![Me and Earl and the Dying Girl: A book review]()
Drama, review, YA |
I generally am not a fan of books about a chronically ill person aka Sick-lit, especially when it comes to young adult books. It has been done so many times and I am just tired of it. Yet, I picked up Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews, all thanks to the gorgeous cover. How it fare on my scale? Read to know more.
About the book
Book Name: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Author: Jesse Andrews
Genre: Fiction – Drama, Young Adult
Characters: Greg Gaines, Earl Jackson, Rachel Kushner
Setting: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, The USA
The plot
Greg Gaines is the master of moderation in his high school. He just wants to blend to the wallpaper and is a friend of everyone so that he doesn’t have to be friends to anyone in particular. His only true and close friend is Earl Jackson.
Greg and Earl bonded over making movies, their version of foreign classic movies. They know that their movies are not good and not for others’ view.
Everything changes when Greg’s mother pushes him to rekindle his childhood friendship with Rachel. Rachel Kushner has been recently diagnosed with leukemia and she is dying.
What happens when the duo is forced to make a movie for the dying girl, forms the rest of the Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews.
My initial thoughts
As I mentioned earlier, dying girls and grief stricken boyfriends are definitely not my cup of tea. Well, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is not about that. The book is hilarious at parts, funny in other parts and meh among the others. And it is entirely upon the reader on finding what makes them laugh.
Yes, the dialogs are witty, sometimes crude and vulgar. But nothing more than what teens would be speaking.
What I loved about the book is that Greg doesn’t end up becoming Rachel’s best friend or boyfriend and speak the philosophies of life. He is still the crude teen that doesn’t want to befriend anyone else but Earl.
I really liked Earl and his over the top brothers. I love his earnestness and him wanting to help his mother as much as possible.
What worked for me
- The characters behave their age and are realistic. Greg doesn’t become a romantic nor Earl becomes a star, overnight.
- Mostly the book is funny and witty. Most of the time. Even when it doesn’t, the format keeps it interesting.
- There is no romance angle, so that is a yay from me.
What may have been better
- I love self deprecating humor but there is a thing called overload. At some point when the “wittiness” falls flat and the tone lackluster.
- If Greg is gonna say that this is a stupid book one more time, I might have lost it.
Bottom line
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews is a hilarious young adult book involving a cancer patient but doesn’t revolve around her. Read it for the mostly funny writing and eccentric characters.
Pin me!
Let’s chat
Have you read Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews? How did you like it? Is the movie better than the book? Let us talk.
![Me and Earl and the Dying Girl: A book review]()
Drama, review |
I reading about China in The Joy luck club last year without knowing that I would be spending a month in Macau (a country that is still a part of Chinese government) soon after I finished it! Has this ever happened to you? So how did it fare on my chart? Let us find out.
About the Joy luck club
Book Name: The Joy luck club
Author: Amy Tan
Genre: Fiction – Historical, Drama
Characters: Jing-mei (June) Woo, Suyuan Woo, An-mei Hsu, Rose Hsu Jordan, Lindo Jong, Waverly Jong, Ying-ying St. Clair, and Lena St. Clair
Setting: San Francisco, The United States of America and China
Plot Summary of the Joy luck club
Following her mother’s death (Suyuan Woo), Jing-mei (June) Woo replaces her in the monthly Mah jong game. Suyuan and her friends started this tradition years ago when they moved into San Francisco as way to keep in touch with their Chinese culture and history. Through the years, the four mothers share their festivals, their daughters’ birthdays and achievements during the game.
While the mothers tried to preserve the culture, their daughters chase the American dream and lifestyle. They do not have the patience or interest in knowing their mother’s history and they scoff at the Chinese superstitions. Despite living under the same roof for years, the mothers and daughters live a life separated by their culture and life experiences.
The harder their mothers are on them, the harder the daughters rebel in their own way, without realizing unwittingly they are following their mothers’ path. They also are quick to leave behind their Chinese culture just like their mothers had.
During their game, Jing-mei finds out that just before her death Suyuan had traced her two other daughters that she had to leave behind during the World war II. And her mother’s friends urge her to take her mother’s journey to meet her long lost relatives who are still in China. Did she take that journey and find her sisters forms the rest of the story in The Joy luck club.
