Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler and Maira Kalman

The Book Talk:






The Review:


I should probably start this review with a small disclaimer -- I love Daniel Handler (well, Lemony Snicket)'s writing.  I know that it's not everyone's cup of tea, and to some people it can seem affected and forcefully quirky, but it is exactly the kind of writing that speaks to me.  This is also my first experience reading a novel illustrated by Maira Kalman (I've read some of her picture book works), and the I believe the two creators fit together perfectly.

This is Daniel Handler's first foray into writing for teens (he's written plenty for younger kids and for adults), and I believe he was wildly successful.   Here's why:

The Characters:


Again, this is just a personal thing, but I really think that the character of Min is beautifully crafted. I really, really  identified with her.  She is kind of a quirky kid who has artsy interests but would never describe herself as "artsy", she starts dating a guy that NO ONE thinks she should match well with (but hey, she loves him, and she's going to go with it), and she's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination.  I sometimes have an issue with male writers who try to write accurately as females, and I really thought that Handler did a great job of creating a real, whole, female teenager.

While in a lot of ways I didn't like the character of Ed, I felt like I knew him really well and that he could be a real person.  He was very focused on sports, and he likes Min a lot, but he can't ever really explain why since they really do have very little in common -- he's the perfect balance of desirable but not necessarily likable, and Handler does an excellent job of painting him in a realistic light.

And then, the secondary characters are all equally compelling and important to the story!  I hate it when authors introduce secondary characters just for the purpose of having them around without fully forming them as human beings.  All of the people in this book were really people.  I could imagine them and imagine myself knowing people like them in high school.  So well done.


The Writing:


There is just something about Daniel Handler's writing that gets me on a very visceral level.  I just FEEL the language.  I don't really consider myself the kind of person who cares about language and well-written-ness above all else in a book, but in this one the writing really brought the story to another level.  I feel like I can't explain myself accurately without giving you an example, so here's a quote from Why We Broke Up:

"Ed, it was wonderful.  To stutter through it with you or even stop stuttering and say nothing, was so lucky and soft, better talk than mile-a-minute with anyone.  After a few minutes we'd stop rattling, we'd adjust, we'd settle in, and the conversation would speed into the night.  Sometimes it was just laughing at the comparing of favorites, I love that flavor, that color's cool, that album sucks, I've never seen that show, she's awesome, he's an idiot, you must be kidding, no way mine's better, safe and hilarious like tickling."


I love it when writers take liberties with language -- writing more for feeling than for story, but still managing to propel the story forward anyway.  The entire book is written like this, and it's just great.  There's a particular passage toward the end of the book that really got to me when Min is explaining how she sees herself that helped me really get the feeling that Daniel Handler really understands his characters, and is really an expert at creating them through language.

The Illustrations:


Why We Broke Up as a piece of written literature is, on its own, a great work.  What brings it up to yet another level is the addition of Kalman's illustrations.  Bright and unusual and realistic while keeping a sense of whimsy, they really add to the atmosphere of the writing, and the words and pictures together perfectly.  I hope Handler and Kalman continue to work together, because they really do seem to be on the same wavelength.

Basically, whether it's because of my biased opinions or not, this is definitely the best book I've read so far this year, and I can't imagine that another book is going to surpass it (I'll let you know if it happens).  Recommended for fans of John Green, lovers of unusual written language that doesn't follow the rules, teens who don't fit in, and adults who didn't when they were teens either.

Room by Emma Donaghue

The Book Talk:



The Book Review:


I really do mean to make this blog mostly focused on young adult and children's literature, but for some reason I couldn't stay away from this book.  I justified reading it because it's a 2011 Alex Award Winner, which is a prize given to ten adult books with appeal to young adults aged 12 to 18.  So yes, Room is an adult novel, but there are definitely some older teenagers I would recommend it to.

I'm going to do my best to write this review without giving away too much of the story.  It is in many ways a thriller, and I don't want to ruin the page-turning quality for readers.  If you want to hear a little more about what it's about, make sure you watch the book talk I've posted above.

This is one of those books that's not easy.  It's not light or fluffy or fun -- in fact, in many ways it is highly disturbing and very sad.  However, while it's not an easy book, it is an amazingly well realized novel.  In almost every way (plot, pacing, writing style, voice, character), Donaghue's talent as a writer shines through.

Probably the most stand-out of these talents is Donaghue's ability to create her main character's first person voice.  Jack is five-years-old, and I truly believed the entire time that this narrative could be the thought process of a child.  Sometimes when adults write in the voice of children, it feels stilted and dumbed down, but Jack is amazingly well crafted.  He's smart in some ways and ignorant in others, he's sweet and mean and real and everything a five-year-old really is.

I had read some reviews that mentioned that the first half of Room is perfectly paced and emotionally suspenseful, but that it falls short a little in that department in the second half.   I actually have to completely disagree with these reviewers.  Yes, the first half and the second half are different, but they are suspenseful and deliberately paced in different ways.  It's almost like you're reading two different novels that have been placed together as perfect companion pieces.

I could probably go on and on about why I believe this book is worth reading and well done, but I want to end this review with some thoughts about its appeal to teen readers.  At first glance, this seems like a book that's too much for a teen audience (even though it's narrated by a child).  It's gritty and brutal and disturbing, and there is a lot of very adult content.  However, I can think of at least three teenagers who frequent my library who I would hand this book to in a heartbeat.  Kids like to read about things that really happen in the world, and stuff like what happens in Room DOES happen in real life.  This book is for teens (and adults) who love Ellen Hopkin's Crank, Elizabeth Scott's Living Dead Girl, and even Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games.