Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler

“This is the box, Ed. Inside is everything. This is it, Ed. The whole
story of why we broke up."

In Why We Broke Up, Min Green explains to her completely different ex-boyfriend the moments that led to their break up. As Min makes her way through a keepsake box, she reveals the start of the relationship, how they fell in love, and the heartbreak that was unavoidable. The mundane objects in Min’s box all represent a moment that made Min questioned the romance of such a dissimilar couple.

 A Printz honor for excellence in Young Adult Literature, Why We Broke Up will send you back in time to when you felt that first pang of love and the earth-shattering pain of your first breakup. We have all been there and we go through it with Min as she re-hatches what exactly went wrong for the basketball team co-captain and classic film connoisseur couple.

Author Daniel Handler, from the famed Lemony Snicket series, weaves a tale of love and heartbreak that we have all known. This book made me laugh, cry, and want to scream at the extreme use of fragmented and run-on sentences. About forty or so pages into Min’s story I was sure Handler had set me up for a disastrous storyline, but I stuck with it and am I glad I did. The feeling of nostalgia that haunts this book cannot be denied. A tale of first love and heartache is one that anyone can relate to. We might not all have Min’s story, but we have all felt her pain.

Be sure to check out the back cover as some of today's most popular authors share their first love/first heartbreak stories.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

    If I ever decide to write author John Green a letter, I am pretty sure it would go something like this, “Dear John Green….Thanks for ripping out my heart with The Fault In Our Stars. I laughed, cried, then cried some more. But it was a pleasure to have my heart ripped out by such an awesome book.”

   Sound a little extreme? Well this is an extreme book.

   Hazel Grace Lancaster is anything but ordinary. Actually she probably wishes she was ordinary. Because ordinary kids don’t get cancer and they certainly don’t have to tote around oxygen tanks. Enter Augustus Waters, a witty terribly handsome one-legged cancer survivor. Hazel doesn’t stand a chance and neither does the reader. Together they chase a recluse author, battle cancer, help a blind kid, and discover how fantastic living can be.  It is impossible not to fall in love with Hazel and Augustus’ epic love story.

   John Green has written a superb book. I do not think I cannot stress the intensity and power that he has packed into a mere 318 pages. Yes it is a cancer book and cancer books are generally sad, but The Fault in Our Stars goes well beyond your average ‘cancer story’. This book is a force of emotions to be reckoned with. Don’t believe me? Check it out for yourself!