Book review of the Joy luck club
The Joy luck club is one of those classic cult hit when it was released in 1989. While it does feel a little bit dated, her major themes on mother- daughter relationship and generational gaps, especially between the first and second generational Chinese-Americans still holds good.
The Joy luck club contains sixteen short stories narrated by four Chinese born mothers and their respective daughters who make it a point not to learn Chinese over half a century! While it was fun to try to read this structure, the truth was it was a little difficult to remember all the secondary characters.
I loved how the daughters who scoffed at their mothers and their traditions in their childhood and well into their marriages, turn around as they mature and even get closer to them. And how their mothers in turn, learn to adapt into their new roles over the years. To be honest, The Joy luck club made me stop a moment and examine my own relationship with my mother.
Things that worked for me
- I loved the friendship/co-dependency between the mothers.
- The stories about the mothers before coming to the USA were haunting and so historically rich. I loved them.
Things that didn’t work for me
- Did the author somehow help the strict, cold Asian mothers and absentee Asian fathers stereotypes? (UPDATE: upon reading other reviews -YES SHE DID, AND FACED A SEVERE BACKLASH)
- I wish the book’s structure was a bit easier to follow through.
Similar reviews you might like
Bottom-line
The Joy Luck Club is culturally and historically rich, even though it plays a bit to the stereotypes or even went to setting those stereotypes in the first place. If you are looking for a literary / historical fiction The Joy luck club by Amy Tan is a good choice.
Pin me!
Let us chat
Have you read The Joy Luck Club by AMy Tan? Have you visited any place that you read about? Can you suggest any book that speaks of mother-daughter relationships? Let us talk.
![Me and Earl and the Dying Girl: A book review]()
review, Romance |
I know the times are hard and troubling and we bookworms are trying to escape the pressure of the real world. And so I am here help you do that with a great recommendation. Let us review Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston, shall we?
About the book
Book Name: Red, White & Royal Blue
Author: Casey McQuiston
Genre: Fiction – Romance
Characters: Alex Claremont-Diaz and his sister June, Nora Holleran (Alex’s best friend), Prince Henry George Edward James Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, his sister Bea and Pez (Henry’s best friend)
Setting: Washington DC, The United States of America
The plot
The sons of the first families of The USA and the UK hate each other dislike each other and the world knows it. The first families and their PRs decide to intervene and stage a fake Instagram relationship.
What starts as a fake friendship between Alex Claremont-Diaz and Prince Henry blossoms into something more. But is coming out as gay worth all the drama in the royal family? And more importantly is their love worth causing a political derailment around the world? You will have to read Red, White & Royal Blue to know more.
My initial thoughts
Red, White & Royal Blue was highly addictive and hilarious that you cannot put it down once you start. The banter between the leads is witty and adorable. The writing is top notch and Casey McQuiston knows to keep the readers hooked until the end.
Above all, what struck close to me was the lead characters and how much life like they both were. And the sub plots and side characters especially June, Bea and Nora, were as deep as they can be. Oh I loved them all.
Things that worked for me
- The writing is fast paced and quite an easy flow.
- I loved the characters and seriously appreciate how deep their arcs were.
- The witty banter and the chemistry between the leads is adorable.
- An extra brownie point for the very diverse cast.
Things that didn’t work for me
Red, White & Royal Blue is not going to be your gateway to learn every bit of the politics of USA. You get what you see!
Bottom-line
Red, White & Royal Blue is such a cute, sweet and funny LGBTQA romance that will definitely keep your lock down sorrows go away. You need this in your life!
Pin me!
Let us chat
Have you read this hyped up book? How did you like it? What are you reading to keep you distracted from the reality? Let us talk.
![Me and Earl and the Dying Girl: A book review]()
review, Romance |
I hope y’all still believe in “better than late never“, because I am talking about a book that many of you have read and spoken to death about. Yes, I am talking about The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang. And if you are one of those rare souls that haven’t read this yet, let my review convince you!
About the book
Book Name: The Kiss Quotient
Author: Helen Hoang
Genre: Fiction – Romance
Characters: Stella Lane, Michael Phan
Setting: Silicon Valley, California, The United States of America
The plot
When her mother forces her to get married, the autistic Stella Lane hires a male escort to teach her the ways to please a man. Stella is a highly intelligent econometrician who is socially inept and hence generally poor in understanding people and thus relationships.
