharing a special us against the
world kind of love. The trope of telling
the story in the form of a letter explaining “why we broke up” is
terrific! Falling in love and then breaking
up with someone is a universal tale and Daniel Handler proves he has a unique
understanding of this classic tale and writes a very believable and sympathetic
character in Min. I can totally see this
book being made into a movie. It has all
the elements of a tried and true romantic story being told in a fresh and
interesting way.
