Book: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

★★½ /★★★★★

“One thing I've learned about people is that the easiest way to get them to like you is to shut up and let them do the talking.”

This book is HILARIOUS. There was never a page that I didn't laugh and I actually adored the cover. But I guess this book wasn't just meant for me. 

So the title of the book basically tells you what the story is all about. It's about Greg, Earl and Rachel whose lives get tangled again when Rachel is diagnosed with leukemia and Greg's mom encourages Greg to rekindle his friendship with Rachel. Earl,on the other hand, is Greg's only friend/co-worker and they both like to make movies which are not so good or should I say, shitty? After Greg's failed attempts to get Rachel to talk to him, Rachel finally opened up and they started meeting again until Earl told Rachel about the movies they made and showed them to her. Greg was against it but it was too late because Rachel had already seen them and she actually liked it. In the end, Greg and Earl were forced to make a movie for Rachel.

Though I liked how the story started, Greg describing highschool and categorizing the different cliques which he tried hard not be a part of any just to protect himself, it felt like the rest of the book was just a big joke. I mean, Greg was a total jerk and even though I wanted to understand him he failed to make me. And the way he degraded himself was not funny at all. Sure there were times that I was laughing-out-loud but there were also times when I frowned at how annoying he was. 

“I’m smart in some ways- pretty good vocabulary, solid at math – but I am definitely the stupidest smart person there is… I was going to be the worst friend in the history of dying girls… Because I don’t really have a moral compass and I need to rely on (Earl) for guidance, or else I might accidentally become like a hermit or a terrorist or something. How fucked up is that.”

I didn't like Greg's character at all and it was frustrating how he kept on saying that it was a terrible book! I was like, then why did you write it if it wasn't good?!

“If after reading this book you come to my home and brutally murder me, I do not blame you.”

I gave this book a chance to redeem itself but I was on the last page and I was still waiting. Ugh, it was such a quick but disappointing read. Too bad I really liked how creative it was written with the bullets and script format and things like that. Rachel's character was also underdeveloped considering that she's one of the main characters in the book. Earl for me was a so-so and I actually liked him more than Greg.

Overall I give it 2 and a half star and if only Greg was a bit likeable!