Micheal Phan works as an escort on Fridays to pay his ailing mother’s huge hospital bills. He is good at what he does and he is strict about not rebooking his clients, even if they pay well. Well everything changes when he is hired by Stella.
There is an instant connection between them but they resist because professional boundaries and miscommunication. Do they or not end up together forms the rest of The Kiss Quotient.
My initial thoughts
I took the book right from the first page. It is a story that we have all heard before but what makes The Kiss Quotient a good book are the protagonists.
The characters are so well thought and developed with depth. None of the cardboard stereotypes that are a dozen a dime in the Kissing Quotient. Both Stella and Micheal made me laugh and cry when they did.
I liked the fact that the author didn’t cheapen autism or oversell it. Even I, who have very little personal experience with autism, could understand a lot about the spectrum and Stella as a person. I would consider that a win for Helen Hoang.
Yay for the representation (autism, Asian (Vietnamese) characters and a male sex worker)! And extra credit for not shaming the sex work in anyway.
Things that worked for me
- The writing is so easy to read and I couldn’t put the book down at all.
- I loved the well developed characters.
- The Kiss Quotient is kinda smutty but it works so well. Kudos to the author!
Things that didn’t work for me
Definitely not a young adult novel, as some believe it to be. Lots of steamy scenes. So beware.
Bottom-line
If you are looking to beat the boring afternoons during the lock down, pick The Kiss Quotient without a doubt. This racy, funny romance will steal your heart away for sure!
Pin me!
Let us chat
Have you read this one? Do you like steamy romances? If yes, suggest me similar books please. What are you currently reading? Let us talk.
![Me and Earl and the Dying Girl: A book review]()
review, Thriller |
How far would you go to save your loved one from the law and public eye when you know they are guilty? Would your stance change if it was only you that knew they were guilty? Well, the Dinner is based on this dilemma and much more.
I came across the Dinner when I was hunting books for my infamous Flyaway Friday feature to Netherlands. Written by Dutch author Herman Koch, the plot definitely caught my eye. So let us see how that turned out for me, shall we?
About the book
Book Name: The Dinner
Author: Herman Koch
Genre: Fiction – Drama
Characters: Paul and Claire Lohman, Serge and Babette
Setting: Netherlands
The plot
The Dinner begins with two brothers (Paul the narrator and his brother Serge Lohman), and their respective wives (Claire and Babette) meeting for a dinner at a high end restaurant. Though most of their dinner conversations are polite and filled with small talks, they have gathered to talk about something very serious – regarding their sons and their recent activities.
Between courses of the meal, they talk about everything under the sun from movies to relationships. They welcome external interruptions, try to undermine each other, as dysfunctional families do, and anything to avoid discussing the acts of their fifteen year old sons.
When they finally open the topic, the true nature of the parents and the distance they would go to protect the children surface.
What their sons did and how their parents decide to handle the situation during and after the dinner forms the rest of the story in the Dinner
My initial thoughts
I began reading the Dinner by hating the narrator’s pretentious elder brother and then realize one by one that each of the characters are wile and truly wicked. I think the strength of the author lies on the fact that the shift happened so subtly that you never see it coming.
As someone who is not a “foodie” and does not really understand the fad about over highly priced food, I am totally with Paul’s hilarious commentary about all the pompousness associated and his brother’s pretentiousness.
The Dinner doesn’t shy away from talking about the dark and disgusting side of humanity and discusses taboo topics like the pressure to seem like a “perfect happy family”, mental illness and dehumanizing others based on labels etc
Things that worked for me
- Every character is flawed and their gray shade made the book more interesting.
- If you like biased and unreliable narrators, then you are in for a treat.
- The writing and pacing are so well done that I grew as impatient as Paul at the many interruptions that kept them from discussing the topic at hand.
Things that didn’t work for me
- If you are looking for a book with like-able characters, the Dinner is not for you.
- The Dinner might seem unbelievable to happen in real world if you truly think that humans can’t be morally reprehensible. You will be shocked.
Bottom-line
Read the Dinner if humanity continues to shock you, and you still want to read about the dark, dark place humans can go for selfish reasons. Perfect for you if you liked Dark places by Gillian Flynn or the Vegetarian by Han Kang.
Pin me!
Let us chat
Have you read this one? Do you like reading translated works from other countries? Does the likablility of the characters matter to you while reading the book? Let us talk.
